Managing Malaysia-Indonesia Relations Analysis

In the article “Managing Malaysia-Indonesia relations in the context of democratization: the emergence of non-state actors by Khadijah Md. Khalid and Shakila Yacob, is an informative discussion on how and to what extend does the non-state actors effect the bilateral relations between Malaysia and Indonesia in terms of democratization.
Here is the summary based on the article. The author did an overview of the historical and impact of people-to-people exchanges on diplomatic relations. The people-to-people relations post-independence of Malaysia and Indonesia were shaped by the impact of colonialism. To support this statement, the authors discuss the leadership of both leaders from Malaysia and Indonesia. The differences of personalities and incompatibilities of these leaders had contributed to tension and friction in Malaysia-Indonesia bilateral relations which lead to the case of Ganyang Malaysia campaign. Previously Malaysia/Indonesia resilient relationship was grounded on the ‘serumpun’ sentiment. The relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia was most often described as that of ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Little Brother’.
The ties was also strengthened when Abdul Razak Hussein became Malaysia’s Prime Minister in 1971. Not long after Hussein Onn was elected as the as Prime Minister of Malaysia. Mahathir Mohamad was appointed as Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1981 and was in power for more than 20 years. During the year 1997-1998, Suharto regime falls due to the East Asian financial crisis. The departure of Suharto and the strong bonds of Reformasi leaders in Indonesia together with Anwar Ibrahim has contributed the government-to-government level. Malaysia and Indonesia relations were also enhanced after the appointment of Indonesia new President, Megawati