Emerging Threats to Malaysia's National Security

Abstract

ABSTRACT Malaysia's security focus has progressed beyond the issues of defending sovereignty and national boundaries. Yet there are emerging security risks that could threaten the survival of the country. This article analyses Malaysia's security challenges and emerging security threats through the results of a series of semi‐structured interviews with Malaysian academics and security practitioners. It is shown that domestic sources of threat are still perceived to be the main security challenges to Malaysia. Malaysia's fragile socio‐political system continues to hunt its national security agenda, and hence like other developing countries the issue of nation building is of great priority. However, the study also shows that non‐traditional security threats such as illegal economic migrants, environmental degradation, and trans‐national organized crime are slowly beginning to dominate the security debate in Malaysia.