Malaysia and the Philippines: Beyond Karaoke Diplomacy

The moment that grabbed the headlines during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s maiden visit to Malaysia from November 9-10 was his karaoke duet of “Sha-La-La-La-La” with Prime Minister Najib Razak at the latter’s residence in Putrajaya. But the summit meeting also revealed that the two countries were more in tune on political, security, and economic issues than might initially have been thought when Duterte first came into office back in June.

Duterte got off to a rough start with Malaysia, reviving the thorny Sabah issue in May when he appeared to recognize the claim of the sultanate of Sulu, which had ruled over parts of Sabah before the British transferred it to the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Given the fact that Malaysia had just seen a deadly incident in 2013 where descendants of the sultanate attempted to reassert the Philippine claim to Sabah, leaving dozens of militants, civilians, and Malaysian security forces dead, it was no surprise when Najib rebuked Duterte publicly in response to his comments.

But since coming into office, Duterte has taken a much softer line on the issue, perhaps in recognition of the importance of the bilateral relationship. Ahead of his visit to Malaysia, Duterte said that Malaysia would be the last stop in his visits abroad – following ones in China, Japan as well as five other Southeast Asian states – because those were the only countries that really mattered to him. He also said that the Sabah issue would not be discussed during his meeting with Najib, contrary to what his past rhetoric would suggest.

That set the tone for a summit meeting that both sides say went quite well. Optics-wise, the sight of both leaders belting out tunes together was certainly not one that most had expected prior to the visit. Both were also very gracious and conciliatory during the press conference that took place after their bilateral meeting.

Substance-wise, the headlines themselves naturally focused on security issues. In particular, emphasis was given to the signing of an exchange of notes between the two governments that would allow Malaysian maritime forces to pursue kidnappers inside Philippine waters – much like the pact Manila has with Jakarta – as part of the three countries’ renewed efforts to stem transnational crimes in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas. The one million square kilometer tri-border area in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas between the southern Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia has long been a hub for transnational organized crime and terrorist threats, and the three countries have agreed to trilateral patrols to manage these challenges.

Najib and Duterte also discussed the situation in the southern Philippines, where Manila has faced a decades-long Muslim insurgency. Malaysia has played a role in promoting peace as well as facilitating dialogue between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Duterte, the first Philippine president elected from the country’s south, has made finding peace in the south a top priority despite frustrations by his predecessor Benigno Aquino III in getting an enabling law passed in Congress to further the peace process. During their meeting, Najib and Duterte agreed that as Manila works to further the process, Malaysia will no longer serve as a facilitator in peace talks but continue its role in monitoring peace efforts in the southern Philippines.

Economic issues were also emphasized in the bilateral discussions. For example, in an effort to woo Malaysian investors into the southern Philippines, Duterte said that the Philippines was ready to offer Malaysia land for oil palm plantations if its businesses could help boost the economy there. Najib agreed that this was a possibility, though he cautiously noted that this would be contingent upon sustainable peace in the southern Philippines, which would provide a stable foundation for investment to occur.

Dialogue on economics extended beyond just the bilateral realm. For instance, with respect to subregional cooperation, Najib expressed his hope that both sides could make progress on the opening of a regional office of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) in Kota Kinabalu. Getting there, Najib pointed out, would require Duterte to put aside the Sabah claim issue, a key stumbling block thus far. BIMP-EAGA, which was founded in Davao City in 1994, has been a priority topic in Duterte’s engagement with other member countries Indonesia and Brunei. And as the current chair of BIMP-EAGA since September and ASEAN chair beginning in January 2017, the Philippines has an opportunity to think beyond bilateral arrangements in the economic sphere.

With respect to the people-to-people ties, though Najib put a positive spin on the fact that Malaysia hosts hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who make a “meaningful and much valued contribution” to society, it is unclear whether the leaders discussed the treatment of Filipino maids in Malaysia, a subject which has been controversial at times in the past. The treatment of overseas Filipinos has been a concern for Duterte in his other overseas engagements prior to this one.

Broadly speaking though, the Najib-Duterte summit indicates that Malaysia-Philippine relations are in good shape in spite of the turbulence witnessed at the outset of Duterte’s presidency earlier this year. Who would have thought that in less than six months, the two leaders could go from trading barbs on Sabah to crooning “Sha-La-La-La-La”?