Page 21 - Diplomatic Voice 2014 Vol 1

FORUM FORUM turn shape our foreign policy. Our needs to keep ahead of the competi- “Wisma Putra has been part foreign policy has been characterised tion or it will flounder as a middle-in- and parcel of the nation’s by pragmatism and a principled come country, and not be able to position on issues. Since indepen- enjoy the continuous development foreign policy evolution. Your dence, there has been continuity in our that we know today. predecessors have laid a strong foreign policy and this is another indicator of the stability of our political, Wisma Putra has been part and parcel foundation and tradition of economic and social institutions. Our of the nation’s foreign policy evolution. excellence in the pursuit of foreign policy evolution has also been Your predecessors have laid a strong Malaysia’s national interest.” seamlessly tied to the leadership of foundation and tradition of excellence the country. in the pursuit of Malaysia’s national interest. The Prime Minister had mooted the We are familiar with the narrative – Global Movement of Moderates how as a newly independent state led Many refer to the legacy of Tun (GMM) in 2010. This initiative has not by Tuanku Abdul Rahman, we retained Muhammad Ghazali Shafie affection- only been accepted by ASEAN but our friendly ties with Britain and the ately known as ‘King Ghaz’ who also by NAM, CHOGM, ASEM, D8 and West. played a pivotal role in laying the foun- the OIC. It has also caught the imagi- dations of Malaysia’s foreign policy. nation of many countries that recog- Then under Tun Abdul Razak, Malay- He was involved in the formation of nise that multiculturalism is a common sia began to exert its independence Malaysia as a state, the founding of denominator in every corner of the and found common ground with other ASEAN, OIC and the International world and that dialogue and a mode- post-colonial and developing states to Islamic University of Malaysia and is rate position would help mitigate be part of the Non-Aligned Movement known for the tight ship he command- extremism at home as well as interna- during the period of Cold War. ed as Foreign Minister and Permanent tionally. Secretary of External Affairs. With Tun Hussein Onn we began We now live in an era where security planting the seeds for regional coope- While many keep referring to the “Old issues are no longer also the sole ration with the founding of ASEAN. Glory Days of Wisma Putra”, we must concern of individual countries but not forget that times have changed that of the international community as Under Tun Mahathir, Malaysia broke since then. The advent of ICT and a whole. The peace agreement many new grounds in advocating a globalisation has culminated into between the Philippines Government greater economic orientation and in completely different rules of the game and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front forging close ties with other develop- in the conduct of diplomacy and the (MILF) in Southern Philippines facilita- ing countries in the conduct of our terrain of international relations. Wis- ted by Malaysia is testament of mode- foreign relations. ma Putra has grown too - the physical ration in practice. presence, the number of departments Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time as in the ministry, and the number of As Malaysia becomes a high-income Prime Minister saw Malaysia further missions abroad have grown, and so developed nation, such initiatives promoting a progressive form of Islam, have the challenges that come with it. must be identified as niche areas that consolidating its ties with ASEAN, and Malaysia could focus on in the pursuit the propagation of a rule-based Our foreign policy considerations of foreign policy at the regional and society both at home and in ASEAN. however remain the same. We are an global levels. open trading nation, therefore robust Previous leaderships had provided the economic cooperation is important In line with the first of the transforma- foundation of our current foreign and so is a predictable and rules- tional policies of the government to policy under the present leadership of based legal and business environ- focus on the delivery service of the Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak. Since ment. As we are a diverse country, our public sector, I had initiated in 2010 Dato’ Sri became Prime Minister and positions at the international fora also the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) introduced the National Transforma- reflect this reality. The role of consular for Heads of Missions. I am very tion programmes, Malaysia has been services has also expanded as more pleased to note that all Heads of able to draw on the goodwill and Malaysians travel and live abroad. Mission now have their own KPIs friendly relations developed over the These are the realities, and as a minis- which are customised to suit the types past fifty years. try, Wisma Putra must look at its of mission and the realities on the strengths and weaknesses and trans- ground. I believe that this is an en- Looking at the global political and form the way things are done so as to deavour that we can be proud of as a economic environment, Malaysia meet these future challenges. ministry and I am sure we are one of DIPLOMATIC VOICE 21