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Malaysia–Russia relations

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Malaysia–Russia relations
Map indicating locations of Malaysia and Russia

Malaysia
Russia
Diplomatic mission
Malaysian Embassy, MoscowRussian Embassy, Kuala Lumpur
Envoy
Ambassador Bala Chandran TharmanAmbassador Valery N. Yermolov

Malaysia–Russia relations (Malay: Hubungan Malaysia–Rusia; Jawi: هوبوڠن مليسيا–روسيا; Russian: Малайзийско-российские отношения Malayziysko-rossiyskiye otnosheniya) are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Malaysia and Russia. Russia has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur (from April 1968),[1] and Malaysia has an embassy in Moscow (from November 1968).[2]

History

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Colonial era

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Main article: Battle of Penang

As part of World War I, the Russian cruiser Zhemchug was sunk by the German cruiser SMS Emden off Penang in the British Straits Settlements.[3] Some Malay fishermen risked their own lives to rescue any surviving crewmen from the cruiser.[4]

Soviet era

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Main article: Malaysia–Soviet Union relations

The Soviet Union established diplomatic relations with Malaysia on 3 April 1967 along with the signing of a trade agreement.[5][6][7][8] Following the opening of official trade relations between the two countries, the Soviet Trade Representation was established in November 1967.[9] In 1970, the first group of Soviet students came to study Malay at the University of Malaya, among them Tatiana Dorofeeva, Tamara Reshetova, Victor A. Pogadaev and Anatoly Voronkov.[10]

The first Russian students at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Ties between the two suffered when Malaysia declared its support for Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen against the Soviet invasion to prop-up the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan throughout the 1980s.[11][12] Malaysia also joined the US-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics as part of their opposition of the invasion of a fellow Islamic country.[13][14] Throughout the Cold War, relations between Malaysia and the Soviet Union were tense over the latter's role in the Vietnam War and Soviet intervention in the Indian Ocean, which Malaysia felt could lead to the fulfillment of the domino theory, as the nation struggled with three communists insurgency itself; the Malayan Emergency, Second Malayan Emergency and the Sarawak Communist Insurgency.[15]

However, relations between the two recovered following the end of the Soviet-Afghan war, and both countries worked to repair diplomatic, economic, and military ties under Mikhail Gorbachev and Mahathir Mohamad. Several Malaysian Prime Ministers have made official visits to Moscow throughout the Cold War, including Tun Abdul Razak in 1972 and Mahathir Mohamad in 1985 and 1987.[8][16] Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Soviet Union were maintained until the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991.

Post Soviet Union

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Malaysian embassy in Moscow.
Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in Putrajaya, 5 August 2003

In the modern times, several visits have been made between leaders of respective countries.[17] Tuanku Ja'afar, the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or King of Malaysia made an unofficial visit to St. Petersburg in May 1997.[8] In 1999, Mahathir made a working visit to the Russian regions of Khabarovsk Krai and Buryatia. Another visit by Mahathir to Moscow was made in 2002.[18] At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC Summits) in Brunei (November 2000) and Shanghai (October 2001) and Group of Eight (G8 Summit) in Evian (June 2003), there were informal meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir.[8]

Putin visited Malaysia twice in 2003 (one as an official visit in August) and to attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in October. During his official visit, Putin conferred the Order of Friendship to Mahathir in recognition of his contribution to strengthening the friendly ties between the two countries and to the cause of global stability and inter-religious accord while a contract was signed to supply the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) with 18 Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter aircraft.[19] Another visit from Malaysia was made by Tuanku Sirajuddin in September 2005. Putin participated in the first Russia-ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and had a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in December 2005. Abdullah later made an official visit to Moscow in June 2007.[8] Mahathir considered Russia to become a future rival to the United States and Israel and praised Putin for criticizing and standing up to American and Western interference in other sovereign states.

In 2012, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met Putin during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Russia to expand trade relations and to discover other opportunities for business partnership.[20] Another meeting was held in 2016 with the intention to expand trade, including establishing direct flights and exploring a free trade agreement (FTA) to enhance bilateral trade and tourist arrivals.[21]

In 2014, an Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in the Russian-occupied area of Ukraine after it was shot at. The majority of people on board were Malaysians, though there were also other nationalities. No one survived. A few years later, a Dutch court found three Russian agents guilty (two Russian nationals, and one Ukrainian defector). It is unlikely that these people will serve their sentences.[22]

On early August 2019 the Russian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was one of those affected by two online bomb threats which were posted on Twitter; the other being KL Sentral which is the capital city's transport hub. The aforementioned threats were posted via a hacked account by an individual calling himself "limzhengyan"; as a result the Malaysian police has carried out a search on those locations and determined that the threats were phony, although incidentally on the same day an incomplete improvised explosive device was found at the Bukit Damansara area.[23][24]

Years later, Mahathir (now out of public office at such point in time) turned against Putin and went on to criticize and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine after 24 February 2022, stating that "the Malaysian government cannot be supporting those who would utilize war and aggression as a justification to resolve conflicts between two opposing countries" and "Today we have witnessed that Russia has used war to capture and solve problems, we cannot support those who use war as a weapon to a solution," he added. "Any dispute or rivalry between two governments should be resolved through negotiations, courts of law... that is the best way, not war. Russia seems to be doing the opposite when it comes to using the military to resolve their dispute with Ukraine."[25]

Economic relations

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Eastern Economic Forum in Primorsky Krai, Russia, 4 September 2024

In 2012, around 40,000 Russian tourists visited Malaysia, and the Malaysian government expressed its intent to further increase the number of Russian tourists through the establishment of direct flights between the two countries.[20][21] Trade between the two countries in 2016 valued around US$2.2 billion.[17] On 15 March 2016, a Russian-Malaysian business council was established with the intent to strengthen cooperation on economic, scientific, technological issues and culture.[26][27]

Security relations and collaboration in science field

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On 19 May 2007, Allahyarham Jamaluddin Jarjis then Malaysia's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation announced that two Malaysian candidates for astronauts (Faiz Khaleed and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor) will undergo training in Moscow as part of a billion-dollar deal for 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter jets.[28][29][30] These astronauts brought along cancer cells, bacteria and protein for studies in space.[29] One of the two candidates, Sheikh Muszaphar succeeded in the training and was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Angkasawan program for the Malaysian National Space Agency (MNSA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).[31] The mission was a success and Sheikh Muszaphar became the first Malaysian national to travel to space.[32] In 2016, Malaysia acknowledged Russia's strength in the military and aerospace sector and sought their help in the expansion of those sectors in Malaysia.[20] In 2018, Russia set a branch office of the Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC) in Kota Kinabalu to expand the existing co-operation between Malaysia and Russia in the fields of economy, culture and science.[33][34] In October 2024, corvettes Aldar Tsydenzhapov, Gromkiy and Rezkiy, along with replenishment oiler Pechanga, docked in George Town where the crews attended a ceremony to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Penang.[35][36]

Public opinion

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In June 2022, a public opinion survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 47% of Malaysians had a favourable view of Russia while 30% of Malaysians had a somewhat unfavourable view of Russia and 20% had a very unfavourable view of Russia, making it the only country surveyed where majority of Malaysian expresses their confidence on Russia and its leader.[37][38]

References

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  1. ^ Малайзия (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  2. ^ "Official Website of Embassy of Malaysia, Moscow". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. ^ Dina Murad (28 June 2014). "The Battle of Penang". The Star. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  4. ^ Ajay Kamalakaran (20 May 2015). "Battle of Penang: When Malay fishermen rescued Russian sailors". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  5. ^ George Ginsburgs; William B. Simons (1988). The Soviet Union and International Cooperation in Legal Matters: Recognition of arbitral agreements and execution of foreign commercial arbitral awards. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 73–. ISBN 90-247-3677-3.
  6. ^ Victor Sumsky; Mark Hong; Amy Lugg (30 May 2012). ASEAN-Russia: Foundations and Future Prospects. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-981-4379-57-1.
  7. ^ Leszek Buszynski (13 September 2013). Soviet Foreign Policy and Southeast Asia (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-1-134-48085-2.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Russian-Malaysian Relations". Embassy of the Russian Federation in Malaysia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  9. ^ Translations on South and East Asia. Joint Publications Research Service.
  10. ^ “From Behind the ‘Iron Curtains’ to the ‘Free World’ in the Search for Knowledge”. – “Mahasiswa Negara”, Kuala Lumpur, September 1970, Jilid 8, Bilangan 7
  11. ^ Hussin Mutalib (1993). Islam in Malaysia: From Revivalism to Islamic State?. NUS Press. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-9971-69-180-6.
  12. ^ Shanti Nair (11 January 2013). Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy. Routledge. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-1-134-96099-6.
  13. ^ Samantha Khor (3 February 2016). "Road To Moscow 1980: The True Story Of Malaysia's Football Team That Inspired 'Ola Bola'". Says.com. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  14. ^ Zainul Arifin (8 February 2016). "Memories of Malaysian football". New Straits Times. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  15. ^ Christoph Marcinkowski; Constance Chevallier-Govers; Ruhanas Harun (2011). Malaysia and the European Union: Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-3-643-80085-5.
  16. ^ Leszek Buszynski (11 April 2014). Gorbachev and Southeast Asia (Routledge Revivals). Taylor & Francis. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-1-134-48064-7.
  17. ^ a b Sergei Lavrov (1 June 2017). "Celebrating 50 years of Russia, Malaysia relations". New Straits Times. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Press Statement following Talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad". President of Russia. 14 March 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  19. ^ "President Vladimir Putin held negotiations with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad". President of Russia. 5 August 2003. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  20. ^ a b c "Pertemuan Najib, Putin buahkan hasil" (in Malay). Kosmo!. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  21. ^ a b "Najib and Putin meet to talk trade and tourism". Bernama. The Malay Mail. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Dutch court convicts three men for downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17". ABC News. 17 November 2022.
  23. ^ "'Incomplete' explosive device found in Bukit Damansara home". www.nst.com.my. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Bom rakitan ditemukan di kompleks Damansara, Malaysia". www.aa.com.tr (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  25. ^ ""Wars Cost Innoncent Lives!" Tun Dr. Mahathir Publicly Condemns Russian Invasion on Ukraine". 3 March 2022.
  26. ^ Alexander Korablinov (16 March 2016). "Russia, Malaysia establish business council". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  27. ^ "Business council set up to boost Malaysia – Russia cooperation". Vietnam News Agency. Vietnam+. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  28. ^ "Malaysian Astronauts Head To NASA For Training". Agence France-Presse. Terra Daily. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Malaysian astronaut to conduct cancer research in space". Mint. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  30. ^ Captain Faiz Kamaludin (10 February 2017). Astronaut Corps of Malaysia: The Selection Process. Partridge Publishing Singapore. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-1-4828-8272-8.
  31. ^ "Malaysia's first astronaut to visit space station". New Scientist. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  32. ^ Chris Baldwin (21 October 2007). "First Malaysian astronaut returns to hero's welcome". Reuters. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  33. ^ Chok Sim Yee (22 February 2018). "Russian Centre of Science and Culture opening in KK". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  34. ^ Ricardo Unto (22 February 2018). "Russians set up branch in KK". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  35. ^ Dermawan, Audrey (15 October 2024). "Russian navy ships in Penang waters". New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  36. ^ Trisha, N. (15 October 2024). "Russian Navy attends WWI memorial in Penang for first time in 20 years". The Star. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  37. ^ Wike, Richard; Fetterolf, Jannell; Fagan, Moira; Gubbala, Sneha (22 June 2022). "Ratings for Russia drop to record lows". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  38. ^ A. R., Zurairi (27 June 2022). "Pew survey: Half of Malaysians view Russia positively, with six in 10 feeling Putin 'doing the right thing' in world affairs". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
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