By Keith Andrew Bettinger
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is often used as an example, a justification, and a model among developing countries in Asia. It is a progressive nation with a dynamic economy; it has a diverse population and a democratically elected government. It is also a predominantly Muslim nation. For the United States, Malaysia is a convenient illustration of the compatibility of Islam, democracy, and liberal economic institutions. Malaysia's outstanding economic performance over the past two decades shows that nations that manage to walk the middle line between the West and the mosque can compete and excel in a globalized world.
Given all that, however, Malaysia's utility to the United States probably is understated. For instance, the trading relationship between the two nations is voluminous; the United States is Malaysia's No 1 trading partner, and Malaysia is the No 10 importer of US goods. Thus it is tied to the United States economically, in trading and fiscal terms, as the ringgit is pegged to the dollar, and Malaysia's fortunes, to a high degree, rise and fall with those of the US. On the other hand, Malaysia's presence in any international coalition or campaign, any sort of resolution or rule, lends an air of legitimacy to that action, at least for Muslims. Malaysia currently is head of the Organization of Islamic Conference and is a strong, moderate voice in that body. Moreover, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is an experienced and adept diplomat who understands the subtleties of global politics, the fine lines, the tightropes, and the balancing acts required to create any type of consensus or coalition. This makes Abdullah an extremely important voice among Islamic nations and a good source of advice for the United States on crafting a kinder and gentler foreign policy toward the Muslim world.
Abdullah also understands the sentiments of the Malaysian people and the pressures placed upon himself and his ruling party to find a happy medium in the tug-of-war between religious idealism and economic exigency. However, the prime minister's position is not firmly rooted just yet, and although his ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), won a big victory at party polls in September, Abdullah must always be weary of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), Malaysia's fundamentalist-leaning opposition party. Abdullah knows that if he is seen as too friendly to the United States, his party's popularity may suffer in Malaysia's predominantly Muslim northern states.
The US, for its part, knows Abdullah is its best bet in Malaysia; he doesn't have the loose lips of his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, and is in a position to lend an all-important thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the United States' foreign forays. Abdullah is also the guy who can keep fundamentalism under control in Malaysia, and understands as well as anyone in the region the prospects and perils presented by the rise of China. Thus the governments of both countries understand each other, and maintaining good relations is a pretty good bargain for both sides.
A reciprocity of ignorance
At lower levels, however, there is a certain reciprocity of ignorance between the two nations. Most Americans can't locate Malaysia on a map, whereas what young Malaysians know about the United States comes mainly from Hollywood movies. Malaysia's young Muslims are religiously idealistic, which is a completely different shade from religious fundamentalism. They are, for the most part, pious but not extreme. These qualities color their conception of international politics and events. However, they do not understand the intricacies and inherent contradictions of foreign affairs and geopolitical stratagem that Abdullah does. Yet the prime minister and the youth of his nation do have two things in common: they both know Malaysia is centered on the United States as the unipolar superpower and think it is necessary to address the privations and inequalities extant in the world today.
Historically US-Malaysia ties have been very good. Many Malaysians have studied in the United States, many US companies have partnerships in Malaysia, and the ideals of the United States influenced the founders of the British-ruled Malay Federation and, later, independent Malaysia. Malaysia's maritime situation is of importance to global trade and the flow of oil to the United States' Asian outposts. These close but quiet ties have always been important for both nations.
Perceptions are changing, though. These days, more students seem to be studying in Australia rather than the United States because of the proximity and relative value of the education dollar there. Ken, a Malaysian currently studying in Melbourne, explains the drop-off in terms of economic and safety considerations: "The difficulty in applying for student visas [to the US] after September 11 [2001] was a factor, and due to the risk of terrorist attacks, parents may prohibit their children from going" to the US. Furthermore - and perhaps more important - it seems more and more young Malaysians are feeling alienated by perceived blunders in US foreign policy.
US works to woo Malaysian youth
It is important for the United States to woo the youth of Southeast Asia. Alexander Feldman, recently tapped to head the US State Department's International Information Programs, told Asia Times Online in an e-mail exchange, "Without sounding trite, youth represent the future ... the population of Southeast Asia is young, predominantly under 35, and it is critical to building strong relationships for our future that young people in the region understand America. It is equally important that Americans better understand Malaysians - that is the only way we can have true and open dialogue."
The population of Malaysia is young, and the country is increasingly asserting itself as a leader in the region and among the Islamic world. Therefore, favorable public relations are in the long-term interests of the United States. But "globalization" is a buzzword in Malaysia, and a favorable impression of the US relies more and more on external considerations rather than the history of goodwill between the two nations.
In regard to the two nations' current relations, Farizal Razalli, a senior analyst at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute in Kuala Lumpur, said, "I see no big problems in our bilateral relations. Of course we would expect some hiccups occasionally, but that's what makes the relations more mature." Karl Stoltz, counselor for public affairs at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, explained: "We have fewer substantive policy differences with regards to specifically Asian issues these days; America's relations with almost every nation in Asia are as strong today as they ever have been." Stoltz pointed out that "Malaysia and the US cooperate closely in counter-terrorism, in stopping the flow of illegal narcotics through the region, in regional security, and in many more areas, and we are keen to expand our cooperation further in all those areas and more".
Thus the challenge for the United States lies in convincing young people that US policies and foreign adventures are guided by a vision that includes the interests of non-Americans.
Three key gripes
Conversations with students and young professionals in Malaysia confirm the state-to-state goodwill but reveal three foreign-policy gripes: Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq. Young Malaysians "take a keen interest in world affairs and have become more and more angry with the actions of the US government", said Don Rahim, chairman of PROMUDA, a forum for young professionals in Malaysia. "In Palestine and other parts of the world, we see politically motivated killings. Killings of any kind, especially political, are alien in our culture."
When quizzed on the issues, most university students proved they are more familiar with the background of issues involving Muslims, including the three conflicts mentioned previously. They are aware of other issues, but the details are sketchier. There is a feeling of brotherhood and a connection with Muslims around the world, so Muslim students in particular pay closer attention to those issues.
"We want to know about other Muslims and their struggles and difficulties, especially in places like Iraq," explained Hafik, a third-year university student of international business. However, the Islam in Malaysia is of a moderate brand, and students often are critical of extremism and what they see as perversions of their religion. Suicide and the killing of innocents are particularly abhorrent, but there are gray areas that provoke some ambiguity, especially when it comes to suicide bombings in Palestine and Israel.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has long been a contentious issue here, as many Malaysians feel that the United States unfairly favors Israel. "There is a strong feeling that the US has a bias, that it is helping one country to bully another. Instead, the US should help to create a better environment for peace. If you are the world policeman but people think you are biased, they will not look up to you or respect you," said Yugdesh, an international economics student from Pahang.
However, the State Department's Feldman sees this view on the Palestinian issue as a misconception. "The president [of the US] has been very actively supporting a Palestinian state," he explained. "In fact, he was the first president to publicly call for a Palestinian state." Though the specifics of President George W Bush's plan are debatable, young Malaysians all say they are pleased with any moves to level the playing field.
Further tarnishing the image of the United States is what people see as an overreaction to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. The overwhelming majority of young Malaysians interviewed for this article see the days just after September 11 as a turning point. People now are questioning whether the actions of the US government represent the will of the American people, which in turn leads Malaysians to question the assumptions Americans make about the world. According to Farizal, "More people now tend to over-generalize that the US is a great bully and unqualified to lead." He decries what he sees as "a lack of knowledge about the outside world ... and a not very encouraging effort to fill in the gaps" on the part of the US.
Views differ on terrorists and the "war on terror". There is a universal condemnation of terrorism in Malaysia, but some people sympathize with the motivations. "The West seems to teach the world that violent actions against non-violent people are valid ... hence you have people who [understand] the attacks on American interests; they see it as America getting what was coming to them ... but in Malaysia, we obviously disapprove of such actions," Farizal asserted. He described the danger of creating a "Robin Hood dilemma" in which terrorism is seen as politically wrong but morally correct.
The sentiment on Iraq seems to be that toppling Saddam Hussein was a good thing, but that the method was bad. "The reasoning for the invasion was flawed," said Yugdesh, the international economics student. Furthermore, many Malaysians believe that the justifications of finding weapons of mass destruction and the promotion of democracy were fronts for more selfish motives. "I'd like to know why they really went to war in Iraq," said a young bank executive who asked not to be named. This suggests, though, that if and when the situation in Iraq is resolved, young Malaysians will be content to let the past be the past, and will focus on the future.
In addition to these substantive complaints, there is a more general sense of squandered opportunity among young Malaysians. "Just after the ruin of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the US seemed to take its role for granted, and the sense of responsibility as a superpower tended to deteriorate," said Farizal.
Rahim relates this to recent US foreign-policy moves, explaining that there was an outpouring of sympathy for the United States after September 11, but that sympathy ebbed with the perceived mishandling of the "war on terror". "Initially they did a good job of mobilizing world opinion ... they sold the case well," said Rahim. But while Malaysians look to the United States for leadership, he added, they also assume there is a global responsibility concomitant with superpower status.
"If you have the resources, you should use them to address the important issues," said Jazmin, an economics student from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. These sentiments reflect public statements made by Prime Minister Abdullah, who while supporting the "war on terror" maintains that it is necessary to attack the root causes of terrorism.
Lead but don't bully
Non-intervention is a key theme that reoccurs in discussions with young people, with many citing the non-intervention pledge of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states. However, this is a flexible line. When asked about Iraq, the banking executive admitted that Saddam was a villain, but the results of the invasion have not gone according to the promise. "If there was democracy, if the country was rebuilt, then it would be okay."
Explained Rahim: "Non-intervention in the affairs of others must be balanced; it is a fine line between non-intervention and working for international justice."
Another criterion important to Malaysians is consensus; there is a difference between the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq in that the world was behind US entry into Afghanistan. The sticking point there is the continued unrest. The problem with the Iraq campaign, according to several interviewees, is that the United States didn't go through the established channels of debate and consensus. Young people have an idealized version of the United Nations and feel that multilateral solutions are the best ways to approach the problems of the world. Depending on the question asked, though, respondents will give different answers. Most Malaysians expect, and even want, the United States to take a leadership role in the world, but the attitudes toward how that should happen are somewhat schizophrenic. "The US should be the world policeman", "the US should give a good example, but not interfere", and "the US must cooperate with the United Nations" all came from the same respondent over the course of a conversation.
Regardless of their views on the US government - most don't approve of the current US administration - young Malaysians tend to hold the American people in a favorable light. And the fact that President Bush was re-elected fairly decisively doesn't seem to make much difference. In fact, students interviewed for this article were interested in the challenge posed by unsuccessful presidential candidate John Kerry and see it as evidence that many Americans don't support the Bush administration's policies in the Middle East.
Malaysians are more certain in their feeling that the United States should be more aware of the sensitivities of the world's Muslims. This extends not only to the government, but also to US citizens. Young people here believe that Muslims in the United States don't get a fair shake and that there is a high degree of suspicion. "We are afraid that the Americans see [Osama] bin Laden in every Muslim," said Nik, an education student from Kelantan. Young people who have traveled to the US explain that the greatest difficulty is in the airports - they feel that Muslims are more likely to be quizzed and searched at safety points but don't really sense any animosity from the general public. As far as visas go, the embassy here is proud of the fact that it has decreased wait times dramatically and has one of the highest and quickest turn-over rates in the region.
Cultural affinity
Despite their gripes with its foreign policy, Malaysians seem to have a cultural affinity for the United States. "Young people in Southeast Asia, and many other parts of the world appreciate many elements of American culture and American values, even if they differ with some current policies," said Stoltz, the US Embassy official. McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Starbucks, already with a strong foothold in Kuala Lumpur, are expanding into the furthest quarters of the country. However, there is no sense of cultural imperialism, which is common in other parts of the world.
"We are able to adopt these things to our way of life while maintaining our own culture," said Rahim. Malaysian students, in addition to the United States' natural role as a global leader, see American freedoms and the quality of life as admirable. Students interviewed for this article admired the technological progress of the United States as well as the business environment there. "I think an appreciation of freedom and independence, the ability to decide your own future, is something that people in both America and Southeast Asia appreciate," said Stoltz. "I think that many people would be surprised to find that the large number of Americans who consider themselves religious and attend services at their local church, temple, synagogue or mosque is very close to the percentage who do so in Southeast Asia."
One of the key questions, then, is where do young people get their information? Malaysia's mainstream print media are indirectly controlled by the government, as the papers are required to renew their licenses from year to year. In addition, outside magazines and papers are subject to censorship. An examination of the English-language press, which many young Malaysians rely on, reveals that sometimes there is not a level playing field, as the papers appear to have an intentional editorial slant. And though CNN is popular here, it is common in Malaysia to hear that the US media are a tool of the government, that they only report news favorable to US interests, and that they are dominated by moneyed interests (although in the US itself the favorite complaint against news media is their supposed "liberal bias").
Conspiracy theories aside, independent media in most capitalist countries are driven by market research, and reflect to a certain degree what consumers want to see and read. It is clear in Malaysia, though, that stories of the human cost of war that feature gory pictures get more play than esoteric rationalizations of why the bloodshed is necessary. And although young people do read newspapers, university students say they are more concerned with local news relating to their home state. For international news they rely on CNN and other newscasts, including al-Jazeera, which will soon open its regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
But the presentation of international news by networks such as CNN leads to a distortion in perceptions, suggests Dr Donald McCloud, director of the Malaysian-American Council on Educational Exchanges.
"Networks like CNN have basically two hours of news spread over 24 hours, so you see the same events over and over again." McCloud explained that there is a widespread conception that Malaysians don't read (he pointed out that in that way they are very similar to young people in the US), which hinders a true understanding of international politics. McCloud is disturbed by the lack of thorough analysis here, and describes a lack of people "who can do serious analysis of US-Malaysia relations from a Malaysian perspective". This lack of analytical skills is detrimental to the US as well.
As Feldman explained, "I would emphasize that mutual understanding is key. It is important for young people in both our countries to have a good understanding of each other - for Malaysians to be aware of the diversity in the US, the context behind our policies, and who we are as people, and for Americans to understand how Malaysians live and what they think."
The young people here, "the future" as Feldman calls them, are receptive to US culture and ideals for the most part. They tend to see most issues in terms of black and white (though this rule would probably hold true around the world) and are confused by perceived hypocrisy on the part of the US government. The promotion of democracy is a good thing, said everyone interviewed for this article, but the inconsistency of the campaign is disturbing. Even more disturbing is a favoritism toward Israel and a perceived insensitivity to the feelings of the world's Muslims, which gives rise to conspiracy-theory explanations of why these things happen. These types of explanations represent an unsophisticated understanding of US foreign-policy motives, but how can they be countered? The rub is explaining apparent inconsistencies in policies in a way that is understandable and accessible to people not interested in the esoteric debates.
This month a new US ambassador will present his credentials in Kuala Lumpur. Christopher J LaFleur, a Cyrus Vance Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, will try to put a friendly face forward for the United States. Most likely he'll use positive developments in the occupied territories of Palestine as fodder for public relations. But will anyone under the age of 35 be listening?
Keith Andrew Bettinger is a researcher and journalist currently based in Kuala Lumpur. His interests include development and environmental issues, as well as US and international politics. He is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, and has advanced degrees in international affairs and education. He can be contacted at kisu1492@yahoo.com.