By Murray Hiebert and Zulkifly Malek
President Barack Obama should stop in Malaysia when he travels to Indonesia in November for his first East Asia Summit meeting and third summit with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Relations between the United States and Malaysia, a moderate Muslim-majority country, have warmed noticeably in recent years to a level not witnessed in decades. Since the elections of President Obama and Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009, both countries have committed to a new beginning and closer bilateral ties through increased political, security, economic, and people-to-people cooperation. A visit to Malaysia by Obama later this year would help cement the progress achieved in the bilateral relationship and bolster the U.S. administration’s strategy in the region.
President Johnson visits a traditional Malaysian home. A village was named Kampung LBJ in his honor. (Photo used with permission of the Embassy of Malaysia’s library.)
The last American president to visit Malaysia was Lyndon Johnson in 1966. At that time, the trip surprised many, because the United States had not paid much attention to this small country, which had recently achieved independence from Britain. Malaysians viewed the visit as a great honor, because the United States was their principal protector against possible external aggression. President Johnson’s visit was seen as lending support to a democratic country that was recovering from years of Communist guerrilla insurgency and supporting U.S. policy in South Vietnam.
A visit by Obama to Kuala Lumpur now would take place under very different circumstances. At the political and security level, U.S.-Malaysia relations experienced a dramatic shift following a meeting between Obama and Najib during the nuclear non-proliferation conference in Washington in 2010. Just prior to the meeting, the Malaysian Parliament had passed export control legislation to stiffen Malaysia’s efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. During the meeting, Najib offered to send non-combat medical military personnel to Afghanistan. These two moves sent a signal that Malaysia was intent on improving ties with the United States and prompted Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Kurt Campbell to describe Malaysia as the country in Southeast Asia with which U.S. relations had improved most in 2010.
Bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the United States and this dynamic Southeast Asian nation is also reaching new levels. After efforts to negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement foundered under his predecessor, Najib late last year brought Malaysia into the nine-country talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), including the United States. Soon after taking office, Najib proposed some economic reforms in the services sector, which opened more opportunities for international investors, including U.S. companies.
Obama’s personal history in Southeast Asia adds to the emotional value of a Malaysia trip. It was through his mother, an English teacher, that Obama came to live in Indonesia, understand the Malay language, and learn about the cultures of Southeast Asia. This bond and the desire for more Americans to understand the region prompted Najib to suggest to Obama in a meeting in New York last September that the United States send more English teachers to ASEAN countries. This vision was partly realized through the establishment of the Fulbright Teaching Program in Malaysia.
A visit by the U.S. president to Kuala Lumpur would highlight the recent positive dynamics in U.S.-Malaysia relations and further energize bilateral relations between our two countries. A stop in Malaysia would send a strong signal that the United States is seeking to expand its ties with the Muslim world and bolster its engagement with Southeast Asia.
Murray Hiebert is Senior fellow and Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Program at CSIS in Washington, D.C. Zulkifly Malek is a Malaysian foreign service officer and visiting fellow at CSIS’s Southeast Asia Program. The views expressed are his own, and do not reflect the opinions of the Malaysian Foreign Ministry or the Malaysian government.
Murray Hiebert
Murray Hiebert serves as senior associate of the Southeast Asia Program at CSIS.
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