Malaysia's Security Practice in Relation to Conflicts in Southern
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LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Malaysia’s Security Practice in Relation to Conflicts in Southern Thailand, Aceh and the Moro Region: The Ethnic Dimension Jafri Abdul Jalil A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations 2008 UMI Number: U615917 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615917 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Libra British U to 'v o> F-o in andEconor- I I ^ C - 5 3 AUTHOR DECLARATION I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Jafri Abdul Jalil The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted provided that full acknowledgment is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without prior consent of the author. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I understand that in the event of my thesis not being approved by the examiners, this declaration will become void. 2 Abstract Although many works exist on the role of ethnicity in the domestic securitisation processes in Malaysia, far less attention has been given to the significance ethnicity has in shaping the country’s external security outlook. The central aim of this thesis is to analyse the relationship between national security and ethnic kinship. More specifically, it analyses whether ethnicity has had a major impact on Malaysia’s external security practices in Southeast Asia. In geographic terms, the thesis asks how the Malaysian government has approached the ethnic conflicts in (1) southern Thailand, (2) Aceh, Indonesia, and (3) the Moro Region in the Philippines. In substantive terms, the thesis explores in particular to what extent the Malaysian government has been concerned about the societal security of the Malay’s ethnic kin. Societal security includes the protection of physical survival, economic well-being and in some instances their political rights in their homeland. The argument of this thesis is that Malaysia’s approach towards the ethnic conflicts in southern Thailand, Aceh and the Moro region is best understood with reference to the role that shared ethnicity has played for Malaysian policy-makers. This thesis concludes that the Malaysian government has not only promoted the Malays’ ethnic interests within its own territorial boundaries, but also sought to protect the distinct identity of ethnic kin groups in cases where the latter have been caught up in conflict in Malaysia’s immediate regional neighbourhood. However, contrary to arguments by many scholars - whereby involvement in ethnic conflicts by third parties being of the same ethnicity as one of the conflict parties tends to both make such conflicts more intense and create tensions that are likely to increase the probability of interstate conflict - Malaysia’s “involvement” has neither led these conflicts to deteriorate nor fomented major interstate tensions, let alone war. 3 Acknowledgments I am most grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Jurgen Haacke, for his guidance, support and encouragement, which have played very significant roles in allowing me to finally complete this thesis. I would also like to thank my sponsor, the Malaysian Public Services Department. I would not have been able to read my PhD here in the London School of Economics (LSE) without the help of this scholarship. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Department of International Relations for providing me with a field research grant. I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the key leaders of the ethno- nationalist organisations in southern Thailand, Aceh and in the southern Philippines who were willing to share their views and knowledge during my fieldwork. I would like to thank the people who were responsible for linking me up to these leaders. Also, my thanks go to the Malaysian Armed Forces, especially the personnel in the International Monitoring Team (IMT) who were willing to accommodate me during my stay in Mindanao. I wish to thank those who provided critical feedback on the drafts of the chapters, particularly to Dr. Miriam Allam, Dr. Jane Seeker, Dr. Stacy Closson, Simone Richberger, and Candice Moore. I would also like to thank my friends, Annika Bolten, Alexandria Dias, Scott Kofhmehl and Tsering Topygal, who have been such good company while working in the Q building and especially to Krirkbhumi Chitranukroh (Kenny), who has consistently sent me the latest news and developments on the conflict in Southern Thailand. As always, the people I am most indebted to are my wife, Shirin Safinas, and our children, Amira Haida, Alia Shahira, Danial Imran and Diyana Sofea, without whose understanding I would not have been able to give the full commitment necessary for the completion of this thesis. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................4 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ 5 List of Tables ............................................................................................................... 8 List of Maps................................................................................................................ 9 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 1: National Security and International Relations.................................12 Introduction........................................................................................................... 12 1.1 The Significance and the Contribution o f the Study.................................14 1.2 Basic Terms and Concepts........................................................................ 15 1.3 Rationale and Argument............................................................................19 1.4 Literature Review.......................................................................................24 1.4.1 The Limitations of the Literature ..................................................... 33 1.5 Methodology ............................................................................................... 34 1.6 Thesis Structure.......................................................................................... 37 Chapter 2: Ethnic Politics and Foreign Policy................................................... 39 Introduction........................................................................................................... 39 2.1 National Security........................................................................................40 2.1.1 Concept of National Security........................................................... 40 2.1.2 National Security in the Developing Countries .............................. 45 2.2 Foreign Policy ............................................................................................52 2.2.1 Concept of Foreign Policy................................................................53 2.2.2 Foreign Policy in the Developing Countries....................................57 2.3 Ethnic Identity............................................................................................ 59 2.3.1 Ethnicity............................................................................................ 59 2.3.2 Ethnic Politics................................................................................... 63 2.3.3 Ethnic Conflict..................................................................................66 2.4 Ethnic Kinship............................................................................................ 68 2.4.1 Ethnic Kin States...............................................................................68 2.4.2 Ethnic Politics and Foreign Policy................................................... 71 2.5 Conclusion.................................................................................................. 73 Chapter 3: The Ethnic Factor in Malaysia’s Domestic Security Practices 76 Introduction............................................................................................................76 3.1 Malaysia’s Security Practices....................................................................77 3.1.1 The Construction of the Malay Ethnic Group ..................................80 3.2 Ethnic Politics ............................................................................................ 89 3.2.1 Ethnic Politics in Malaysia................................................................90 3.2.2 Malay Nationalism...........................................................................