LONDON: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has warned that it would be bad for the global economy if the UK chose to leave the European Union.
Britons will decide on June 23 whether to maintain or quit its EU membership.
The referendum has split the nation, with the so-called Brexit campaigners calling for the UK to quit on the back of the European migration crisis and EU economic weaknesses.
Asked by reporters at the end of his five-day working visit to London, Najib said he thinks a post-Brexit UK would be negative for the world economy.
“I think the effect will be bad not only for the UK but also for the global markets. It is because UK is part of the Common Market and the size of the Common Market is significant,” he said.
“If Britain pulls out, it will become less competitive. The economy is based on services and services are the bigger share of the economy in Europe,” he said. “So if they are out of the EU, it will have a very negative effect on the economy.”
Najib touched briefly on the same subject when he spoke at the opening of the Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s European regional office here late on Tuesday.
He said the UK has the Malaysian moral support for it to remain in the EU.
“You have our moral support. It is good for the UK and it will be good for the rest of the world,” he said. “Let’s hope for the best.”
Also present were Sajid Javid, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, London’s newly-elected Mayor Sadiq Khan and some 150 UK and Malaysian business leaders and investors.
In his speech, Sadiq welcomed Khazanah’s move to site its European office in London. “We hope this will remain the European headquarters after June 23,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Javid, the UK Secretary of State, spoke highly of Malaysia’s economic success which he followed closely when he was working as an investment banker in Singapore.
“I saw for myself how Malaysia is a nation on the run. Home to a diverse, moderate population, fast-growing and outward-facing economy.”
He also visited Kuala Lumpur last year to lead a UK trade mission. “I got the sense that it is a country that is really going places. It is ambitious, it is international and of course is hugely successful.”
“So it is great to see you (Khazanah) opening the first European outpost here in the UK,” he said.