Diplomasi@60 a showcase of Malaysia’s diplomatic feats
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is relatively new to independence, having achieved it only 60 years ago.
This is in comparison to the US which recently celebrated its 241st Independence Day, Portugal ( 377 years) and even South Korea, which gained independence 72 years ago.
Achieving independence allows a country to officially start diplomatic relations with other countries.
However, Malaya had been forging ties with other nations even before it gained independence.
The practise was not new to the region as records show that it was common during the Malay Sultanate era in the 15th century and the ancient Hindu empires, prior to that.
One of the most significant acts of diplomacy in the country’s history is the negotiation with the British for the country’s independence by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, who later became the first Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was the first Chief Ministry of Malaya at the time, had led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya to London to negotiate the Federation of Malaya’s independence from the British Empire.
The independence of Malaya became the starting point of diplomatic ties with 20 countries that include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Britain and the United States of America, among others.
Malaysia became the 80th member of the United Nations ( UN) on Sept 17, 1957, soon after its independence.
In conjunction with the Foreign Ministry’s 60th anniversary, the ‘Diplomacy@ 60 : Then and Now’ exhibition was held at the National Museum from May 8 to July 15 recently. — Bernama