7 - Growing Apart: New Zealand and Malaysia

Summary

Introduction

The relationship with Malaysia was one of New Zealand's most significant in Southeast

Asia. At times, in the early years, the relationship displayed an intimacy which meant it almost warranted a “special” epithet (though, ironically, this term was not actually employed until the 1990s). The intimacy between the two countries was wholly derived from the Commonwealth connection. This connection initially provided the foreign and defence policy framework for both states and it also manifested itself in the areas of aid and education. The Commonwealth link was particularly significant because through it New Zealand was an active participant in the formative experiences of the Federation of Malaya and its larger successor, the Federation of Malaysia. Though the Commonwealth connection was to gradually decline in importance because of leadership changes in Malaysia and changes in New Zealand's foreign policy perspectives and priorities, it remained at least a residual factor throughout the period under consideration.

Whilst the Commonwealth connection was based on shared interests, the relationship between New Zealand and Malaysia was not always perceived to be one of equals in the earlier period. As the Commonwealth link gradually weakened, however, and Malaysia adopted a more independent and sometimes divergent foreign policy stance (often as a result of fundamental domestic political changes) the bilateral relationship displayed increasing equality with which came normality.

A feature of the normalization of bilateral relations was that whereas defence and security issues had tended to be predominant, they were now just one part of the relationship as it became multi-faceted and encompassed a wider range of issue areas including the environment and human rights. A more normal, broad-based relationship also meant that whilst there were instances when New Zealand and Malaysia cooperated closely on the basis of shared national interests and common regional and international concerns, there were several occasions when their interests diverged markedly. On these occasions, the relationship displayed the sort of friction that can characterize international diplomacy between states.

The Commonwealth Connection: 1948–66

Although New Zealand's diplomatic relations with Malaysia were not fully established until after the Federation of Malaya became an independent state in August 1957, New Zealand's relationship with the peninsula predated this by several years.