ABSTRACT
The relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia has often been acknowledged along the corridors of power in ASEAN as the cornerstone of the organization. Some have even suggested that, together with Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia form the ‘security core’ of Southeast Asia.1 Given the centrality of the Indonesia-Malaysia relationship to regional security and order in Southeast Asia, it is unfortunate that it has yet to be subjected to detailed scholarly investigation. Except for the period 1963-1966, when Indonesia launched its policy of Confrontation (Konfrontasi) in response to the formation of Malaysia, no attempt has been made in the fields of either international relations or Southeast Asian studies to explore the dynamics that frame harmony and discord in this bilateral relationship.2 This study hopes to address this lacuna in the literature, employing the concepts of kinship and nationalism to understand the historical basis to Indonesia-Malaysia relations, the importance of conceptions of affinity and difference in how political leaders understood the premises of bilateral relations over the years, and why and how bilateral ties have taken the shape that they have. The point of entry to this study will be the construction of Indo-Malay racial, cultural, and ethnic affinity and fraternity, which has long fascinated area studies scholars and has been liberally evoked by political leaders.
