Wanted: Unified approach in foreign policy work

On the global stage: Anwar (left) and Mohamad Hasan at the 46th Asean Summit in May in Kuala Lumpur. While Anwar has maintained a high international profile for Malaysia since he became Prime Minister, the country’s missions abroad need more support to translate his efforts into development within our borders. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star

IT has been 32 months since the Madani government was formed after the 15th General Election. When a new government is in place, the perennial question is whether there is change or is it just a continuation of previous government policies.

Since the Madani government has already reached the halfway point of its five-year term, it’s time to take stock of its foreign policy.

Have we seen a shift in foreign policy, and are there many changes? According to expert observers, foreign policy is not something that is easy to change due to its international structure and reality.

After almost 70 years of independence, Malaysia has experienced significant growth, with an educated workforce and well-developed infrastructure. Still, we have yet to attain developed nation status.

The government continues to manage pretty well its long term relations with our partners and neighbours, ties that we have cultivated over the decades.

To the international community, Malaysia has been projecting Asean as its cornerstone policy and is seen as a developing South nation, one of the success stories. There is no doubt Malaysia is considered a leader in the developing South.

Among non-Muslim countries, Malaysia is seen as a moderate and reasonably modern Muslim country. It is a champion of humanitarian issues affecting the ummah, like the Palestine genocide and the Rohingya refugees issue.

Malaysia has been able to balance relations with global powers, maintaining strong ties with both China and the United States, and we have good relations with Russia.

But in recent times, tensions have increased severely among these three big nations following Russia’s war with Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and other major trading countries.

Amid this geopolitical upheaval, Malaysia, to the surprise of many, expressed interest in joining BRICS last year. BRICS is a forum for cooperation among a group of leading emerging economies. After Malaysia was declared a BRICS partner country early this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim went on an official visit to Russia.

“The Prime Minister went to Russia in May and in August, the King of Malaysia, Sultan Ibrahim, conducted a state visit, the first by a Malaysian head of state. These visits can be interpreted as a drastic shift in policy,” said an observer.

Foreign observers are curious about the message Malaysia is putting out there, as Russian President Vladimir Putin is being isolated by Western countries over the war in Ukraine.

“Some countries are asking about Malaysia’s move because it is a recognition of Putin when Western countries are isolating him. We have to be careful in putting out a message to people outside, and whether we are conveying the right message,” the observer said.

New emerging issues like climate change, sustainable development goals, and artificial intelligence are challenges that the country must be ready for. What are our priorities? Wisma Putra may be on the front line but not all issues are under the Foreign Ministry’s jurisdiction.

There were occasions in the past when diplomats had to take the initiative to arrange for a crash course on issues they were not familiar with, simply because the ministries handling those issues did not send high level representation to some of the international meetings that Malaysia should have been participating in actively.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his foreword in the Foreign Policy Framework of New Malaysia in 2019 said foreign policy covers a myriad of complex issues.

“While Wisma Putra is the lead agency, it requires the cooperation of all ministries and agencies to ensure Malaysia’s diplomatic initiatives are well coordinated and capable of ensuring that we achieve the desired objectives,” wrote Dr Mahathir.

This column previously addressed the issue of ministries working in silos (“It must be ‘we’, not ‘me’”, Sunday Star, March 17, 2024; online at bit.ly/41xzPqa). Sadly, officials admit not much change has taken place since.

Where is the inter-ministerial coordination? This is one of the biggest obstacles to the effectiveness of Malaysia’s foreign policy.

Is there a lack of interest among other ministries on issues that they should be dealing with or are they just relying on Wisma Putra to do the job for them? Or is there a budget constraint that limits these ministries’ international participation?

This writer has also addressed, several times, the budget cuts faced by Wisma Putra in the past that affects our diplomats’ work. At one time it was a constant uphill battle for the ministry’s management to convince the Finance Ministry to provide an adequate allocation.

Then of course there are some issues, such as Palestine and ­border issues, that are used by politicians to chase political power.

A recent example is the maritime border at the Sulawesi Sea being negotiated with Indonesia. Remarks by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto after meeting Anwar recently on possible joint developments in the contested area were questioned by the Malaysian Opposition, who claimed such a move could jeopardise our national interests.

Granted, any border issue is a hot button one because it involves the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. As the issue was gaining momentum and being used to score points among politicians, Wisma Putra issued a clarification and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan in reply to questions raised in Parliament said it was all still at the exploratory stage. Nothing had been agreed on by either side, stressed the government

This ought to silence critics for a while – but there is a need to constantly engage stakeholders, including the media, so people can better understand such an issue because any misunderstanding and wrong perception would not serve Malaysia’s interests.

Over the years, Wisma Putra has produced giants like Tun Ghazali Shafie and Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil Jaafar. These widely respected personalities were facilitated by capable people in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and relevant ministries back then.

In any organisation, whether in the civil service or private sector, one of the priorities is to recognise talents and groom them in the right environment to be future leaders. In the civil service, ideally all must work together, right from the PMO to staff in all ministries and agencies. Is this being practiced now? Are they even talking to one another?

Following the shock toppling in 2018 of the political coalition that had ruled the nation since independence in 1957, Malaysia experienced several changes in government amidst an unprecedented global pandemic and economic upheaval until the formation of the unity government in 2022.

Since then, Anwar has travelled abroad quite extensively, rationalising the trips as efforts to uplift the Malaysian economy via trade and investment. Our missions abroad have been instructed to work hard to bring in the investments.

But in order to do this, resources, and not just financial ones, must be provided. A quick check shows that quite a few missions have no ambassadors. Why has this been allowed to happen and how can our diplomats carry out their jobs effectively if the physical backup is not there?

Credit, though, must be given to Malaysia’s work as Asean Chair this year, with Anwar’s government playing a role in defusing border tension between Cambodia and Thailand, an effort that is receiving much global attention.

With so many issues on Wisma Putra’s plate, Malaysia’s foreign policy must remain pragmatic and capable of confronting challenges head on.

But one of the first things it has to tackle is to develop young talents who are not only knowledgeable but able to think on their feet and have the right attitude to serve the country. These are the ones who should be nurtured as future leaders.

What needs to be established too is a sound network of effective communications in getting everybody on board instead of a fragmented approach.