Organizer: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute
Type/Location: Virtual
Description:
Join the Malaysia Studies Program at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a talk by Dr. Kuik Cheng-Chwee, Visiting Senior Fellow and Professor in International Relations at the National University of Malaysia (UKM). This webinar unpacks Malaysian neutrality, assesses the impacts of the emerging trends, and analyzes factors determining the feasibility of hedging for Malaysia and similarly situated states in the years to come.
Malaysia under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has persisted in pursuing a neutral, non-aligned policy vis-à-vis the competing major powers. Despite the impressions among some quarters that Malaysia under Anwar is tilting towards China at the expense of the United States, a closer look at its policy thrusts indicates that this is not quite the case. In addition to conscious use of terms such as “fiercely independent” and “active non-alignment”, the Anwar administration’s policy actions across diplomatic, development, and defence domains have continued to reflect three neutrality-based attributes. These are: (a) actively signalling a stance of not taking sides; (b) inclusively diversifying its economic and strategic partnerships (with, and beyond, Washington and Beijing); and (c) adaptively pursuing strategic offsets (simultaneously and selectively saying yes and saying no to both powers) to maintain fallback options amid increasing uncertainties.
Analysts have called such active, inclusive, and adaptive neutrality as a “hedging” policy, which, in essence, is a pragmatic, precautionary foreign policy approach aimed at mitigating and insuring against risks under the conditions of high-stakes, high-uncertainties. These risks have been amplified by several geopolitical trends accelerated by the advent of Trump 2.0. This seminar unpacks Malaysian neutrality, assesses the impacts of the emerging trends, and analyze factors determining the feasibility of hedging for Malaysia and similarly-situated states in the years to come.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Kuik Cheng-Chwee is a Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, and Professor in International Relations, Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), National University of Malaysia (UKM). He is currently on sabbatical at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, Seoul (June-August 2025). Professor Kuik is listed in Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists, subfield International Relations, in 2023 and 2024.
Registration:
To attend the event online, please register here.