PETALING JAYA, May 5 — China’s ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative will alter the global balance of power, said HELP University’s Datuk Paul Leong Khee Seong when telling Malaysians to prepare to take advantage of this.

Addressing graduates and attendees at the university’s 30th convocation ceremony at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur last month, Leong said the initiative would link the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa together in a grand development project.

"For the past 12 months, the most significant and far-reaching event unveiled in the world is the Belt and Road Initiative devised by China three years ago.

"It is a geopolitical development strategy that focuses on a new globalisation linking Asia, Europe and North Eastern Africa and covering 70 per cent of the world’s population, three-quarters of its energy resources and 38 per cent of its GDP,” he said.

Leong explained that the initiative would have major benefits for all participants, including Malaysia.

Among these were reshaping Eurasia through huge infrastructure investments including high-speed rail links and new deep-water ports to provide a physical link between countries in the initiative.

It would also foster closer economic, social, cultural and political ties on a foundation of mutual respect and non-confrontational policies for a win-win result among participating countries.

Leong recalled how a Yale University professor had linked each century with one dominant nation, beginning with Spain in the 17th century, France in the 18th century, the UK in the 19th century and the US with the 20th century.

"Accordingly, some of you may classify the 21st century to be associated with the Belt and Road model, the main purpose of which is to create a new international order.

"There will be no more one hegemonic nation being associated with a future century, but the emergence of a big family of communities co-existing harmoniously in a shared future,” he added.

Leong contrasted China’s OBOR initiative with the increasingly aggressive posturing of the US under President Donald Trump’s administration, which earmarked US$611.2 billion (RM2.39 trillion) for its 2018 military budget.

"Such huge military expenditure tends to aggregate dramatic provocation, heighten political tension, and increase military conflicts or even confrontation in the world,” he warned.

"Furthermore, the reduced dominance of the US dollar since the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis, the US financial resources, together with the US President Trump’s America First Nationalism, his iconoclastic isolationist inclination and his hostility to multilateralism have precipitated the noticeable decline in US global leadership.”

Leong also observed that Malaysia, despite its achievements since Merdeka in 1957, still has room to improve in the area of communal ties and social harmony.

Leong said the controversial events in the country had even prompted the Malay Rulers to call for mutual respect among the different racial and religious groups in the country.

"It is timely for all political parties, their members, policy makers, administrators, civil servants, teachers, law enforcement authorities and the whole society including all of us here, to be reminded of the precepts of the Rukun Negara and the provisions in the Federal Constitution to ensure all Malaysians are united as one people.”

Leong pointed out that Malaysia’s diversity was a key pillar of its strength, and had prepared its people, especially its graduates, for a more global and interconnected environment.

"Our ability to speak three languages, namely Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia, Chinese and English, enables us to communicate with 55 per cent of the global population,” he said.

"Our sociability, arising from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious country, to easily adapt to different cultures and working environments in the world, thus providing us with an added advantage in the globalized and borderless world.”

Leong also congratulated the 81 students present for their outstanding academic achievements in four departments: 33 in Psychology, 14 in Business Studies, three with the University of London International Programme and 11 in Communication.

He added that students from HELP had also been outstanding in their non-academic achievements, having won five gold, seven silver and three bronze medals during last year’s SEA Games.

"Our students have also won the Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities (MAPCU) Championship for 11 of the past 13 years. In addition, HELP is the first University to be elevated to Division 1 of the IPT Football League.”