Normally, Dr Hoo Chiew Ping says, Malaysia would seek to de-escalate conflict.
The senior lecturer in Strategic Studies and International Relations at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia says in an article in the BBC website that the Najib government’s move shows that Malaysia has decided “to distance itself from North Korea, if not quite cutting it off altogether”.
North Korea and Malaysia have taken the extraordinary step of banning each other’s citizens from leaving their countries in the fallout over the killing of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The problem began when Malaysia refused to hand over the body of Jong Nam to North Korean officials, insisting the body be handed over to the next-of-kin.
As tensions escalated, Malaysia expelled North Korea’s ambassador Kang Chol for making various unsubstantiated allegations against the nation, including questioning the impartiality of the murder investigation. It also ended visa free travel for North Koreans.
On Tuesday, North Korea banned Malaysians from leaving the country until the case was “properly solved”, saying it was to “ensure the safety” of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia.
In denouncing the move, Najib ordered a reciprocal ban.
And for the first time Najib directly accused North Korea of murdering Kim Jong Nam. Police say he died from super-toxic VX nerve agent smeared on his face by two women at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on Feb 13.
Hoo says Malaysia established diplomatic ties with North Korea on July 2, 1973, well ahead of the establishment of relations with China in May 1974.
Talking about the benefits of the “special relations” Malaysia and North Korea had prior to this incident, Hoo says: “But it was really Malaysia as an outpost for illegal North Korean economic activities that allowed it to have such cordial relations with the pariah state.
“One example of such activity was the instruction from the US Treasury to close down a North Korean bank account in a local Malaysian bank that was allegedly used for weapons deals with Myanmar, back in 2009.
“It is also widely believed that North Korea’s Air Koryo serves those cities where it can directly bring back hard cash for the North Korean regime. All trade is important for North Korea and the regime survives on foreign financial dealings, whether they are legal or illegal economic activities.”
Hoo does not say if the “illegal economic activities” might have had any influence on Malaysia’s firm stand against North Korea.
Hoo says now that Malaysia has fallen off its list of friends, North Korea is likely to look towards emerging states such as Myanmar to provide it with what it needs.