Quora Answer: Why Does Malaysia Not lead ASEAN Like Indonesia & Singapore?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why could Malaysia not lead ASEAN like Indonesia and Singapore?” 

ASEAN is a regional grouping, with ambitions of moving towards a EU-style economic union.  It does not have an overt leadership hierarchy, although founding members carry more weight, and tended to work in concert.  Since it is not a hierarchical organisation, ASEAN does not have an established leadership structure with all members being nominally equal.  The ASEAN chair is rotated annually. 

All that aside, some countries are more influential than others within ASEAN, just as it is with other groupings.  Indonesia is the single largest member, with the most population.  Thailand is a regional security lynchpin.  Singapore is the wealthiest and holds the most strategic location.  In terms of international engagement, Singapore has the most influence to get international partners involved.  Throughout all this, Malaysia has lagged behind, with waning influence.  There are a few reasons for this. 

The first is that Malaysia’s political turmoil and recent changes in government means that they are not a credible dialogue partner.  Bilateral agreements carry little weight, regional and international treaties are ratified late or not ratified at all.  The economy is weak, and regressing.  This makes it difficult for Malaysia to have any influence on other members when its own government is severely lacking in credibility. 

The second is actually the legacy of Mahathir bin Mohammed.  His proposals for the direction of ASEAN, and the EAC were seen as overtly anti-American.  It was opposed by the United States and Japan, and the compromise was ASEAN Plus Three, which later evolved into the ASEAN Plus Six.  In a region made wealthy by international trade, Mahathir was protectionist, and Malaysia is still protectionist.  This limits her influence with dialogue partners, which in turn, diminishes her influence within ASEAN.