When Mahathir Mohamad swept to power in a surprise election victory over his former protégé, Najib Razak, leaders of countries along China’s Belt and Road sat up and took notice.
Mr Najib had been an advocate of the Belt and Road Initiative, and had promised to fast-track more than $30bn of Chinese port, rail and other infrastructure projects in the country. Mr Mahathir meanwhile had spent much of the time on the campaign trail speaking out against the poor potential returns and growing debt burden for countries that agreed to Chinese infrastructure investment.
Since his return to power, Mr Mahathir has suspended $23bn in China-backed infrastructure projects, including the East Coast Rail Link — the $20bn flagship BRI project in Malaysia. Three pipeline projects have also been cancelled.