Zaid wants PMX, Tengku Zafrul to step down for bowing to US in lopsided tariff negotiation

Focus Malaysia

17 hours ago

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul should resign for their complete surrender to US president Donald Trump who is a renowned tough negotiator.
This is because if Malaysia had not agreed to buy US$240 bil worth of American goods, the tariff on Malaysian exports might probably stay at 25%.
'But instead of negotiating from a position of strength, they capitulated – and settled for a 6% reduction which brought the tariff down to 19%,' berated former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim in a social media post.
Both PMX and Tengku Zafrul should resign for their complete surrender to Trump. If we had not agreed to buy US $240 billion worth of American goods, the tariff on our exports might have been 25%. But instead of negotiating from a position of strength, they capitulated—and…
— Zaid Ibrahim (@zaidibrahim) August 4, 2025
'What did we get in return? A saving of US$2.6 bil/year (RM10.4 bil/year) over the next four years based on Malaysia's current export value of US$43 bil/year.
'In contrast, we committed to buying US$240 bil (RM1.02 tril) in American goods, effectively trading RM24 to save RM1. How is that sound economic policy?'
For context, Tengku Zafrul told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (Aug 4) that Malaysia has agreed to buy and invest o ver US$240 bil with the US to reduce or bridge the trade gap between both countries, eventually securing the 19% tariff rate.
The key deals include: US$150 bil in purchases by multinationals in Malaysia's semiconductor, aerospace and data centre sectors over five years;
US$70 bil in Malaysian investments in the US over 10 years;
US$19 bil Boeing aircraft order by Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) for fleet renewal;
US$3.4 bil/year in LNG (liquefied natural gas) purchases by PETRONAS;
US$42.6 mill/year in coal purchases by Tenaga Nasional Bhd; and
US$119 mil in telecom product purchases by Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
Can the Opposition fare better?
Zaid further questioned why had the Madani government bowed down so easily to Washington's demand given that 'Trump has less than four years left in office'.
'His protectionist lunacy, like all things Trump, is likely to end in chaos – either at the ballot box or in the courts,' argued the opposition-slant UMNO member. Datuk Zaid Ibrahim
'Why then are we so gullible? Why did our leaders panic at the first sign of pressure from a volatile foreign president?'
Added Zaid who once served momentarily as the defence counsel of now incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak: 'This is not diplomacy. This is economic appeasement which comes at the expense of Malaysia's sovereignty and long-term interests.
'If this is what the 'Madani economics' look like, we are in deeper trouble than we thought.'
While sone commenters concurred that both PMX and Tengku Zafrul 'could have 'screwed up the negotiations', realistically, it would be impossible 'to negotiate from a 'position of strength' when you have no strength'.
Interestingly, few commenters wondered if ever the table is turned with Zaid himself in PMX's or Tengku Zafrul's shoes, would the politician with turncoat tendency have fared better? – Aug 5, 2025