KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY
YAB DATO’ SERI ABDULLAH HAJI AHMAD BADAWI,
PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA,
TO THE CHINA-MALAYSIA ECONOMIC CONFERENCE 2004
24 FEBRUARY 2004,
SUNWAY LAGOON RESORT HOTEL
I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN BY THANKING THE NATIONAL SMI CONSULTATIVE CENTER, FOR INVITING ME TO OFFICIATE THE OPENING OF THIS CONFERENCE. THIS YEAR’S EDITION IS ESPECIALLY AUSPICIOUS, SINCE IT IS THE FIRST MAJOR EVENT THAT HIGHLIGHTS OUR CELEBRATION OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF MALAYSIA-CHINA RELATIONS.
2. THIRTY YEARS AGO, MALAYSIA’S SECOND PRIME MINISTER, TUN ABDUL RAZAK, NORMALISED RELATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. IT WAS A BOLD AND FAR-SIGHTED ACT, ONE THAT RAN COUNTER TO THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM OF THE TIME. BUT IT HAD FAR REACHING RESULTS FOR THE COUNTRY AS ALL OF YOU HERE TODAY CAN TESTIFY.
3. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HOW RADICAL THIS POLICY DIRECTION WAS, BECAUSE THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE EARLY 1970’S WAS VERY DIFFERENT. THE VIETNAM WAR WAS STILL RAGING, WHILE DOMESTICALLY, INSURGENTS WERE STILL ACTIVELY TRYING TO DESTABILISE MALAYSIA. IN ADDITION, THE ETHNIC STRIFE OF MAY 1969 HAD CAST A BLANKET OF SUSPICION OVER THE LOYALTIES OF A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF MALAYSIANS.
4. DESPITE THE FACT THAT MALAYSIA HAD SUPPORTED CHINA’S ENTRY INTO THE UNITED NATIONS IN 1971, THERE WERE STILL MANY WHO BELIEVED THAT CHINA WAS DRIVEN BY RAW AMBITION AND COULD NOT TO BE TRUSTED. THERE WERE STILL MANY WHO BELIEVED THAT RAPPROCHEMENT WITH CHINA WAS PREMATURE AND FOOLHARDY.
5. AT THE TIME, ONE COULD NOT EVEN USE AN ECONOMIC ARGUMENT TO JUSTIFY CLOSER TIES WITH CHINA. CHINA WAS ONE OF THE POOREST COUNTRIES IN WORLD THAT HAD LITTLE TO OFFER MALAYSIA. BY THE SAME TOKEN, MALAYSIA WAS BASICALLY AN EXPORTER OF PRIMARY COMMODITIES THAT HAD LITTLE ELSE TO OFFER CHINA.
6. MALAYSIA, HOWEVER, REMAINED UNDAUNTED IN ITS VISION OF ESTABLISHING DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH CHINA, THE SLEEPING GIANT. WE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT OUR SECURITY AND WELLBEING COULD ONLY BE ASSURED BY COUNTRIES IN THE REGION RESOLVING TO DEAL SQUARELY AND FAIRLY WITH ONE ANOTHER. THUS, MALAYSIA WAS A MOVING FORCE IN THE FORMULATION OF THE ASEAN ZONE OF PEACE, FREEDOM AND NEUTRALITY OR ZOPFAN, SOMETHING TO WHICH WE STILL REMAIN FIRMLY COMMITTED.
7. IN LINE WITH THIS POLICY, AND IN AN ACT OF GREAT STATESMANSHIP, TUN ABDUL RAZAK TOOK THE FIRST STEP IN THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES IN ESTABLISHING RELATIONS WITH CHINA. OUR RELATIONS HAVE SINCE THAWED, THEN GRADUALLY WARMED AND IS NOW IN FULL BLOSSOM.
8. WHO WOULD HAVE RECKONED ON THE OPENING UP OF CHINA AND ITS EXPLOSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH? WHO COULD HAVE BELIEVED THAT FROM ITS TURBULENT BEGINNINGS, IT WOULD SO EAGERLY JOIN THE WORLD COMMUNITY OF TRADING NATIONS? WHO WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THAT CHINA WOULD BECOME ONE OF MALAYSIA’S MOST IMPORTANT TRADING PARTNERS? THIRTY YEARS AGO, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ALMOST NO ONE.
9. MALAYSIA’S CHINA POLICY HAS BEEN A TRIUMPH OF GOOD DIPLOMACY AND GOOD SENSE. OUR POSITION WAS THAT OF AN UNDIVIDED CHINA, SECURE, PROSPEROUS, AT PEACE WITH ITSELF AND WITH THE REGION, AND THIS HAS REMAINED UNDIMINISHED ALL THESE YEARS. WHAT IS MORE, I BELIEVE THAT WE BLAZED A TRAIL FOR OTHERS TO FOLLOW. OUR CHINA POLICY SHOWED THAT IF YOU CAN LOOK BEYOND YOUR FEARS AND INADEQUACIES, AND CAN THINK AND ACT FROM PRINCIPLED POSITIONS, REWARDS WILL FOLLOW.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
10. CHINA IS TODAY A CREATOR OF PROSPERITY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER. IN THE LAST DECADE, BUT ESPECIALLY SINCE ACCESSION TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION, RATES OF GROWTH HAVE BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF PHENOMENAL. CHINA HAS PROVEN ITSELF TO BE A POWERFUL MAGNET FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT. IT IS A HAVEN FOR MANUFACTURERS LOOKING TO OUTSOURCE PRODUCTION. IT IS A FORMIDABLE COMPETITOR ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES. IT HAS A VORACIOUS APPETITE FOR IMPORTS. PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE PEOPLE’S MINDSETS ARE FIXED CLEARLY ON PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. ANYONE VISITING CHINA IN 1994 AND AGAIN IN 2004 CANNOT HELP BUT BE AMAZED AT THE EXTENT OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF ITS CITIES AND PEOPLE.
11. THIS IS NO FLASH IN THE PAN. CHINA’S PROSPERITY CREATION LOOKS SET TO CONTINUE. NO ONE NEEDS TO BE REMINDED THAT CHINA IS HOME TO ONE-FOURTH OF ALL HUMANITY. THE EXTRAORDINARILY LARGE POOL OF LABOUR IT HAS IS ONE OF MAIN ENGINES THRUSTING THE ECONOMY FORWARD. AT THE SAME TIME, THE GOVERNMENT AIMS TO MAINTAIN A STRONG ECONOMY AND IMPROVE THE LIVING STANDARDS OF ITS PEOPLE.
12. CHINA’S ECONOMY IS CURRENTLY THE SIXTH LARGEST IN THE WORLD AND IN THE NEAR FUTURE, IT IS CONCEIVABLE THAT IT WILL BECOME THE FIFTH, PERHAPS EVEN THE FOURTH. THE PRINCIPAL CONSEQUENCE OF THIS INCREDIBLE GROWTH IS THAT THE WORLD’S CENTRE OF ECONOMIC GRAVITY WILL SHIFT TOWARDS EAST ASIA. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LINKAGES ARE BOUND TO EVENTUALLY FOLLOW SUIT.
13. ALREADY, WE HAVE STARTED TO WITNESS THIS SHIFT AND MALAYSIA HAS BEEN A PRIME BENEFICIARY OF THESE CHANGES. FROM 1992 TO 2002, OUR BILATERAL TRADE WITH CHINA GREW BY 960 PER CENT, FROM RM4.6 BILLION TO RM44.1 BILLION. IN 2003, MALAYSIA WAS CHINA’S SEVENTH LARGEST EXPORT MARKET, WHILE CHINA WAS MALAYSIA’S FOURTH. THE SITUATION CERTAINLY AUGURS WELL FOR BOTH OUR COUNTRIES.
14. FURTHERMORE, THE ASEAN-CHINA FREE TRADE AREA IS EXPECTED TO BE IN PLACE BY 2010 AND OUR TWO COUNTRIES WILL BE BOUND TOGETHER EVEN MORE TIGHTLY. ACCOMPANYING THE RISING TRADE IN GOODS WILL BE EVEN MORE SERVICES, CAPITAL, LABOUR, STUDENTS AND TOURISTS. THE MORE WE ENABLE PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE CONTACT, THE MORE LIKELY MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING WILL DEEPEN, CO-OPERATION WILL BROADEN AND COLLABORATION WILL FOLLOW.
15. CHINA IS STILL NEW TERRAIN AND UNCHARTED TERRITORY FOR MANY MALAYSIANS, AND VICE VERSA. SOME OF THE EARLY FORAYS INTO CHINA WERE BY MALAYSIANS HOPING TO GET RICH FAST. THESE ENDED IN DISAPPOINTMENT AS THEIR NAIVETY PROVED TO BE THEIR UNDOING. LIKE ANY COUNTRY, CHINA MUST BE RESPECTED AND UNDERSTOOD. IT CANNOT BE TRIFLED WITH – AND MALAYSIA, I MIGHT ADD, IS NO DIFFERENT. CHINA’S SIZE, DIVERSITY AND COMPLEXITY MEAN THAT IT IS ONLY TREASURE FOR THOSE DEDICATED TO LEARNING ITS WAYS AND DEVELOPING RELATIONS THAT ARE STABLE AND MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL. MY FRANK ADVICE TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO DO SO IS TO STAY HOME.
16. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT TO USE EVERY OPPORTUNITY AND ESTABLISH TIES THAT CAN EVENTUALLY BE NURTURED INTO FULLY-FLEDGED NETWORKS. THE PRIVATE SECTOR, WHICH IS RIGHTLY AT THE FOREFRONT OF EFFORTS, SEEMS TO BE WELL SERVED BUT THE GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO BE CONFINED TO THE OCCASIONAL TRADE MISSION AND STOPOVER. THE FREQUENCY OF CONTACTS SHOULD GO BEYOND THIS AND I CALL FOR MORE MULTILEVEL GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT TO INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CO-OPERATION AND COLLABORATION.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
17. WE SOULD ALSO CLOSELY LOOK AT HOW TO INCREASE THE FLOW OF INFORMATION AT THE PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE LEVEL. IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR BOTH PARTIES TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN EACH OTHERS COUNTRIES. AS AN ANCIENT CHINESE SAGE ONCE REMARKED: “BY STAYING PRESENT AND AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING, THE LEADER CAN DO LESS AND YET ACHIEVE MORE.”
18. THE WORTH OF A COUNTRY IS, ULTIMATELY, NOT HOW LARGE ITS ECONOMY IS. THE TRUE MEASURE OF A COUNTRY IS ITS SET OF PRINCIPLES AND WHAT IT DOES TO MAKE THE WORLD A SAFER AND BETTER PLACE. WE HAVE AMPLE PROOF TODAY THAT JUST TO BE BIGGER, RICHER AND MORE TECHNICALLY SAVVY IS NOT NECESSARILY A GUARANTEE OF ONE’S SAFETY. RATHER, PEACE OF MIND COMES FROM HOW A COUNTRY SETS ITS SIGHTS AND BEHAVES IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF NATIONS.
19. PEACE IS NOT ACHIEVED BY LEAVING THINGS TO HAPPEN BY CHANCE. IT IS NOT ACHIEVED BY MERELY TAKING THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE. MANKIND HAS RARELY MANAGED TO SETTLE DISPUTES WITHOUT RESORTING TO VIOLENCE. THE ASIAN REGION, UNTIL RECENTLY, HAS ITSELF BEEN RIFE WITH CONFLICT. SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THAT THE CLOSER WE ARE IN TERMS OF GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY, THE MORE DIFFICULT OUR RELATIONS ARE. I REPEAT, SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THAT THE CLOSER WE ARE IN TERMS OF GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY, THE MORE DIFFICULT OUR RELATIONS ARE.
20. THE FACT THAT WE DO NOT SHARE THE SAME VIEWS AND INTERESTS ALL THE TIME CANNOT BE THE BASIS FOR DISPENSING WITH CIVILITY AND GOOD RELATIONS. IT CANNOT GIVE EXCUSE TO THROW DOWN THE GAUNTLET AND TAKE UP ARMS. IT TOOK NO LESS THAN THREE MASSIVE WARS IN EUROPE – THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE ENSUING COLD WAR -- FOR COUNTRIES TO REALISE THE ABSOLUTE FUTILITY OF SETTLING MATTERS THROUGH THE BARREL OF A GUN. THIS OUGHT NOT TO BE ALSO THE PRECONDITION FOR A MORE PEACEFUL AND STABLE ASIA.
21. THE REASON WHY WE HAVE BEEN SO ECONOMICALLY SUCCESSFUL IS THAT WE HAVE MANAGED TO MAINTAIN A STATE OF RELATIVE CALMNESS AND TRANQUILITY SO THAT WE GO ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF ATTENDING TO OUR PRIMARY CONSTITUENTS – OUR PEOPLE. WE ARE NEIGHBOURS, PARTS OF AN INTERLOCKING AND EVER INTERDEPENDENT NETWORK OF ECONOMIES. WE ARE ALL PART OF THE SAME VILLAGE, THE SAME NEIGHBOURHOOD.
22. IT IS SAID THAT A GOOD NEIGHBOUR IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN A FRIEND FAR AWAY.. IT IS INVALUABLE TO HAVE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR THAT KEEPS HIS OR HER HOUSE IN ORDER AND DEVOTES TIME AND EXPENSE TO TAKING CARE OF OTHERS IN THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBOURHOOD. A PROSPEROUS CHINA HAS A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY TO USE ITS SIZE AND INFLUENCE TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE OF PEACE AND STABILITY OUTWARDS, BOTH FOR THE REGION AND THE WORLD AT LARGE.
23. BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS, THE PROGNOSIS IS GOOD. CHINA HAS BEEN RESOLVING AND CLOSING CRACKS AND FISSURES WITHIN THE COUNTRY. ONE CAN ONLY BE EFFECTIVE IN CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR PEACE IF ONE IS AT PEACE WITH ONE’S SELF. HAVING DONE SO, IT MUST SET ITS EYES FARTHER AFIELD AND LOOK AT EXERCISING ITS MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THE TASK OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT.
24. RESTRAINT IS AN ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTIC OF PEACE MAKING. MIGHT DOES NOT MAKE RIGHT. JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD. IN THIS REGARD, CHINA’S WILLINGNESS TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE ASEAN TREATY OF AMITY AND CO-OPERATION IS PROOF THAT IT WISHES TO BE AS DILIGENT IN THE PURSUIT OF PEACE AS SOME COUNTRIES ARE IN THE PURSUIT OF WAR. ITS WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY AND CONSTRUCTIVELY IN THE EAST ASIAN POLITICAL COMMUNITY IS A HEARTENING SIGN FOR THE FUTURE.
25. AT THE SAME TIME, RESTRAINT BY ONE PARTY SHOULD NOT BE MISTAKEN FOR WEAKNESS AND LEAD TO RECKLESSNESS AND PROVOCATION ON THE PART OF ANOTHER. THIS APPLIES EVEN WHEN THE LATTER IS PART OF A LEGITIMATE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. IN STRIVING TO SECURE LOCALISED GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE LONGER-TERM IMPLICATIONS AND REPERCUSSIONS OF OUR ACTIONS. ALL OF US IN THE REGION SHOULD ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY TO ENCOURAGE THE KINDS OF CONSTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR THAT WILL MAKE THE REGION, AND THUS THE WORLD, A BETTER AND SAFER PLACE.
26. IT WOULD BE NEGLIGENT OF ME NOT TO POINT OUT THAT MALAYSIA VERY MUCH WELCOMES CHINA’S PARTICIPATION IN EAST ASIAN COMMUNITY BUILDING. WE ARE PLEASED TO HAVE RECEIVED CHINA’S BACKING FOR THE MALAYSIAN PROPOSAL WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED ALMOST A DECADE AND A HALF AGO AND TO PARTICIPATE IN IT WHEN THE NEED FOR IT WAS FINALLY REALISED.
27. IT TOOK THE ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS TO SHOW CLEARLY THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE CRUNCH WE ARE VERY MUCH LEFT TO FEND FOR OURSELVES. WE HAVE TO RESORT TO OUR OWN DEVICES AND RELY ON OUR OWN RESOURCES. HAVING COME THIS FAR, IT WOULD BE IMMENSELY STUPID OF US TO NOW ‘DROP THE BALL’ AS IT WERE, AND GIVE IN TO ENDLESS SPATS AND BICKERING. WE WOULD BE SQUANDERING GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES TO UPLIFT THE WELLBEING OF OUR PEOPLES WHILE UNDERSCORING OUR REGION’S SECURITY.
28. THE EAST ASIAN ENTERPRISE MUST WEIGH HEAVILY IN OUR CONSIDERATIONS AND DELIBERATIONS. WE SHOULD PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO GET FUNCTIONAL CO-OPERATION GOING AND LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY SERIOUS ABOUT THE DIRECTION WE ARE TAKING. YES, WE SHOULD TAKE NOTE OF OUR DIFFERENCES, PARTICULARLY OUR DISPARATE CAPABILITIES AND INTERESTS. BUT THEN WE SHOULD MOVE ON RATHER THAN TO KEEP HARPING ON THE REASONS WHY WE CANNOT GEL TOGETHER.
29. EAST ASIAN COMMUNITY IS A REALITY THAT IS COMING SHARPER INTO FOCUS WITH EACH PASSING DAY. MALAYSIA WILL BE HOSTING THE SECOND EAST ASIA CONGRESS IN MAY, AND THE SECOND EAST ASIAN FORUM AT THE END OF THE YEAR. ONE PRACTICAL STEP THAT I CAN SUGGEST IS FOR CHINA TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN THESE FORUMS BY SENDING THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST THAT IT HAS. IN TURN, I WOULD ENCOURAGE HIGH-LEVEL MALAYSIAN PARTICIPATION IN CHINA-LED INITIATIVES SUCH AS THE NETWORK OF EAST ASIAN THINK TANKS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
30. FROM MAKING THE PEACE, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME THAT CHINA WILL GO ON TO SETTING THE PACE. CHINA IS NOT ONLY AN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE. IT IS, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL POWERHOUSE TOO. AS IT CONTINUES TO ADVANCE ON THESE FRONTS, AND AS ITS SOCIETY BECOMES STRONGER AND MORE SOPHISTICATED, ITS CAPACITY TO CONCEIVE AND IMPLEMENT CONCEPTS TO BENEFIT THE REGION AND THE WORLD WILL ALSO INCREASE.
31. I AM CONVINCED THAT CHINA, SINGLY AND IN CONCERT WITH THE OTHER NATIONS OF EAST ASIA, WILL GAIN AN UNRIVALLED CAPABILITY TO FORMULATE, PROJECT AND REALISE A VISION FOR THE REGION AND THE WORLD. I BELIEVE THIS CONCEPT OF EAST ASIAN NATIONS IS A FORCE FOR GOOD AND NECESSARY BECAUSE THERE ARE GLOBAL PROBLEMS THAT MUST BE TACKLED BY US ALL OR WHICH WILL OTHERWISE TACKLE US ALL. IN THE LAST DECADE, THE WORLD HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES IN POVERTY REDUCTION, IN NO SMALL PART, DUE TO THE MANY MILLIONS OF CHINESE WHO HAVE BEEN LIFTED OUT OF THE ECONOMIC MIRE. AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER, MANY LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ARE SLIPPING BACK IN TIME. POVERTY IS INCREASING, AGE EXPECTANCY IS DECLINING, MORE CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS OLD ARE DYING, AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES LIKE HIV/AIDS ARE SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE. THESE ARE WORRYING SIGNS BECAUSE THEY SIGNIFY A HEAVY TOLL IN THE FORM OF HUMAN LIVES, WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY BE A GREAT SOURCE OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY.
32. OF COURSE, EVEN A CHINA THAT IS STRONG AND PROSPEROUS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RIGHT ALL WRONGS AND SOLVE ALL THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS. THIS IS TOO MUCH TO ASK OF ANY COUNTRY. IT WILL HAVE, HOWEVER, A MUCH GREATER SAY AND ABILITY TO DRAW ATTENTION AND TO INITIATE THE INTERNATIONAL PROCESSES THAT ARE NEEDED. AND GIVEN THE QUITE OFTEN-DEAFENING SILENCE ON THESE MATTERS, ITS INTERVENTIONS WOULD BE WELCOMED INDEED.
33. I AM AWARE THAT THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF PESSIMISTS ABOUT CHINA’S ABILITY TO RISE ABOVE ITS OWN DOMESTIC ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, LET ALONE CONTRIBUTE TO THE SOLUTION OF OTHERS. CERTAINLY, IT WILL HAVE TO REMAIN DILIGENT IN ATTENDING TO THESE AND ENSURE THAT THE BENEFITS ARE BROAD BASED AND ENJOYED BY EVERYONE. BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY THAT HAD TO RISE FROM A LOW LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT ALSO ENCOUNTERED DIFFICULTIES AND INCONSISTENCIES. INDEED, THIS IS WHAT CHARACTERISES THEM AS ‘DEVELOPING’ IN THE FIRST PLACE.
34. THERE CERTAINLY ARE CHALLENGES AND HURDLES THAT HAVE TO BE OVERCOME. NONETHELESS, IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, IT IS ABOUT HOW COMMITTED AND INVOLVED CHINA IS TO CONTRIBUTING TO THE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES OF THE REGION AND THE WORLD. THE EVIDENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES AND I BELIEVE THAT CHINA, LIKE MALAYSIA IS MOST DEFINITELY CONCERNED TO DO SO. I INVITE CHINA TO OPEN DIALOGUE WITH MALAYSIA ON MATTERS OF INTEREST TO IT. I AM CONFIDENT THAT EXCHANGES OF OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES WILL PROVE TO BE VERY USEFUL IN ADVANCING INITIATIVES THAT HAVE A BROADER BENEFIT.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
35. I BEGAN MY REMARKS BY OBSERVING THAT WHEN MALAYSIA AND CHINA CONSIDERED FORMALISING OUR FRIENDSHIP IN 1974, THERE SEEMED TO MORE REASONS AGAINST THE IDEA THAN THOSE IN FAVOUR OF IT. AS IT TURNED OUT, OUR CHOICE TO START DOWN THE PATH OF FRIENDSHIP WAS A FRUITFUL ONE AND WE ARE CELEBRATING THE HARVEST FROM THE SEED THAT WAS SOWN THIRTY YEARS AGO.
36. I AM AWARE THAT MOST OF YOU HERE ARE BUSINESSMEN AND THAT THE REASON YOU ARE HERE IS TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO DO MORE BUSINESS. HOWEVER, I HAVE DELIBERATELY INCLUDED ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND WELFARE OBSERVATIONS BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP TO BECOME HOLISTIC. IF YOU AGREE WITH ME, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO EXPLORE THESE DIMENSIONS IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS TODAY.
37. I WISH YOU ALL MUCH SUCCESS AND I TAKE GREAT PLEASURE NOW IN DECLARING THIS CONFERENCE OPEN.
THANK YOU. |
