Relationship dossier
Malaysia
South Africa
Relationship assessment
Post-apartheid cooperation followed Malaysia’s opposition to South Africa’s apartheid government.
Malaysia toward South Africa
+30Malaysia opposed South Africa’s apartheid government and supported international pressure against apartheid. After apartheid ended, Malaysia developed bilateral cooperation with South Africa, including through agreements concerning trade and investment.
South Africa toward Malaysia
+30After the end of apartheid, South Africa developed bilateral cooperation with Malaysia, including through agreements concerning trade and investment. Nelson Mandela’s 1997 visit to Malaysia was a notable high-level engagement.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship shifted from Malaysia’s opposition to apartheid-era South Africa to post-apartheid bilateral cooperation. Government engagement and agreements on trade and investment provide a cooperative foundation, while the historical rupture and uncertainty about the reach of later arrangements limit the strength of the overall assessment.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Malaysia and South Africa developed bilateral ties after the end of apartheid, following Malaysia’s earlier opposition to the apartheid government. Their post-apartheid relationship has included government-to-government cooperation, including agreements on trade and investment. The historical rupture and limited detail about the breadth and implementation of later cooperation temper the assessment.
Areas of tension
- Malaysia’s opposition to apartheid-era South Africa and support for international pressure against its government.
Key developments
Malaysia and South Africa established diplomatic relations after the end of apartheid.
South African President Nelson Mandela visited Malaysia.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral trade, investment and technical cooperation arrangements are unclear.
- The extent of recent high-level government engagement is unclear.