5 - Malaysia–Sudan: From Islamist Students to Rentier Bourgeois

Summary

China is usually cited as the outstanding partner of Sudan's governing regime. But other East Asian state partners have also been playing important roles in relations with Khartoum. Although not as important as China, three in particular deserve attention. Japan and South Korea share a low profile and, although diplomatically allied with the West – both are members of the OECD and South Korea joined its Development Assistance Committee in 2010 – have dealt with Sudan in an autonomous manner, not willing to damage their own interests. They remained silent when their Western allies were vocal about the crisis in Darfur and the alleged reluctance of the Sudanese regime to be a fair player in the implementation of the CPA that ended the North–South civil war between Khartoum and the SPLM/A. In addition, neither Tokyo nor Seoul has had to face any prominent activism or domestic public pressure concerning Africa in general and Sudan in particular, despite the fact that both have economic relations with Khartoum. Japan has often been the second-largest buyer of Sudanese oil, and Sudan is a market for Japanese goods. South Korea has a history of engagement in Sudan, with significant business and agricultural interests today (see Introduction in this volume, for further details).

Malaysia, Sudan's third Southeast Asian partner, has maintained a completely different attitude from both Japan and South Korea, at least under Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who governed between 1981 and 2003.