Over the decades, Malaysia has become known in the Middle East as a successful model of a Muslim country
IN March, King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia made a state visit to Malaysia.
It was clear that ties between the two countries are strong, exemplified by the closeness between the Saudi king and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The selfie of the two leaders is indicative of this.
The visit witnessed the signing of significant agreements, memoranda of understanding and commercial projects between both countries. However, behind this visit is a long history of interaction between Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries, especially with Saudi Arabia, one of the first Arab countries with which Malaysia had established official ties.
Malaysia’s initial interest with the Middle East was due to the religious factor — Malaysia being a Muslim-majority country and that region the centre of Islam.
In the 12th century, Islam
was brought to the Malay peninsula mainly by Arab traders
and missionaries alongside
Indian and Chinese merchants. Since then, Malaysia has been constantly building relations
with Arab countries, moving beyond the Islamic factor, to include political and economic dimensions.
Islam has been, from the beginning, the concrete pillar of Malaysia-Middle East relations. Over the years, Malay students have been travelling to Egypt to pursue religious studies at the famous Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
In addition, pilgrims from Malaysia have been going to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual haj and umrah at the holy land in Mecca.
Among other things, Malaysia has been projecting itself as a Muslim country to the Islamic world by hosting the annual Quran reading competition.
In addition, Malaysia has been strengthening its position as a Muslim country by setting up different Islamic institutions, such as the International Islamic University Malaysia, as well as Islamic financial institutions.
Malaysia’s policy towards the Middle East has extended from the primarily religious to the political arena. Malaysia first started to recognise the importance of the Middle East during the 1963 “Konfrontasi” (confrontation) period, when it began to seek support from the region.
“Konfrontasi” was triggered when Indonesia objected to the formation of Malaysia, which it saw as part of British neocolonialism.
Middle Eastern countries have played a remarkable role in strengthening Malaysia’s position.
Since independence, Malaysia has been championing the Palestinians, by standing up against the Israeli occupation of Arab lands and championing the rights of the Palestinian people to their homeland. Malaysia was one of the first to recognise the Palestinian state, with diplomatic representation in Kuala Lumpur.
During one of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s visits to Malaysia, he expressed his appreciation of Malaysia’s solidarity with the Palestinian people. He even further remarked that Malaysia had been more supportive of Palestine than Arab countries.
Malaysia’s policy towards the Islamic world progressed when the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was formed in 1969, with former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj appointed by the late King Faisal Abdulaziz Al-Saud as the body’s secretary-general.
Since then, Malaysia has been active in OIC. The organisation recognised this when Malaysia was appointed to lead the peace committee during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
More recently, Malaysia took up the chairmanship of the OIC in 2003. Besides this, the recent initiative by Malaysia to convene a special meeting of the OIC to discuss the Rohingya issue was regarded as a success.
Moreover, Malaysia has been continually enhancing bilateral relations with Middle Eastern countries. High-level official visits have taken place.
For example, then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein visited a number of countries, namely Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. These visits were to forge better relationships with Arab states, and delved into a range of matters from cultural and scientific, to trade, economic and political issues.
Under former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, economic and trade matters gained prominence in Malaysia’s policy towards the Middle East. This region became not only a source of foreign direct investments, but also a primary market for Malaysian products and businesses.
For instance, Proton cars can be found on the streets in the Middle East. During former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time in office, Malaysia undertook a number of initiatives involving the halal industry.
Over the decades, Malaysia has become known to the Middle East as a successful model of a Muslim country. Many countries in the region have recognised this, and express their desire to learn about Malaysia’s success.
Overall, Malaysia, since its independence, has placed the Middle East as one of its foreign policy priorities, with consistent progress over the years.
Apart from the religious foundation, Malaysia’s interests have grown to not only include political, but also commercial pursuits.
The most recent announcement by Najib on a multi-billion-ringgit project involving the Saudis and Petronas in Malaysia is indeed testimony to Malaysia’s position in the eyes of the Middle East.
The writer, Nour Altala, is a postgraduate student in International Relations at University of Malaya