Page 6 - IDFR-Diplomatic Voice Vol 2 2014

FORUM media and the non-media entities sovereign nation in the eyes of the cornerstone of Malaysia’s foreign including the non-governmental world community particularly after the policy. bodies. May 13 1969 black incident. Following this incident was the urgency to Foreign Policy Issues It is important for the international defend the affirmative action policy, audiences to have a positive and the New Economic Policy, the Under the premiership of Tun Dr. balance picture of the country in terms two-pronged blue print with the objec- Mahathir Mohamad, the nation’s of the national policies and practices tives to eradicate poverty and restruc- foreign policy adopted a much greater to be seen in accordance with the ture society. The policy had been economic orientation in the country’s accepted international code of perceived as discriminatory towards external relations while championing behaviour. the non-Bumiputra population. the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries. This approach The country must be projected as As a newly independent nation, led to the advocacy of the politically stable and enjoying Malaysia needed to position itself South-South Cooperation, a more economic development and promo- among the international players. The proactive role in the G-77, the esta- ting social justice and harmony. Public conduct of public relations overseas blishment of the G-15 and the ‘Look diplomacy role is therefore to ensure a was then considered important to East Policy’ being instituted. This shift sustained image and to manage the explain and defend Malaysia's to the East had greatly influenced country's reputation with the view to policies. This was carried out with a Malaysia’s economic development. maintain a positive and favorable good reason because Malaysia had Malaysia became the voice of the impression of Malaysia among the received negative coverage in the developing world and was a role international community, which would international media, especially the model for many developing countries, be useful to facilitate trade and draw western media whose slanted and as it became well known for its active foreign direct investments. bias reporting of the issues had put stance at the United Nations and other the country in bad light in the eyes of international conferences. The Department of Information and the international community. Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Malaysia also emphasized the impor- Affairs was earlier known as the Exter- The western media had influenced tance of its role in the Organization of nal Information Division, which came their perception of Malaysia as a de- Islamic Conference (OIC) and actively into being in 1970. The division was mocratic country with a multiracial and engaged in the Non-Aligned Countries staffed and managed by officers multicultural population. (NAM), the Commonwealth, Group of trained in information and public Seventy Seven (G77), and Developing relations field, most of who were Next is the issue of how Malaysia Eight (D8). No less important has been seconded from the Ministry of Infor- handled its immediate neighbours. the country’s continued active partici- mation. Some of them came from The experience of Malaysia-Indonesia pation in the United Nations and other journalism or public relations back- confrontation from 1963 to 1965 international organisations. ground and had considerable working affecting bilateral relations between experiences in the mass media or the two countries was a lesson that Under the present leadership of Prime public relations agencies. Others were went to show the importance of buil- Minister, Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib Tun recruited directly by the Ministry of ding good relations with our neigh- Abdul Razak, Malaysia continues to Foreign Affairs with qualification in bours instead of looking at distant project a forward-looking and prag- mass communication or public countries like the United Kingdom (in matic foreign policy whilst continuing relations when the Ministry had the case of Malaysia) or Netherlands to facilitate trade, attract foreign wanted to have its set of officers, (in the case of Indonesia), who were investments as well as project Malay- trained in the field to serve the Ministry former colonial masters, to come to sia as a stable and peaceful country. on a continuous basis, whose experi- our assistance in times of needs. ences in the field would be beneficial Najib's reform package, including the in long term. The realisation on the importance of New Economic Model and the countries in Southeast Asia taking Government and Economic Transfor- Early Years care of the interest of neighbouring mation Programmes, aimed at taking states had led to the formation of the the nation into high-income bracket, Among the issues that required imme- Association of Southeast Asian are efforts that require attention, espe- diate attention of the Ministry of Nations (ASEAN) in August 1967, cially from potential investors and Foreign Affairs during the early years which was indeed very significant. economists. Malaysia has also initiat- of its inception were the promotion of Hence, during the early years, ASEAN ed the Global Movement of Moderates Malaysia as an independent and a needed to be emphasised as the among like-minded countries. 6 bulletin@idfr.gov.my