What Trump Era Holds for Malaysia

Focus Malaysia

26 January 2017

David Han

THE INAUGURATION of Donald Trump on Jan 20 heralds a new era in US’ foreign policy. This will have implications on Malaysia-US relations. Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak openly said bilateral ties would not be affected with a new US president at the helm, it is uncertain how bilateral ties will fare under the Trump administration’s Southeast Asia policy which remains unclear.

There are three possible scenarios on continuities and challenges in Malaysia-US ties in the Trump Era. Firstly, embedded structural factors will continue to undergird Malaysia-US relations. Secondly, potential extremities arising from the Trump presidency could pose domestic political challenges for Putrajaya. Thirdly, Malaysia’s elite-driven foreign policy could lead to positive developments in Malaysia-US relations

… David Han is a research analyst with the Malaysia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

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Last updated on 27/01/2017