PRIME MINISTER MAHATHIR MOHAMAD SUSPENSION ON CHINA INVESTMENT IN MALAYSIA INFRASTRUCTURE: A STUDY ON EAST COAST RAIL LINK (ECRL) AND TRANS SABAH GAS PIPELINE (TSGP) PROJECTS, 2016-2018

Abstract

Economic cooperation is one of the most important keys in advance and economic development. However, economic cooperation does not always have a good impact on some country, therefore many countries are reconsidering to establish economic cooperation. For example, Malaysia and China, these two countries have long cooperated to improve economic growth. Malaysia and China further strengthened their cooperation during the Najib Razak Government through a program created by Xi Jinping namely the Belt and Road Initiative. Malaysia's efforts to continue to collaborate with China are in line with the national interests of each country. When Malaysia changed its government, the new Malaysian Government led by Mahathir Mohamad reconsidered two projects carried out by the Belt and Road Initiative, which are East Coast Rail Line and Trans Sabah Gas Pipeline. The reconsideration is based on Malaysia's increasingly reliance on the Chinese economy which will shift economic improvements that benefit China. Nevertheless, Malaysia continues to strive to maintain bilateral relations with China through various collaborations in the political, social and economic sectors. In explaining the two countries, the perception of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who was the main actor in government policy decision making was a factor that influenced Malaysia's attitude towards China.