Malaysia’s relations with Saudi Arabia under Tun Dr. Mahathir era, 1981-2003

Malaysia’s early formal relation with Saudi Arabia begun since the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj era (the first Malaysian Premier, 1957-1970) until present. During the reign of Tun Dr. Mahathir, the fourth Malaysian Premier, the relation has changed dynamically. Several initiatives have been taken by the Tun Dr. Mahathir regime to shift the pattern of relations from one to two way communication. Apart from successfully securing economic opportunities from the kingdom, this study attempts to relate the significance of the relations to the Tun Dr. Mahathir regime with its efforts to portray religious commitment, both at domestic and international level. The promotion of Islam by Malaysian leaders, both at home, and at the international level, is vital for the continuation of their political survival. Equipped with more liberal-pragmatic Islamic approach has, to some extent, prolonged the survival of the Tun Dr. Mahathir’s political regime interests

Peranan tenaga akademik dan kaedah pengajaran-pemelajaran di Institut Pengajian Tinggi

Suatu kajian tentang peranan yang perlu dimainkan oleh para pensyarah/tenaga akademik di institut pengajian tinggi. selain daripada itu, isu tentang kaedah/metod pengajaran-pemelajaran terbaik juga dibincangkan

A non-regional perspective on bilateral relations between states from different regions: a case study of Malaysia-Saudi Arabia relations

This study attempts to introduce a new approach of analyzing bilateral relations between states from different regions, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, by formulating a ‘non-regional perspective’ which is extracted from debates on regionalism. Throughout the discussion, the study has found that the non-regional elements are capable of influencing Malaysia’s relations with Saudi Arabia in the international system and also with the indication that the element of ‘historically essential’ has been more prevalent than ‘accidentally essential’. Despite this, both elements are still very much related to the connotation of the non-regional perspective in analyzing bilateral relations between states from different regions

Key determining factors influencing small states' relationships : a case study of Malaysia's relations with Saudi Arabia

This thesis examines key determining factors influencing bilateral relations between two small states that emanate from different regions but continuously interacting in the international political system. In doing this, the researcher will focus on Malaysia's relations with Saudi Arabia (with the emphasis more on the Malaysian side). The main reason for choosing Malaysia and Saudi Arabia as the case study is because both countries have significant characteristics which they largely share with most of the other small states such as the overwhelming dominance of one single political regime and the idiosyncratic element that control the administration of these two countries (UMNO party for Malaysia and the Al-Saud family for Saudi Arabia), the dependent position (as peripheral states) in the international political economy, and also sharing co-ideological affiliation of Islam. Upon the employment of the multi-level approach with the incorporation of the empirical textuality (see Chapter II), the study has identified four key determining factors that largely influence Malaysia's relations with Saudi Arabia. The four key determining factors are; the nature of state and regime interest, economic determinants, religious affiliation, and the membership in small states' organizations. Throughout the discussion, however, the study has found that the four key determining factors do not uniformly indicate that the character of Malaysia's relations with Saudi Arabia is intimate. Instead, the relations are variable according to the four determining factors discussed. The thesis has supplied two main original contributions for the development of knowledge in the international relations field. Firstly, the analysis of Malaysia's relations with Saudi Arabia can be considered as a `pioneering' study, and secondly, the employment of the multi-level approach with the incorporation of the empirical textuality may encourage other researchers to evaluate any bilateral relations between two countries, specifically those originating from different regions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceUniversiti Malaysia SabahGBUnited Kingdo

Impact of mutual interaction between civil society and conditionality by an external actor on democratization: Cases of Turkey and Malaysia

With their functioning democracies albeit accompanied by various deficiencies, Turkey and Malaysia are often referred to as models in the Islamic world. This study aims to assess progresses and setbacks in democratization in Turkey and Malaysia since the early 2000s with a particular attention to their civil societies and conditionality by an external actor. In Turkey, civil society has had a positive impact on democratic consolidation through encouraging political reforms in line with the EU accession process. In addition, AKP government was highly motivated by EU conditionality in adopting remarkable political reforms particularly in its early years in power. Malaysian civil society has also played an effective role in voicing demands for democratic values as long as shared concerns enabled it to transcend ethnic and religious boundaries. Yet, democracy promotion through conditionality has not existed in Malaysia’s relationship with the ASEAN. It is argued that Turkey has had a more favorable internal and external environment to encourage democratization compared with that of Malaysia

Ulasan buku: Social roots of the Malay left oleh Rustam A. Sani. Petaling Jaya: The Strategic Information & Research Development

Penulis buku ini iaitu Rustam A. Sani, membincangkan tentang kumpulan dan pergerakan politik Melayu berhaluan kiri (Malay Left) berasaskan semangat nasionalisme yang muncul di Tanah Melayu seawal tahun 1930-an. Pergerakan politik Melayu berhaluan kiri yang dijadikan fokus oleh Rustam A. Sani ialah Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) yang dianggarkan muncul pada tahun 1938. Secara keseluruhannya, hampir semua pengkaji perkembangan politik Tanah Melayu bersetuju bahawa punca utama kemunculan gerakan politik berasaskan semangat nasionalisme adalah disebabkan oleh dasar pentadbiran British yang gagal meningkatkan taraf sosioekonomi orang Melayu dan kebanjiran imigran Cina dan India yang dibawa masuk oleh British sebagai buruh di lombong bijih timah dan ladang getah. Kemasukan kaum imigran telah mengubah pola demografi penduduk Tanah Melayu sekitar tahun 1920-an apabila etnik Cina dan India hampir mengatasi jumlah majoriti etnik Melayu. Keadaan ini sedikit sebanyak berpotensi menjejaskan kepentingan orang Melayu sebagai penduduk peribumi

Malaysia’s Economic Relations with Saudi Arabia

This article analyzes Malaysia’s economic relations with Saudi Arabia. It is undeniable that the economic interaction between these two political entities had already begun since the fifteenth century where both countries had yet to become modern states. Being co-religionist and having had ancient economic interactions, the level of economic interactions, however, is less encouraging. The study has concentrated on three major economic determinants that might answer the pattern of Malaysia’s economic relations with Saudi Arabia. Firstly, the economic background of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia will be examined, secondly, the character of economic activities, and thirdly the influence of international economic system, especially by referring to the concept of core-periphery relations

Ulasan buku (Sabah dalam Hubungan Malaysia-Indonesia oleh Ramli Dollah, Mohammad Faizal Rashid & Eko Prayitno Joko)

Buku ini merupakan karya suntingan yang mengupas isu-isu di peringkat mikro ataupun sebagai ‘isu yang terpinggir’ kerana rata-rata penulisan berkaitan hubungan Malaysia dan Indonesia lebih berfokus kepada hubungan diplomatik antara kedua-dua negara atau seperti yang diistilahkan oleh penulis sebagai sentiasa terbelenggu dalam diskusi lingkungan ‘authority-defined’. Dalam lain perkataan, pendekatan kupasan buku ini ingin membawa para pembaca bebas daripada hanya membincangkan isu-isu berkaitan dengan konflik semata-mata tetapi mengangkat isu-isu berunsur bottom-up kepada suatu ruang perdebatan yang lebih terbuka agar boleh mendatangkan manfaat kepada semua pihak

Malaysia's contemporary political and economic relations with Iran

Traditionally, Malaysia " s relations with the Middle Eastern World boil down to narrow-limited interaction with only a handful of countries, mainly Egypt, Saudi Arabia (before known as Hejaz), and Turkey. The underlying reasons behind are largely owing to the established ancient relations and religious fulfillments like performing pilgrimage as well as pursuing religious studies in highly respected institutions. Malaysia " s relation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, however, has shown steady progress of development since the end of 1960s and onwards. Although Iran has become an Islamic Republic after the eruption of the Revolution in 1979, the relations remain intact in spite of the potential expansion of Iran " s religious ideology, Shi'ah, among Malaysian Muslim communities. On top of that, with Iran now facing economic sanctions due to its nuclear programs, both countries continue to bolster their relations, especially in political and economic interactions. Contemporarily, both Malaysia and Iran are closely working together to further enhance the level of their relations. The leaders of both countries have quiet regularly exchanged visits and have also actively ventured into promising business opportunities. Iran ranked as the Malaysia " s third West Asian trading partners along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, provides a lot of opportunities for Malaysia to seize onto. In other words, Malaysia " s contemporary relations with Iran will evolve beyond the dogma of the Iranian Revolution in 1979