Replicating of Domestic Security Policy in Malaysian Foreign Policy

Abstract

Ethnic and religious conflicts have been one of the critical challenges in multi-ethnic and multi-religious countries. Since 1969, Malaysia, which contains a variety of ethnic and religious groups, has unequivocally been successful in terms of managing ethnic and religious differences in the country. The fundamental basis of Malaysia's ethnic and religious policy has been tolerance, a trait which has no doubt been helpful in dealing with ethnic and religious differences and providing domestic security. According to some scholars, states' domestic and foreign policies follow the same patterns of behaviour, which essentially means that states replicate their domestic policies in foreign policies; this article is to explain whether Malaysian foreign policy is shaped on the basis of internal tolerance and is in turn cooperative towards other countries. In regard to this aim, the article starts out by explaining the Malaysian government's domestic policies towards ethnic and religious groups and subsequently explains the government's foreign policy towards other countries in order to understand if there is replication in the domestic and foreign policy of Malaysia.

Development: The Malaysian Experience

“…Therefore, the general policy of Malaysia has been one of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The ethnic riots of 1969 challenged the security of Malaysia, but at the same time made the government more aware of the consequences of ethnic struggles (Yusoff & Soltani, 2013); as a result, it has made an effort to avoid future ethnic and religious strife through economic reforms that have included all ethnic groups in the process of development.…”