ABSTRACT
A nation's foreign policy priorities are inevitably determined by a complex interplay among domestic and exogenous factors, regional and global realities, and national needs. Given that Malaysia is an open and developing economy, the parameters of the nation's developmental-state aspirations present a second foreign policy challenge. The most strident anti-Western foreign policy stance was taken during the concluding years of the Mahathir era, which coincided with the Asian financial crisis and the attendant political predicament that resulted from the sacking of Mahathir's heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim. Najib's attempts to recalibrate a new balance between Islamism and Westernism within Malaysian foreign policy are also supported by regime exigencies. Malaysia's two closest neighbours, Singapore and Indonesia, factor prominently in foreign policy formulation, albeit for different reasons. Singapore enjoys a geographical and historical proximity which is made complex by intense competition in the realms of economics, defence, foreign relations, sovereignty and territoriality.
