Recalcitrant no more, Malaysians held close
The Age
Wednesday July 8, 2009
AUSTRALIA'S sometimes fraught relationship with Malaysia is on the up. This week's visit to the country by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith represents further consolidation of ties that have proved infinitely more neighbourly since the departure in 2003 of Malaysia's long-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohammed, a regional political figure who was famously hostile to Australian interests.Greater international co-operation to stem the problem of people-traffickers using Malaysian soil as a gateway to ply their trade in Australia, signalled in bilateral talks in Kuala Lumpur this week, is a prism through which reinvigorated ties between our two nations can be seen. The move is a pleasing development, serving mutual interests, and shadows similar arrangements struck with another formerly tetchy northern neighbour, Indonesia. During the course of this decade, Australia's once fraught relationship with Indonesia has been transformed under new democratic leadership. This has led to unprecedented co-operation in areas such as regulating the flow of asylum seekers and anti-terrorism initiatives.While Malaysia's race-based political arrangements and media censorship still fall short of a democratic standard, Mr Rudd is certainly sending rhetorical signs of his determination to hold Malaysia closer to his bosom. Last year he declared Malaysian democracy was "flourishing". This week he has stressed how enmeshed the interests of the two nations are. "Malaysia is an important economic partner of Australia, an important security partner and important for us also in combating the real problem of people smuggling," he said. The era of recalcitrance appears to be a footnote in the history books.
© 2009 The Age
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