# Malaysia in the OIC, Commonwealth, NAM and Other International Groupings

> A reference profile of Malaysia's membership in multilateral groupings beyond ASEAN and the UN — the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), D-8 and APEC — what each one does and Malaysia's role within them.

- Category: international
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-01
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/international/malaysia-oic-commonwealth-nam-membership

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Every time a Malaysian minister speaks about Palestine in a forum of the
Muslim world, or a senior official attends an Asia-Pacific economic summit,
they speak on behalf of a country that sits at many tables at once. Beyond
ASEAN and the United Nations, Malaysia is a member of a dozen intergovernmental
groupings — and five of them form the backbone of its multilateral engagement.

## Which groupings does Malaysia join?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Foreign Policy document lists Malaysia's
active involvement in the OIC, NAM, the Commonwealth, the G77, D-8, ASEM and
APEC, among others. The five main groupings below span three types of
affiliation — religion, colonial history and the economy:

| Grouping | Established | Malaysia's status | Members | Focus |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) | 1969, Rabat | Founding state | 57 | Muslim world solidarity |
| Commonwealth | — | Member since 1957 | 56 | Heritage, shared values |
| NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) | 1961, Belgrade | Active member; chair 2003–2006 | — | Non-alignment, South-South |
| D-8 | 1997, Istanbul | Founding state | 8 (now 9) | Economic cooperation |
| APEC | 1989 | Founding member | 21 economies | Asia-Pacific trade |

## What is Malaysia's role in the OIC?

The OIC was established at the first Islamic conference in Rabat, Morocco in
1969, following the arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Malaysia was among the
countries that founded it. This early standing was not merely symbolic: Tunku
Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister, was "instrumental in the
establishment" of the organisation and became its first Secretary-General from
1971 according to the Perdana Leadership Foundation.

Today the OIC comprises 57 member states across Asia, Africa, Europe and the
Caribbean, representing around 1.5 billion people. For Malaysia — a
Muslim-majority country — the OIC remains a key stage for championing the
unity of the Ummah, and in line with its foreign-policy stance, Malaysia uses
this forum to voice support for the Palestinian people. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs also maintains a dedicated section for OIC affairs and regional
cooperation.

## How do the Commonwealth and NAM differ?

Both are rooted in the post-war era, but they face in different directions.

**The Commonwealth** is a voluntary association of 56 independent countries,
most of which were once under British rule. Malaysia joined it in 1957, the
year of its independence. It is not a power bloc; it gathers around shared
values — development, democracy and peace — and meets every two years at the
CHOGM.

**NAM**, by contrast, was formally established at its first Summit in Belgrade,
Yugoslavia in 1961, out of developing countries' desire not to side with
either of the major power blocs during the Cold War. Malaysia is an active
member that hosted the 13th NAM Summit in Kuala Lumpur in February 2003, then
chaired the movement from 2003 to 2006. The principles of non-alignment,
non-interference and South-South cooperation that lie at NAM's core still echo
in Malaysia's foreign policy today.

## What are the D-8 and APEC?

These two groupings are younger and more economic in nature.

**The D-8** (Developing 8 Countries) was formally announced through the
Istanbul Declaration on 15 June 1997. Its eight founding states — Bangladesh,
Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, **Malaysia**, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey — are all
Muslim-majority developing countries that cooperate on trade, industry and
development. Azerbaijan was reported to have joined the grouping in 2025,
bringing it to nine members (please verify on the official D-8 website).

**APEC** (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) was established on 6–7 November
1989 to manage the increasingly close economic interdependence of the
Asia-Pacific region. Malaysia is one of the 12 founding members that joined at
the first meeting, alongside Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South
Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.
APEC now comprises 21 member economies — it uses the term "economies", not
"countries", because its membership includes Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.

## Malaysia's leadership roles

Malaysia has not merely signed up for membership; it has held the top posts in
several of these groupings.

| Grouping | Malaysia's leadership role |
| --- | --- |
| OIC | Tunku Abdul Rahman — first Secretary-General (from 1971) |
| NAM | Host of the 13th Summit (2003); chair 2003–2006 |
| D-8 | One of the eight founding states (1997) |
| APEC | One of the 12 founding members (1989) |

This is not a complete list. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also lists
Malaysia's involvement in the G77, ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting), IORA (Indian
Ocean Rim Association), FEALAC and AMED — all part of a broader effort to
promote South-South Cooperation among developing countries.

## What's next

Each grouping above deserves an explanation of its own, and the membership
figures and summit hosts change over time — verify the latest details on each
organisation's official website before relying on them in official documents.
To understand Malaysia's two most important multilateral affiliations, start
with its ASEAN and United Nations memberships, which lie at the core of its
foreign policy.

## Sources

- Malaysia — Member Countries — https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/malaysia (The Commonwealth Secretariat)
- About us — The Commonwealth — https://thecommonwealth.org/about-us (The Commonwealth Secretariat)
- Our members — APEC — https://www.apec.org/who-we-are/our-members (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC))
- Brief History of D-8 — https://developing8.org/about-d-8/brief-history-of-d-8/ (D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation)
- An Introduction to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) — https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/oic.html (GlobaLex, Hauser Global Law School Program, NYU School of Law)
- History — Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) — https://nam.go.ug/history (Non-Aligned Movement)
- Malaysia — Non-Aligned Movement Chairmanship — https://nam.go.ug/node/137 (Non-Aligned Movement)
- Tunku Abdul Rahman — https://www.perdana.org.my/pms-of-malaysia/tunku-abdul-rahman/ (Perdana Leadership Foundation)
- Dasar Luar Negara — https://www.pmo.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dasar-Luar-Malaysia.pdf (Kementerian Luar Negeri, Malaysia (dihoskan di pmo.gov.my))

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