The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; Jawi: ), abbreviated KLN, is a ministry of the

Government of Malaysia The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territories of Malaysia, Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in ...

that is responsible for

foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

Malaysian diaspora The Malaysian diaspora are Malaysian emigrants from Malaysia and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. The population estimates close to two million, both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emig ...

, foreigners in Malaysia,

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

foreign relations Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

counter terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to com ...

, bilateral affairs, multilateral affairs,

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

, international protocol, consular services, maritime affairs, and

chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

. It is currently based in

Putrajaya Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (), is the administrative centre of Malaysia. The Seat of government, seat of the Government of Malaysia, federal government of Malaysia was moved in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajay ...

. It is also widely known as

Wisma Putra ''Wisma Putra'' is a metonym for the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is also the name of the RM170 million Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex located at the country's administrative capital, Putrajaya. The name ''Wisma Putra'' was ...

, which is also the name of its building in Putrajaya.

Organisation

*Minister of Foreign Affairs **Deputy Minister ***Secretary-General ****Under the Authority of Secretary-General *****Legal Division *****Internal Audit Unit *****Integrity Unit ****Deputy Secretary-General (Bilateral Affairs) *****Europe Division *****Americas Division *****Africa Division *****West Asia Division *****East Asia Division *****South and Central Asia Division *****Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (

CLMV The CLMV countries are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. This Country associations, country association within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises its newest, List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita, lowest incom ...

) and Oceania Division *****South East Asia Division *****Communications and Public Diplomacy Division ******Corporate Communication Unit ****Deputy Secretary-General (Multilateral Affairs) *****Human Rights and Humanitarian Division *****Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Regional Cooperation Division *****Multilateral Economics and Environment Division *****Multilateral Political Division *****Multilateral Security and International Organizations Division *****International Cooperation and Development Division ****Deputy Secretary-General (Management Services) *****Administration and Security Division *****Human Resource Management Division *****Finance Division *****Development Division *****Inspectorate Division *****Information and Communication Technology Division *****Account Division ****Director-General of Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat *****Asean Political-Security Community Division *****Asean Economic Community Division *****Asean Socio-Cultural Community Division *****Asean External Relation Division ****Chief of Protocol and Consular *****Protocol Division *****Consular Division ****Director-General of Policy Planning and Coordination *****Policy and Strategic Planning Division *****Coordination and Performance Evaluation Division ****Director-General of Maritime Affairs ****Director-General of Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations ****Director-General of Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism ****Chairman of National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention ****Heads of Mission (112 Missions)

Federal departments

# Department of Bilateral Affairs, or ''Jabatan Hubungan Dua Hala''.
Official site
# Department of Multilateral Affairs, or ''Jabatan Hubungan Pelbagai Hala''.
Official site
# Department of Management Services, or ''Jabatan Pengurusan Perkhidmatan''.
Official site
# Department of Protocol and Consular, or ''Jabatan Protokol dan Konsular''.
Official site
# Department of Policy Planning and Coordination, or ''Jabatan Perancangan Dasar dan Strategi''.
Official site
# Department of Maritime Affairs, or ''Jabatan Hal Ehwal Maritim''.
Official site

Federal agencies

# Asean-Malaysia National Secretariat, or ''Sekretariat Kebangsaan Asean-Malaysia''.
Official site
# Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), or ''Institut Diplomasi dan Hubungan Luar Negeri''.
Official site
# Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), or ''Pusat Serantau Asia Tenggara bagi Mencegah Keganasan''.
Official site
# National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), or ''Pihak Berkuasa Kebangsaan Konvensyen Senjata Kimia''.
Official site

Key legislation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for administration of several key

Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-par ...

History

The origin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began before Malaysia's independence in 1957. The groundwork for the establishment of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as it was initially called, was initiated a year prior to Independence particularly with through the training of a batch of eleven diplomats to man the country's diplomatic missions overseas. This pioneering group was trained in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The Ministry of External Affairs was modeled after the British Foreign Office. Initially, Malaysia had diplomatic missions in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with a concurrent office in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. In 1963, there were fourteen Malaysian missions and twenty-five countries were represented in Malaysia (four by way of concurrent accreditation). In 1965, the diplomatic machinery of Malaysia faced its first major reorganisation. In 1966, there was an accelerated growth pattern of the Foreign Ministry particularly with regard to the personnel and the financial allocation for its activities. That year also witnessed a change in the designation of MEA to the preferred terminology of "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and also saw the physical relocation and consolidation of the Ministry. From its original premises at the

Sultan Abdul Samad Building The Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Malaysian Malay, Malay: ''Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a late-19th century building located along Jalan Raja in front of Independence Square (Kuala Lumpur), Dataran Merdeka and the Roya ...

, the Ministry moved to

. The Wisma Putra Complex is based on a combination of both traditional and modern architecture.

Functions

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs bears the mandate and responsibility to conduct Malaysia's foreign relations with other countries. This includes matters related to political relations, economic affairs, security matters, and social and cultural promotion. The Ministry is geared towards fulfilling its role and functions: *upholding, protecting and promoting Malaysia's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests; *monitoring and analysing regional and global developments; *developing and advising the Government on foreign policy options; *coordinating a coherent position on international issues with other Ministries and Agencies; *providing consular services and assistance within the limits permitted by international law; *articulating the Government's foreign policy positions; and *facilitating other Ministries and Agencies in their international engagement.

Legal Framework

The External Affairs Legislations that fall within the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are: *Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Oaths and Fees) Act 1959 (Revised 1988) ct 348 *Diplomatic Privileges (Vienna Convention) Act 1966 ct 636 *Consular Relations (Vienna Convention) Act 1999 ct 595 *Foreign Representative (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1967 (Revised 1995) ct 541 *International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1992 ct 485 and *Chemical Weapons Convention Act 2005 ct 641 In addition, the Federal Constitution allows Parliament to make laws related to external affairs that include: *Treaties, agreements and conventions with other countries and all matters which bring the Federation into relations with any other country; *Implementation of treaties, agreements and conventions with other countries; *Diplomatic, consular and trade representation; *International organisations; participation in international bodies and implementation of decisions taken thereat; *Extradition, fugitive offenders; admission into, and emigration and expulsion from, the Federation; *Passports, visas, permits of entry or other certificates, quarantine; *Foreign and extraterritorial jurisdiction; and *Pilgrimage to places outside Malaysia.

References

External links

* * {{authority control

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Foreign relations of Malaysia Federal ministries, departments and agencies of Malaysia Malaysia, Foreign Affairs