Malaysia's rebirth as a regional power

 

Recently, the Foreign Ministry has been caught in a fiery position over minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s statements in calling out the failure to include the UN Special Envoy to Myanmar in the Asean consultative meeting on humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

The remarks were fueled even more by Myanmar’s military junta condemning Malaysia for lobbying Asean nations to engage with the ousted but democratically elected government rather than the military junta.

Based on the response made, Malaysia has taken a strong stance by engaging the ousted National Unity Government (NUG), lobbying Asean nations to engage with NUG, calling out the atrocities committed by the junta at various levels and many more.

This advocate-leadership has been the main facet of how we view Malaysia’s foreign policy on Myanmar, subsequently hinting that Malaysia’s middlepowermanship strategy is on track to revitalise its presence as a regional power in democracy and human rights.

M’sia firm against Myanmar’s junta

With the military coup d’etat taking place on Feb 1, 2021, Malaysia has been very vocal from the beginning by releasing a press statement in response to the exile of NUG. Although the statement looked rather “mild”, the implied message showcased Malaysia’s strong inclination of going a step above in addressing the matter.

Underlined as the foreign policy that Malaysia has adopted in the post-pandemic world, Malaysia wants to champion regional stability as it puts the agenda as one of its top priorities. It is no doubt Malaysia have been utilising Asean to extend the proposal.

Following up on the Asean five-point consensus (5PC) peace plan meeting in April 2021, Malaysia is seen to be more aggressive in acting as a leader to facilitate and mediate discussions between the exiled government and the current one.

A Myanmar soldier standing guard at Yangon City Hall following the military coup on Feb 1, 2021

This was proven by Saifuddin’s recent admission that he had approached NUG leaders and, to an extent, lobbied Asean nations via APHR to be in contact with NUG instead of the junta. 

Malaysia called out Myanmar for shunning the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Myanmar, indicating the junta’s reluctance to cooperate on humanitarian assistance in the recent Asean consultative meeting, which sparked international concerns. In addition, Malaysia has an informal engagement with NUG during the recent US-Asean Special Summit.

These bold approaches are unprecedented in the region as critics have viewed the possibility of Malaysia directly interfering and putting labels on which regime is politically right and wrong in Myanmar’s politics.

Although contentious, these actions might just be the catalyst that the regional bloc needed to actually step up its game and make proper progress in this plight.

Risky bet or strategic thinking?

Although Malaysia engages with Myanmar for economical benefits in general, we can deduce that this interest does not prevent us from calling out the junta.

From the start of the pandemic and the military coup d’etat that happened, Myanmar has hit heavy economic turbulence, with World Bank declaring its economy as critically weak. With most of our investment pulled out, there is nothing for us to lose in this situation as Myanmar relies more on Malaysia rather than the other way around.

A protest slogan seen on the ground in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb 21, 2021 following the military coup

Regardless, Malaysia’s image of democracy and humanitarian values is at stake in this crisis. With international observers looking, Malaysia must walk the talk to be a champion of democracy in the region as manifested in the Foreign Ministry’s document.

Thereby, Malaysia’s efforts in various channels and levels are justified as predictable, calculative strategies and are a must to get things done rather than merely relying on Asean to resolve this issue.

Asserting ‘middlepowermanship’

As optimistic as it may seem, this case at hand might be Malaysia’s biggest chance to hit the jackpot in asserting its middlepowermanship and reclaim its role as a regional power, especially in terms of power relations and peacemaking.

Undoubtedly, there are two factions present in responding to the junta, with one more critical than the other. Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia are a bloc that has more motivation to resolve this matter compared to the other Asean nations who see the situation as interfering with a sovereign nation’s political situation.

As much as Singapore and Indonesia are in the same bloc as Malaysia in pinning down the junta, they lack something which we are strongly exhibiting - pure leadership in resolving the matter.

This can be seen by middle power diplomacy which Malaysia illustrates by playing the advocater of good governance and democracy while actively mediating between NUG, Asean and the junta. 

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing

Hence, Malaysia should seize this opportunity to emerge as a leader for this bloc to bring international pressure on the junta and subsequently, achieve Asean’s desired outcome of maintaining peace within the region.

The ability of Malaysia to portray this form of diplomacy in the international theatre in a timely fashion and with a strong presence shows observers that Malaysia could be a strong regional force to be reckoned with.

With Malaysia having a seat in the UN Human Rights Council, the country showed that it could fulfil its responsibility in voicing out against human rights violations in Myanmar and pressuring Asean and the international community to address the issue collectively. This surely emits a positive portrayal of Malaysia’s image in international organisations.

All in all, Malaysia should be consistent in this cause and reinforce its influence in multiple channels, especially within Asean to lead consultative meetings, and UNHRC to lobby for the attention of key players in solving this matter. Surely, all eyes are on Putrajaya to raise the issues at the upcoming 50th session of UNHRC on the possible plans that we will pursue.

Hence, Malaysia must play its cards well and keep up the momentum as we might well see progress in Myanmar and perhaps even the breakthrough of Asean as a more prominent regional organization. - Mkini

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ELISA SHAFIQA SHAHRULNIZAM is a Youth Lead at KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific where she writes on Malaysia’s foreign policy and international affairs. She is also chairperson at Malaysian Youth Diplomacy, a focal point of Malaysian youth involvement in diplomacy and foreign affairs. She can be contacted via elisashafiqahshahrilnizam@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.