KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership has improved Malaysia’s diplomatic influence on the international stage, according to the Lowy Institute, which said the country is now a middle power that exerts more clout regionally than expected given its resources.

Malaysia ranked ninth among middle powers in this year’s Lowy Institute Asia Power Index, after an almost 20 per cent gain compared to last year.

The top five nations in the middle power category are India, Japan, Australia, Russia and South Korea.

Only two nations in the index are superpowers: the United States and China.

Overall, Malaysia now ranks 11th and is fourth in Southeast Asia.

"The two nations that have had the largest increase in Diplomatic Influence for the 2024 edition of the Asia Power Index are the Philippines (an increase of 12.1 points) and Malaysia (up 9.1 points), both led by new and diplomatically active leaders,” the think tank said.

"Under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership, Malaysia’s diplomatic influence rose by 9.1 points, gaining one ranking to reach 9th place for this measure,” it added.

"Malaysia exerts more influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s positive power gap score, which increased in 2024.”

Anwar’s active engagement with global leaders was attributed as a major factor behind Malaysia’s growing diplomatic influence, with Anwar being far more active internationally than predecessor Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the think tank said.

In the two years since taking power, Anwar has held 72 bilateral meetings with the 27 countries featured in the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index, elevating Malaysia from 11th to 5th place in this indicator of diplomatic activity.

Malaysia’s diplomatic clout gained one ranking to reach 9th place in this year’s index, which measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in Asia.

Malaysia’s rank for regional leadership also rose by two places to 12th, and global leadership by one rank to 15th.

However, the report said experts surveyed were yet to be fully convinced on Anwar’s efficacy, which it suggested could be due to his over support for Hamas in the Middle East and close ties to China.

In other areas, Malaysia performed best in the cultural influence measure, placing 6th in the index.

Malaysia’s lowest ranking was for its military capability, ranking 16th. Its score for defence networks declined by three rankings to 14th in 2024, which the institute said reflected Putrajaya’s more cautious non-aligned position in the regional security architecture.

Malaysia also dropped two spots for the resilience score, which looks at a country’s ability to deter real or potential external threats to state stability.

The resilience index is measured in terms of internal institutional stability, resource security, geo-economic security, geopolitical security, and nuclear deterrence. Malaysia now ranks 10th in this aspect.