Having brokered the peace deal between the Philippines Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Malaysia is quite rightly taking the plaudits for its patience, persistence and quiet diplomacy. But once the praise dies down a simple fact will remain: we are now an important regional influence and from here, even more will be expected of us.
And that’s not just because of the diplomatic role Malaysia played in securing this historic agreement. It’s because of what we have become and the example we set for our neighbours.
As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on completion of the Philippines deal: “I don’t think both sides would have wanted us to be the facilitator if we were a failed state. For example, if Malaysia was saddled in a conflict, it would not be a model of a harmonious country in terms of diversity.”
In other words, Malaysia was able to be an “honest broker” between the MILF and the Philippines Government not just because we were prepared to spend the time and diplomatic energy needed to reach peace over more than a decade, but because our nation has credibility – socially, economically and politically.
Najib stressed the importance of our economic success and our domestic reform agenda in helping to build trust with our neighbours. To put it bluntly, they wouldn’t pay as much attention to us if our economy was going backwards.
“People know, God willing, those in the Philippines … outside Malaysia know we are on course to becoming a fully developed nation. Only certain quarters deny this, but the majority knows,” Najib said.
The use of the phrase “only certain quarters deny this” reminds us that there is an election in the wind and as well as being an acclaimed international statesman, Najib is politician facing re-election. But he makes a good point. Imagine if our neighbours who look to our leadership only saw and heard globe-trotting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim label his country as “oppressive” to foreign journalists. What if they only heard him talk of our failing economy and “missed opportunities”?
Or what if they only heard Bersih leader Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan asking Australia (as she did last week) to send election observers to Malaysia as if we were Tunisia giving its citizens their first ever taste of democracy? What a skewed picture they would have then.
But fortunately our friends in the region, including the Government and people of the Philippines, aren’t forced to rely on the Anwar-friendly media to keep up to date.
The Moro peace deal is a diplomatic coup, but it isn’t the only example of our positive role in promoting peace and freedom in the region. For half a century, the regime in Myanmar endured envoys from Europe and the US who in turn lectured to it, and then cut off all diplomatic contact.
Malaysia on the other hand, kept the dialogue going. And over the decades, the military junta could appreciate our calm and continued presence and also see what we were achieving here. We are a multi-faith, multi-ethnic society that managed to leave behind the violence of 1969 to become an inspirational story to its neighbours. Myanmar saw Malaysia as a beacon of what is possible.
After being welcomed to Myanmar this year as a hero, Najib wrote in the Wall Street Journal: “As the leader of Southeast Asia’s oldest democracy, I am always keen to share our experiences. In the half-century since independence, we have found that steady reform is the best way to secure lasting stability. It is a process that continues in Malaysia to this day.”
This is why vision matters. Achieving high income developed nation status isn’t just about getting everyone a new flat screen television. It is about demonstrating social mobility, the value of education and that those who work hard can start off from a village in Sarawak and end up running the national airline – just as Datuk Idris Jala did with MAS.
Idris is of Kelabit ancestry. His story can inspire someone from a Burmese Karen village or from a minority Muslim community in Bangsamoro, the Philippines as much as it inspires people within this country.
Don’t expect Malaysia to take the place of the United Nations in resolving global conflicts, but rightly expect us to be called upon to exert a growing influence in the region. In half a century, the people of Malaysia have created something special and we have a responsibility to use that success story to inspire others around us.