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 (

embassy in Moscow (from November 1968).[2]

History

Colonial era

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

Main article: Malaysia–Soviet Union relations

The

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

On 19 May 2007, Allahyarham

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]

Public opinion

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.[35][36]

References

  1. ^ Малайзия (in Russian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  2. 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. Russia Beyond the Headlines
    . Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  5. ISBN 90-247-3677-3
    .
  6. ISBN 978-981-4379-57-1
    .
  7. 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. ISBN 978-9971-69-180-6
    .
  12. 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. ISBN 978-3-643-80085-5
    .
  16. 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. ^
    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. 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. ^ 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.
  36. ^ 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.

External links

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