Nov. 27 – Malaysia and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday that will strengthen intergovernmental cooperation in a number of key areas.
Malaysia’s newest MoU with India is part of a larger effort by the country to strengthen its strategic and economic ties with regional neighbors. Last month, China and Malaysia elevated their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during a highly publicized visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the country. Malaysia and India have also maintained a bilateral strategic partnership since October 2010.
Signed by Tan Sri Mohamad Zabidi Zainal, Malaysia’s Public Service Department Director-General, and Sanjay Kothari, Secretary at India’s Ministry of Personnel, at the Putrajaya International Convention Center, the new MoU will promote socio-economic development by fostering an efficient, accessible, transparent and accountable civil service.
“There are eight areas of cooperation including human resource management, public delivery systems, e-governance, accountability and transparency, skills and capacity building, and quality results,” Zabidi said. The cooperation outlined in the MoU will be implemented through visit tours, workshops and conferences, the exchange of publications and common project implementation mechanisms and the sharing of public administration and governance information and expertise.
The 13-member Indian delegation’s visit to Malaysia comes alongside a five-day official visit by a delegation led by Royal Malaysian Air Force Chief General Sri Rodzali Daud to New Delhi. Chief General Rodzali is expected to meet with India’s Defense Minister and make plans for joint military exercises early next year.
Strengthening Ties
Since rebounding from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Malaysia has taken significant steps towards strengthening economic and military ties with its regional neighbors—especially India and China.
While Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as Prime Minister successfully led Malaysia out of the 1997 financial crisis, the Prime Ministership of Abdullah Badawi ushered in a new era of liberalized economic and foreign policy. Signing historic free trade agreements with Japan and Pakistan before stepping down in 2009, Badawi’s reforms created the momentum Malaysia’s economy needed to continue growing under its current Prime Minister, Najib Razak.
Under Razak’s New Economic Model (NEM), the country’s economy has shifted away from state-oriented policies so as to attract more foreign investment and “transform the Malaysian economy to be one with high incomes and quality growth by 2020.” Signing free trade agreements with India, Chile, New Zealand and Australia have helped Razak promote his NEM and have led to steady FDI and GDP growth over the past three years.
Alongside Razak’s NEM, Malaysia has perhaps most significantly strengthened its military and economic cooperation with India. During a five-day visit to India in January 2010, Razak’s 200-strong delegation laid the foundation for the 2011 free trade agreement between the two nations, and regular meetings and trainings have been held between the two countries’ armed forces since 2008.
Next year, China and Malaysia will also vie to take their strategic and economic relationship to the next level. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Chinese-Malaysian bilateral diplomatic relations by deeming 2014 the “Malaysia-Chinese Friendship Year,” China and Malaysia will conduct their first joint military exercise to solidify the comprehensive strategic partnership the two countries established last month.
For the past five years, Malaysia has been China’s largest trade partner in the ASEAN bloc, and China has remained Malaysia’s single largest trading partner for the last four years. In 2012, two-way trade between the two countries soared to a record high of US$94.8 billion and will approach a similar sum by the end of 2013.
The Next Regional Player?
As Malaysia continues to deepen its economic and military ties with China and India, the nation may be set to play a significantly larger regional role in 2014.
While Malaysia has already played a significant role in the peaceful mediation of disputes between ASEAN member states and is a significant contributor of personnel to UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, the nation’s peaceful pragmatism will likely continue to appeal to investors and governments alike.
Prime Minister Razak labeled President Barak Obama’s cancellation of his Southeast Asia trip early last month a “missed opportunity.” Set to visit Indonesia on his abruptly cancelled trip amidst the US government shutdown, skepticism over America’s ability to successfully assert itself in Southeast Asia may place Indonesia in a stronger regional leadership role.
“It was a missed opportunity for Obama to assert his leadership, particularly in the context of his policy pivot towards Asia,” Razak said.
Looking forward to 2014, Malaysia will almost certainly be expected to continue to play a leadership role among both ASEAN and Southeast Asian nations.
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