Dancing with the ummah: Islam in Malaysia's foreign policy under Najib Razak/

WAIKER Prashant

Dancing with the ummah: Islam in Malaysia's foreign policy under Najib Razak/ Prashant Waikar - 2021

This paper analyses the role of Islam in Malaysian international relations under the Premiership of Najib Razak. Scholars have characterized Islam as being significant in foreign policymaking under Prime Ministers Mahathir Mohamad (1981 to 2003) and Abdullah Badawi (2004 to 2008) but tend to underplay its significance in Najib's tenure (Dosch, 2014). Najib appropriated Islam in three ways. First, Najib utilized regional and international conflicts involving Muslims, particularly the Rohingyas and Palestinians, in order to project Malaysia as a guardian of disenfranchised Muslims under his leadership to the domestic audience.


MALAYSIA -- FOREIGN POLICY
MALAYSIA -- POLITICS
MALAYSIA -- INTERNATONAL RELATIONS