00:00As protectionism and global trade tensions rise, countries such as Malaysia are pushed to rethink their economic playbooks.
00:08Awani International Correspondent, Fei Kuan, reports from Praxis 2025 on the call to build trust alongside trade routes.
00:30Now rising protectionism is of course creating major havens for Malaysia as trade, climate and even connectivity come under pressure.
00:38So to unpack what this means for Malaysia and the region, I'm joined by Datin Lorela Chia.
00:44She is the founding president of the Malaysia Association of Sustainable Supply Chains.
00:49As of late in Malaysia, we've heard a lot about the need to diversify our markets and to reduce reliance on traditional trade partners.
00:57So in the face of rising protectionism and supply chains now under pressure, what do you think?
01:04Have we as a country actually done enough and where do you see the biggest opportunities for deeper cooperation moving forward?
01:12I think first, true to the thing, I think we should not look at things in a fragmented way.
01:20So we used to say break down silos, so that's actually what it is.
01:25Number one is to stop looking at things from a piecemeal perspective.
01:30That's still a fragmented lens.
01:32If you're wearing a fragmented lens, the solution you have would be fragmented, right?
01:37And that's not really future-proofing.
01:39I think right now what we can look at is what I would like to call a trust infrastructure, right?
01:46To put it very simply, I think in times of difficulty or uncertainty, who do you want to trade with?
01:58Who do you want to deal with?
02:00These are people you trust, right?
02:02So relationship building and trust building.
02:05What does this mean in a practical sense?
02:07I think when you talk about infrastructure, people think about airports and roads and ports and all that.
02:14But what the other things, the credibility of our data, the reliability of certifications,
02:20because ESG is how countries and sectors evaluate things, right?
02:26The transparency of our supply chains, these all build trust.
02:31And collectively, they form a trust infrastructure.
02:33And one would say that if your trust infrastructure is strong enough and reliable enough
02:40and people buy into that, then it's easier for you to move things,
02:46it's easier for you to negotiate things, it's easier for you to look for new markets,
02:51it's easier for you to innovate, it's easier for you to find partnerships.
02:54So in that sense, are we doing enough there?
02:58I think that should be the question.
02:59Yeah, looking further ahead at these long-term steps, then.
03:03I do wonder, though, because as mentioned in your session earlier,
03:07that we can't expect things to immediately bounce back even after U.S. President Donald Trump's second term comes to an end.
03:14And in that sense, when we're looking at the bigger ecosystem,
03:18it's important for Malaysia to kind of prioritise reforms to ensure that we're not just adapting
03:24to the shifting global order and the new generation trading order,
03:28but rather being part of it and helping to reshape it.
03:32So I wonder where that trust infrastructure comes into play then,
03:35especially with a landscape that's always dominated by major powers.
03:40That's an interesting question.
03:43You see, when we talk about adapting, we're responding.
03:47So when we respond, it's like the narrative about ESG, right, beginning with compliance.
03:52So when we talk about adapting, we are still talking about what we need to do
03:56and how we adapt to that.
03:57That's compliance, right?
03:59Then for individuals or even businesses, we need to move from compliance, being forced to do something,
04:06into ownership, putting off personal values into it as individuals,
04:10and for companies looking at it, how does this generate competitive advantage, right?
04:15But for individuals to mature, we really need to move towards stewardship.
04:20So beyond embedding my personal values into what I believe in or what I'm doing,
04:25I need to look into how I'm nurturing the other people, the people around me, my ecosystem, right?
04:32For businesses, this means how do I look at what was a compliance,
04:38which is now a competitive advantage, how do I use that as a launchpad for innovation?
04:43And this entire string, right, trust infrastructure is about the credibility of your data,
04:49it's about the credibility of certification.
04:52So it's everywhere at every stage.
04:54It's also a mindset, it's also a behaviour change.
04:58Once you have that, I think it's easier to look at how we can lead as opposed to follow.
05:04All right.
05:05Well, thank you so much, Datin, for sharing your insights.
05:08That was Datin Lorela Chia from the Malaysia Association of Sustainable Supply Chains.
05:14I'm Fei Kuan, reporting here from Praxis 2025.
05:17Back to you, Industry.
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