Evolution of Malaysian Foreign Policy

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EVOLUTION OF MALAYSIAN FOREIGN POLICY Foreign policy is not static. Its formulation is essentially a dynamic process. Hence, over theyears, our foreign policy has evolved, taking account of the change in leadership as well asdevelopments in the ever-changing global political and economic landscapes. Moreover, theadvent of globalisation and the transformation of interstate relations brought about by new andrapid changes in information technologies, necessarily means that our foreign policy has to beadjusted and fine tuned to meet new challenges in a globalised world.

Photo: Sir Leslie Munroe of New Zealand, President of the United Nations General Assembly,congratulating Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman, after the flag of the newly independent MalayanFederation (Now Malaysia) was raised in a ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York onOctober 15, 1957.

The style and approaches in enunciating Malaysia's foreign policy may differ in keeping with the

personality of each past and present prime minister of Malaysia. A critical examination of Malaysia's foreign policy since 1957 would show its steady evolution characterised by notablechanges in emphasis, which took place with the change in Malaysia's political stewardship.Briefly; a) In the period 1957-1969, our country has just gained its independence. During this postindependence period, under our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, our foreign policy was geared towards the survival of our newly independent nation. Our foreignpolicy then was markedly anti-Communist and pro-western in posture with close links to theCommonwealth. We were also a strong opponent of apartheid. Our posture towards regionalcooperation also began to take root with the birth of ASA (1960), MAPHILINDO (1963) and

ASEAN (1967).





Photo: Tunku Abdul Rahman, first Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Rahman andMacGillivray standing outside the King’s House in Kuala Lumpur after signing the Merdeka

Agreement on Aug 5, 1957. b) In the period 1970 -1976, under Tun Abdul Razak, as a member of the Organisation of

Islamic Conference (OIC), Malaysia began to identify itself as a "Muslim nation." The search for new friends substantially increased the importance of NAM to Malaysia. We became markedlynon-aligned and postured towards neutrality, peaceful co-existence and independence. Wealso began to distance ourselves from major powers, put strong emphasis on regionalism anddeveloped contacts and diplomatic relations with communist countries. Investments from other than British sources began to be also welcomed.

Photo: The second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak, addresses the Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Kuala Lumpur on 26 November 1971.

c) A period of consolidation ensued under Tun Hussein Onn (1976-1981) with ASEANbecoming the cornerstone of Malaysia's foreign policy following the collapse of Saigon (now HoChi Minh City) in 1975, the withdrawal of the US military presence from Southeast Asia and theinvasion of Kampuchea (now Cambodia) by Vietnam. The First ASEAN Summit was held andMalaysia signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Bali in 1976. Further emphasis onindependence, non-alignment and equidistance from the major powers was also made.





Photo: The third Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Hussein Onn, addressing the 13th ASEANMinisterial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 25 June 1980.

d) A more dramatic shift in emphasis occurred when Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad took over asthe fourth Prime Minister in 1981. Malaysia's foreign policy stance began to take a muchgreater economic orientation than ever before, coupled with a strong and nationalistic defenceof the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries and the advocacy of south-southco-operation. Tun Dr. Mahathir's premiership saw the pursuit of numerous new initiatives suchas:

Antarctica as the Common Heritage of Mankind. The Look East Policy (LEP). Championing of the cause of developing countries on major social issues like

environment, human rights and democracy. With the advent of globalization, Malaysians identified both the beneficial and adverse

impact of globalization to the developing countries. Pro-active and passionate approach on Apartheid and Palestinian issues. Islamic Unity - Chairmanship and hosting of the 10th OIC Summit, hosting of 1st Expo

OIC, formation of D-8.

International peace and security - Malaysia’s membership in UNSC, peacekeeping role ina number of countries such as Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Namibia and EastTimor. Malaysia also actively championed against selectivity, double standards and pre-emptive action outside the ambit of the UN.





Photo: The fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, addressing theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kuala Lumpur on 19 October 1989.

Terrorism - Malaysia forged strong regional and international cooperation in combatingterrorism, strongly advocated against profiling by religion or ethnicity, proposedmultifaceted approach in combating terrorism including identifying and eliminating theroot causes, hosted OIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Terrorism in 2002, establishedSEARCCT to primarily focus on training and capacity building.

Opening of New Frontiers:

Active bilateral engagements with African, Latin American and Eastern Europe countries,

particularly in trade, investment and transfer technology in the spirit of South-SouthCooperation. Includes opening of Diplomatic Missions and extension of MalaysianTechnical Cooperation Program (MTCP) in these countries.

Economic Orientation:

East Asia Economic Cooperation (from EAEG to EAEC to ASEAN +3). Regional Development Cooperation - Growth Triangle concept such as IMTGT, IMSGT,

BIMP-EAGA. Group of 15 (G15) - first advocated by Malaysia. Economic diplomacy - reverse investment's ‘prosper thy neighbor's, South-South

cooperation, MIGHT, Langkawi International Dialogue (LID), South Africa International





Dialogue (SAID).

e) In the period 2003 and onwards, under the leadership of Dato’ Seri Abdullah AhmadBadawi, foreign policy initiatives were further refined and fine- tuned to project:

Pragmatic response in meeting the current geopolitical and economic challenges. More sophisticated articulation of Malaysia’s views. Substance as a dynamic extension to existing policies. Influential leadership role as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the

Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and ASEAN; and Malaysia as a leading example of a tolerant and progressive Islamic Nation – Islam

Hadhari

The evolution of the country's foreign policy under successive prime ministers reflects apragmatic response to the geopolitical and economic changes of their times. To be continuallyrelevant to the country's needs, foreign policy cannot remain static.

But whilst changes in emphasis have become a general feature of Malaysian foreign policy,continuity has also been evident. Both the change and continuity mark a higher level of

confidence and maturing of the country in the conduct of its international affairs. Indeed, inmany ways Malaysia's leadership role has been recognised on several issues of deep interestto the developing world.

Photo: The Honourable Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,addressing the Welcoming Dinner and the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 LangkawiInternational Dialogue on the 5th August 2007.





As a trading nation, we are very much dependent on a peaceful international environment for our well being. Naturally, our foreign policy has to be oriented to allow for a greater focus oneconomic diplomacy. In the past, when we were producing mainly raw materials for the world,Malaysia had to compete with only a handful of countries.

But now, when we have become an industrialized trading nation, we have no choice but to workharder, to compete better and to find new markets for our goods and services. We must findbetter ways to do business with the outside world. We need to find niches in which we have acompetitive edge.

Towards this end, Malaysia has implemented a number of policies that have a strong foreign

policy component that will contribute to the creation of a strong, dynamic and resilient economy.These policies include amongst others:

• Look East Policy• Reverse Investment – Prosper Thy Neighbour • Malaysia Incorporated• South-South Cooperation

• Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP)• Langkawi International Dialogue

Since assuming the country's leadership in 2010, Malaysia's foreign policy, under the 6 th PrimeMinister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, is focused oncreating a strong and united country in an increasingly interconnected world.

During the 7th

Heads of Mission Conference held in Putrajaya in June 2009, the Prime Minister announced that the government would give priority to its public service as he stressed theimportance of Malaysia to move in tandem with the '1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now'theme. He expressed his hope that these principles can be inculcated in all Malaysians as it isthe basis of the formulation of Malaysia's foreign policy.

As how Malaysians work together towards the realization of a united and strong country, theinternational community could unite to realize the common goal of creating a prosperous andharmonious world where each country work together for their mutual benefit and interest.





Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Malaysia's foreign policy is also geared towardstransforming Malaysia into a modern, dynamic and progressive Muslim country.

As one of Malaysia's efforts in rejecting extremism, at the 6 th Session of the General Assemblyof the United Nations, the Prime Minister proposed the establishment of a Global Movement of Moderates (GMM). This is testimony to Malaysia's commitment to encourage the international

community to achieve world peace. To mobilize international support for this idea, Malaysiahosted the first International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates, in Kuala Lumpur,in January 2012.

With regards to Malaysia's bilateral relations, Malaysia is renewing its focus on both China andthe United States. From the aspect of trade and investments, continuous measures are beingimplemented to evaluate the mechanisms, to further improve Malaysia's relationship andcooperation withcountries from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. However, thecornerstone of Malaysia's foreign policy is still centered on the relationship and strategiccooperation with Malaysia's traditional partners, specifically ASEAN countries, Europe, Japan,South Korea and India.

In principal, under the leadership of YAB Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia’s foreign policy priorities are as follows:

Maintain peaceful relations with all countries regardless of political ideology and system;Continue to adopt an independent, non-aligned and principled stance in regional andinternational diplomatic affairs;Develop relations and economic partnership as well as close cooperation with allcountries, especially with ASEAN and regional partners;Promote peace and stability through capacity building measures and conflict resolution;Participate actively in the United Nations;Play a leadership role in international organizations such as ASEAN, the Non-AlignedMovement (NAM) and the OIC; andHighlight Malaysia as a modern, dynamic and progressive Muslim state.

Evolution of Malaysian Foreign Policy

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