Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	BONN 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	19/09/88 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE OFFICIAL LUNCHEON HOSTED IN 
			HIS HONOUR BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR. 
			HELMUT KOHL CHANCELLOR OF THE 
			FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY 




 Your Excellency Dr. Helmut Kohl,
     Chancellor of the Federal Republic of
     Germany;
Excellencies;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
    Allow  me to express my deep appreciation for your kind
words of welcome and  the  gracious  hospitality  that  Your
Excellency  and  the  Government  of the Federal Republic of
Germany  have  accorded  me  and  my  delegation  since  our
arrival.
2.   I  had  been  looking  forward to making this visit for
some time and am pleased to  finally  make  it.    I  should
mention,  however, that I am not entirely a stranger to your
beautiful country, having been here on holiday several times
many years ago and having also led two investment missions.
3.   Germany, and the Rhine Valley in particular must be one
of the most beautiful places in the  world.   It is  perhaps
that  beauty  which  has  inspired  the  development of your
culture as manifested by the excellence of  the  Germans  in
music,   literature  and  philosophy.    Germany's  post-war
rehabilitation and progress is a tribute to the  indomitable
spirit,  ingenuity  and  enterprise  of  her people.   We in
Malaysia admire you and have much to learn  from  your  work
ethics,  organisation  and  your  pursuit  of  precision and
excellence.
Your Excellency,
4.   I am pleased to note  that  the  Federal  Republic  has
shown  a  keen awareness of the aspirations of the Malaysian
people  and  a  positive  appreciation  of  my  government's
policies  to  realise  them.     Our economic relations have
steadily expanded particularly in the  field  of  trade  and
investment.    Indeed,  the  Federal  Republic  is  our most
important trading partner within the European Community.
5.   Investment by the Federal Republic in the manufacturing
sector in Malaysia has steadily increased over the years and
today the Federal Republic  is  the  sixth  largest  foreign
investor  in  Malaysia.    German  entrepreneurs' commitment
reflects not only their confidence in the soundness  of  our
economic  policies  but  also  testifies  to  the  political
stability of Malaysia.
6.   We are fully appreciative  of  the  Federal  Republic's
advocacy  of  the liberalisation of international trade.  It
is imperative that the industrialised  countries  appreciate
the  fact that market access for our primary commodities and
our manufactured goods goes a long way towards strengthening
the socio-economic cohesion of developing societies and help
cushion the cyclical depressions that they are subjected to.
The prosperity of such countries as Malaysia will contribute
to the prosperity of Germany and other  developed  countries
for then we can buy more of your products.
Your Excellency,
7.   I  wish  to  note  with  deep appreciation the valuable
contribution  of  the  Federal  Republic  in  the  area   of
technical  assistance.    We  are  hopeful that the existing
programme could be further expanded to  areas  essential  to
Malaysia's industrial progress.
8.   One  issue  of  considerable  concern  to my government
however is the anti-tropical timber campaign which seems  to
be  more  and more vociferous.  This campaign is unworthy of
its laudable aims for  it  grossly  distorts  facts  and  is
discriminatory  in  its objective.  I wish to emphasise here
that Malaysia has already undertaken effective  measures  to
conserve  its  forest, implement reafforestation and develop
compensatory plantation programmes along with a reduction of
felling rate to maintain its ecosystem.  We do not just  see
trees;  we  are  deeply  aware  of the woods and the need to
conserve them.
Your Excellency,
9.   The recent Jakarta Informal Meeting involving  for  the
first  time  all  the  four Cambodian factions is a positive
development in the decade-old Cambodian  problem.    I  also
wish  to  stress  here  that  the  Afghanistan  model is not
applicable to the Cambodian problem  for,  inter  alia,  the
Afghan  accord  did  not  address  the question of political
settlement in the wake of the Soviet  withdrawal.    In  our
view,   the   self-proclaimed   unilateral   withdrawal   of
Vietnamese troops by 1990  must  be  directly  linked  to  a
negotiated settlement.  I wish to express here our gratitude
for  the support which the Federal Republic and the European
Community  have  extended  to  ASEAN's  efforts  towards   a
political solution to the Cambodian problem.
10.  I  also  wish  to  record  our  deep  gratitude to your
government  for  having  resettled  some  3,500   Vietnamese
refugees  in the Federal Republic.  Of late, we have reached
an understanding with the Government  of  Vietnam  which  is
prepared  to  accept  the  repatriation of those refugees in
Malaysia who are not qualified  for  resettlement  in  third
countries  and  to  prevent fresh exodus of boat people.  We
are happy to note that Vietnam has agreed to participate  in
the Preparatory Meeting which Malaysia will host in November
this   year   and   the   International  Conference  on  the
Indochinese Refugees early next year.    We  trust  all  the
resettlement  countries  would  extend  their  whole-hearted
support to ASEAN's initiative  and  make  the  Conference  a
success.
Your Excellency,
11.  We  are  indeed encouraged by the advances in East-West
Relations particularly the reconciliation  over  fundamental
differences   on  arms  control.    The  conclusion  of  the
Intermediate-range   Nuclear   Forces   (INF)   Treaty   has
positively  enhanced  the  prospects  for improved East-West
relations and of disarmament in Europe.   We  are  convinced
that  an  agreement  to  halve the strategic weapons through
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) would  be  a  fitting
sequel  to  the  INF  Treaty,  thereby  vastly improving the
prospects for international peace and  security.    We  hope
that  the  Mutual  and Balanced Forces Reduction Talks would
make  definite  progress   especially   in   the   area   of
conventional forces so that security and stability in Europe
could  be  achieved  at  lower  levels  of  conventional and
nuclear forces.  We are very conscious that what happens  in
Europe in the nuclear age will impact on the whole world.
12.  On  the  economic  front we in ASEAN have followed with
great interest the European Community's efforts to reach the
highest level of integration to  become  a  Single  European
Union   by   1992.     Our  concern  is  that  such  maximum
intra-regional  scheme  might  produce  a  fortress   Europe
perspective  which  can  undermine   further   the   already
limited market access for developing  countries  and  divert
Europe's  investment  to  the  community's  low-cost  member
states with the result that the on-going efforts to  promote
greater  European  investment in ASEAN would be in vain.  It
is Malaysia's hope that the  march  towards  1992  will  not
result  in  an inward-looking European Community and that it
would remain  committed  to  the  liberalisation  of  global
trade.
13.  As a developing country which is increasingly dependent
on  world  trade, Malaysia is very supportive of the Uruguay
Round of Negotiations.  We believe in strengthening the GATT
so that it can adequately respond to the changing pattern of
global trade.    Efforts  must  therefore  be  made  by  all
Contracting Parties to achieve early progress in the Uruguay
Round  in  dealing  with trade restrictions and distortions.
Trade disputes in agriculture in particular  should  not  be
allowed  to  reach a point where they jeopardise all current
negotiations.  Malaysia and for that matter  all  developing
countries   do   not  only  expect  firm  agreement  on  the
agricultural sector at the Mid  Term  Review  Conference  in
Montreal  in  December  but  also  hopes  that  demonstrable
progress will  be  made  on  as  many  fronts  as  possible,
including  in  particular,  concrete  results  on  trade  in
tropical products.
Your Excellency,
14.  I am gratified to note that our exchange of  views  has
afforded  me  a  better  insight into the Federal Republic's
stance on many a regional and international issue of  mutual
concern.    I trust that my visit have also focussed on some
of the major issues of concern to us.
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
15.  May I now invite you to join  me  in  a  toast  to  the
continued  health of His Excellency Dr. Helmut Kohl, Federal
Chancellor  and  to  the  everlasting   friendship   between
Malaysia and the Federal Republic of Germany.