The recent visit of Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, to India, significantly raised the profile of India-Malaysia relations. Following the dip in relations due to Mahathir’s teaming up with Pakistan and Turkey, there has been a reset since Anwar took over in 2022.
Fifteen ministerial visits were exchanged, setting the tone for the success of his current visit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kuala Lumpur in 2015 and raised the relationship to an “enhanced strategic partnership”. The India-Malaysia relationship is now a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in tune with the India-ASEAN CSP of 2022. This is likely to become an ASEAN-Plus relationship with added factors which are not with all ASEAN countries. That Malaysia will chair ASEAN for 2025 has added importance.
Economic cooperation is looking up. As the economic lead for ASEAN, Malaysia will seek to hasten the review of the AITIGA, currently underway. Bilateral trade is $20 billion, the third largest within ASEAN. Large exports of palm oil give Malaysia a surplus. The CEOs Forum seeks to enhance commerce and new value chains. These will add vigour to the traditional partnership and semiconductors, renewables, automobiles and parts and electronics are important additional segments.
Malaysia has brought $5 billion of FDI into India in recent years. A focus on digital technologies saw an MOU signed during the visit besides an MOU among Financial Services Authorities. Trading in their own currencies has started. A RuPay arrangement is under consideration once the mechanics are worked out. After Singapore, this is the most vigorous partnership in digital technology and economy with any ASEAN country.
Diaspora and human resources are a significant achievement of this visit. The 2009 MOU having lapsed, now a wider MOU on the recruitment, employment and repatriation of workers has been signed. Besides having a large diaspora, India also has 1,40,000 workers in Malaysia. Their protection and welfare remain important. The model employment agreement attached to the MOU provides a framework for this.
No public statement on the extradition of the preacher Zakir Naik — wanted in India — ensued. PM Anwar in response to a question after a public lecture, said that if sufficient evidence was submitted, the Malaysian system would not condone terrorism. India did not seem to have laboured the point here.
Tourism is a new boom. One million Indian tourists could visit Malaysia in 2024. Malaysian tourism to India is growing slowly, to about 2,00,000, better than most ASEAN countries. About 220 weekly flights between the two countries, including from Tier II cities, complemented the rise of tourism. Visa facilitation from both sides has eased. Tourism as an economic and P2P multiplier is recognised. IIT Kharagpur is opening its Malaysia campus soon.
Malaysia is one of the countries which has a contentious relationship with China on the South China Sea. However, unlike Philippines, Malaysia has no collision with China, preferring quiet diplomacy and acquiescing in Chinese maritime activity through their EEZ with a preference for Chinese economic activity. They were reluctant to discuss the role of China in the SCS, as evidenced in responses at the public lecture; the discussions between the leaders focused on the context of free and open sea lines of communication, navigation, commercial shipping and overflight. India made it clear that whatever some ASEAN countries may do with China, India could not accept the South China Sea becoming a Chinese lake.
Regarding defence cooperation, there have been talks on compatibility of equipment since Malaysia too had Soviet-era equipment and maintenance and extension of service life are areas in constant discussion. India would like to export more recently developed defence equipment. HAL has an office in Kuala Lumpur and pursued a Tejas contract, which was lost to a Korean competitor. There are other aviation contracts, and the Brahmos is now available to ASEAN countries. Specifics were not discussed, but a closer engagement is possible.
India and Malaysia seek a more just and multipolar world order and their better placement in it. Malaysia offered support for India as a permanent member in a reformed UN Security Council even as it sought support from India to join BRICS. India welcomed Malaysia’s application for positive consideration when BRICS discusses the next phase of expansion. From ASEAN, Vietnam and Thailand have also applied to join BRICS.
The Modi-Anwar understanding is manifesting itself in a faster enhancement of the partnership. It is building on the India-ASEAN relationship with significant ASEAN-plus features which Malaysia is well suited for and willing to pursue.
The writer is former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia & ASEAN, Ethiopia and the African Union
