[2] In 2014, a Malaysian diplomat named Mohammed Rizalman Ismail was arrested by the New Zealand Police and charged with burglary and assault with intent to rape after allegedly following a 21-year-old woman, Tania Billingsley to her home in Wellington.

This is in part because Malaysia occupies an influential position within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is well-known to New Zealanders.

[20] In the same year, New Zealand economic relations with Malaysia were also being discovered in other areas such as the food (mainly dairy products) and beverage sector and both countries announced their intention to foster stronger business and cultural links between them.

A cultural exchange between Māori and the indigenous people of the Malaysian state of Sabah had been held in Kota Kinabalu.

[21] New Zealand welcomed a group of 15 government delegates from the Malaysian state of Sarawak for a meeting held in April 2019 to share and discuss common indigenous interests and co-operation.

[3][19] New Zealand is working to attract more students from Malaysia as part of the country efforts to promote it as a first choice for foreign study.