Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

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 notable changes 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 post independence 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 foreign policy then was markedly anti-Communist and pro-western in posture with close links to the Commonwealth. We were also a strong opponent of apartheid. Our posture towards regional cooperation also began to take root with the birth of ASA (1960), MAPHILINDO (1963) and ASEAN (1967).

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

• 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 in a number of countries such as Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Namibia and East Timor. Malaysia also actively championed against selectivity, double standards and pre-emptive action outside the ambit of the UN.

• Terrorism - Malaysia forged strong regional and international cooperation in combating terrorism, strongly advocated against profiling by religion or ethnicity, proposed multifaceted approach in combating terrorism including identifying and eliminating the root causes, hosted OIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Terrorism in 2002, established SEARCCT 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-South Cooperation. Includes opening of Diplomatic Missions and extension of Malaysian Technical 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 Ahmad Badawi, 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 a pragmatic response to the geopolitical and economic changes of their times. To be continually relevant 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, in many ways Malaysia's leadership role has been recognised on several issues of deep interest to the developing world.

f) Since 2009, under the leadership of the sixth Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak, Malaysia's foreign policy is shaped significantly by:

• The government transformation programmes, namely the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and New Economic Model (NEM), underpinned by the concept "One Malaysia: People First, Performance Now" which is aimed at creating a strong and united Malaysia in the interconnected world;
• The projection of Malaysia as a modern, developing and progressive Islamic country; and
• The proactive role in strengthening all areas of diplomacy where the Prime Minister has taken steps to forge strategic relationships with members of the international community including emerging powers and Malaysia's traditional partners in terms of forging closer political, economic, social and cultural cooperation, for mutual benefit.

Photo: Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak addressing the 65th General Assembly

at the UN headquarters, New York

27 September 2010

Developing close bilateral relations with our immediate and regional neighbours remains a high priority. After assuming office in April 2009, Dato' Sri Najib undertook visits to Indonesia, Singapore, China and South Korea where he attended the ASEAN-South Korea Summit. Additionally, foreign policy under the leadership of Dato' Sri Najib has placed a renewed focus on traditional partners such as China, India, the United States and the European Union.

Malaysia also continues to strengthen its partnerships with countries in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In June 2011, Malaysia hosted the 9th Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) with the theme "Enhancing Smart Partnership for Socio-Economic Transformation" which provided a dynamic platform for exploring business and investment opportunities between Malaysia and its African partners.

At the regional level, Malaysia continues to look into various political-security, economic and socio-cultural issues towards establishing the ASEAN Community 2015. 2015 will be the critical year in which the ASEAN Community will be established and Malaysia will assume the chairmanship of ASEAN. Malaysia is committed to ASEAN's community-building efforts including promoting economic growth, narrowing economic disparities among member countries and strengthening ASEAN's influence in the global arena.

Photos: Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak in Hawaii during

the APEC Summit 2011

On the path towards becoming a high-income developed country by 2020, Malaysia is charting a new course through enhancing its international engagement. In this context, a notable effort being made by the current Government is in working towards greater trade liberalisation in the Asia-Pacific region through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multilateral FTA initiative which involves nine countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, NEw Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. Malaysia participated as a full negotiating TPP member at the third round of negotiations in Brunei in October 2010. Together with Malaysia's other FTAs, the TPP would increase Malaysia's share of global trade covered under preferential treatment to about seventy percent. Other significant efforts to advance political and economic cooperation include those being made by Malaysia and the EU who are currently negotiating the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and the Malaysia-EU FTA.

At the multilateral level, Malaysia will continue to use the platforms available to speak on global political, economic and sociocultural issues. The idea of a Global Movement of Moderates which was proposed by the Prime Minister at the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010 is an initiative that projects Malaysia as a modern, developing and progressive Islamic country. The Prime Minister made a call for the moderates who make up the silent majority to claim the higher moral ground and fight against extremism. Since the announcement, the idea has evolved and has been endorsed by world leaders, most significantly at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October 2011 where it became part of CHOGM's Final Communique; the Chair's Statement at the 19th ASEAN Summit held in Bali in November 2011; and at the International Conference of GMM held in Malaysia in January 2012 which drew nearly 500 participants worldwide.

 Photos: Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak at the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2011

Malaysia will continue to do its part as a responsible member of the international community. In the effort to counter terrorism for example, Malaysia implemented the Strategic Trade Act (STA) in January 2011, a legislation that controls the export, shipment, transit and brokering of strategic items and technology that will or may facilitate the design, development, production and delivery of weapons of mass destruction. The STA in this way is consistent with Malaysia's national security interests and complies with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 passed in 2004 on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

In conclusion, the evolution of the country's foreign policy under successive prime ministers reflects a pragmatic response to the geopolitical and economic changes of their times. To be continually relevant to the country's needs, foreign policy cannot remain static.

But whilst changes in approach and 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, in many ways Malaysia's leadership role has been recognised on several issues of deep interest to the developing world.

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 on economic 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 work harder, to compete better and to find new markets for our goods and services. We must find better ways to do business with the outside world. We need to find niches in which we have a competitive 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: