i think, if US and CN are smart, they will both support M'sia to be a friendly neutral country. M'sia could act as their backdoor/middleman to obtain the resources that they need from each other silently since none of them are willing to back down from their fierce confrontation in the open. this way they can long-term maintain their attitude on the surface toward each other and suffer less loss from unable to attain the resources that they urgently need to cut down their economy inflation. other than sime conductor investment suitability, M'sia also has geographical advantage which located in between SG and TH so if they don't fully use this affordable M'sia chess piece to their advantage now then it will be a big loss.
Why is Malaysia suitable for developing semiconductors? First, Malaysia has abundant water resources. Second, Malaysia has a tradition of developing semiconductors. Third, Malaysia has low manufacturing costs (GDP per capita is very suitable). Fourth, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Asian) talents immigrate.