Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : KUCHING, SARAWAK
Tarikh/Date : 16/02/90
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE EIGHTH
ASEAN-EC MINISTERIAL MEETING
Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I would like to begin by welcoming you and members of
your delegation to Malaysia. I am pleased that we could
host this meeting in Kuching as it would give you an oppor-
tunity to see something of the rich cultural and ecological
diversity of Malaysia. I know that the State Government of
Sarawak has gone to great lengths to ensure that your stay
here will be both productive and pleasant.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
2. We meet here at a momentous time in the history of the
world. In the Asia-Pacific region we are witnessing the
dawn of the Pacific Age with high growth rates, expanding
economies and greater regional economic cooperation. Japan
has become an economic superpower in its own right and is
set to chart a global political course of its own.
3. The United States, long the main engine of world
growth, is facing serious economic challenges. Its free
trade agreement with Canada however has created a major new
trading bloc with all the implications that trading blocs
have.
4. In Europe, the European Community is gearing up to
realise Project 1992, the single European market. Close co-
operation between the EC and EFTA is also in the offing.
5. In the Soviet Union, 'perestroika' and 'glasnost' con-
tinue to initiate changes that would have been unimaginable
only months ago. Even more unthinkable are the radical
changes occurring in Eastern Europe as a result of the
Soviet decision not to prop up the Communist Governments.
6. Since we meet within the context of an ASEAN-EC forum I
would like to confine my remarks principally to the impact
of these changes on our mutual relationship. The momentous
changes that are taking place are going to affect ASEAN-EC
relations. If we value our relations, if we see it as mak-
ing an important contribution to global stability and pros-
perity then we must seek to ensure that the changes
confronting us work to strengthen our relations.
7. Undoubtedly the EC will enter the 90s with an enhanced
economic and political role. It is going to emerge from
Project 1992 as the most powerful economic and political
grouping.
8. A reinvigorated and resurgent Europe has implications
for ASEAN and the rest of the world. Will the establishment
of an internal market and other integrative measures mean a
more inward looking EC, content on trading within itself and
the European Economic Space which would include the EFTA
countries? In 1987, for example, 60% of total EC exports
went to the EC countries and if EFTA is included, EC exports
to European destinations was as high as 70%. The potential
is there for an inward looking and less open trading group.
If we add Eastern Europe as well, the EC might well do with-
out the rest of the world.
9. While the EC may consider the ASEAN area as an impor-
tant investment centre and the establishment of the EC joint
investment committees in each ASEAN capital attests to that,
the attitude of the investors is somewhat different. De-
spite the very attractive packages and incentives offered by
ASEAN countries, European investors still have a preference
for the industrialised nations in the EC, and North America.
After 1992 they might even be more disinclined to venture
outwards to ASEAN and seek instead the advantages of a homo-
geneous and enlarged market. This is an aspect which I hope
you will take up at this meeting bearing in mind the high
priority accorded to closer industrial cooperation at the
Seventh ASEAN-EC Ministerial Meeting in Dusseldorf in May
1989.
10. ASEAN's concern about developments in the internal mar-
ket are real because not only is the EC a significant source
for development funding, it is also the third largest trad-
ing partner of ASEAN after Japan and the US. In 1987 the EC
accounted for 13% of ASEAN's global exports and 14% of
ASEAN's global imports.
11. How would this trade be affected come 1992? There may
be a free flow of goods, people, services and capital within
the community and a conducive atmosphere for healthy growth
and competition. But for those outside the EC they will
have to adjust to a whole new set of policies and regu-
lations on banking, trading and public procurement. While
efforts are being made by the EC to provide more transpar-
ency to what is taking place, it will be some time before
our business and trading community will fully comprehend and
familiarise itself with the new business environment.
12. Furthermore all decisions on the regulatory aspects of
trade are being taken without any discussion with the EC's
trading partners. Hence it is natural that there be appre-
hension as to whether we would still be facing national quo-
tas and under what conditions and whether our products will
continue to have market access to the EC. We hear that GSP
provisions will be done away with in favour of common
tariffs for all imports.
13. There is obviously an 'information gap' here which both
ASEAN and the EC have tried to fill by organising colloqui-
ums, seminars and meetings. However, project 1992 is an im-
mense and complex enterprise. More contacts between the two
sides are necessary particularly in assisting our exporters
who would be most affected by the changes.
14. There also appears to be a 'consistency gap' between
the EC's position as a leading proponent of trade
liberalisation and multilateralism, on the one hand, and
what it does to further the cause of these principles on the
other. It is necessary for the EC to demonstrate that the
principles of free trade and competition do not stop short
at its borders but will be applicable to all in a fair, just
and equitable manner.
15. Nowhere is the application of these principles more
relevant than in the current Uruguay Round of the Multilat-
eral Trade Negotiations which seem to be stalled in the var-
ious groups on tariffs, tropical products and agriculture.
Many of the issues which are being dealt with in these
groups are of vital importance to ASEAN and other developing
countries. We would like the EC to show the political will
necessary to get the negotiations moving towards a success-
ful outcome.
16. I hope this meeting here in Kuching will help reassure
us that far from being 'Fortress Europe' the EC will not
only maintain but strengthen its relations with ASEAN and
will play an active role in support of the open multilateral
trading system.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
17. In rapid succession the communist regimes of Eastern
Europe have collapsed under the pressure of mass demon-
strations and mass dissatisfaction. The people of Eastern
Europe are now enthusiastically pursuing their goals of a
more democratic and prosperous society.
18. As a democratic and free-enterprise nation Malaysia
welcomes the recent changes in Eastern Europe. We welcome
the changes because it will also enhance both European and
global security and stability. In addition it will provide
new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation for
all.
19. Eastern Europe however still faces many challenges
ahead. Eastern Europe is going to need a lot of help and
support. Malaysia and ASEAN will not grudge Eastern Europe
this support. Indeed, we too would like to assist Eastern
Europe in whatever way we can.
20. Developments in the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe
have already had a positive effect on the Asia-Pacific re-
gion. Both Soviet and US forces are being reduced. This
improvement in the overall politico-strategic situation will
in turn offer ASEAN new regional opportunities to pursue our
long-cherished goal of a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutral-
ity or ZOPFAN and allow for an even greater focus on eco-
nomic development.
21. But like you, we also have our fears and concerns.
Fears have been expressed that large scale Western assist-
ance to Eastern Europe will be at the expense of other de-
veloping countries. In raising this issue here I want to
emphasize that I am not making a plea for assistance to
ASEAN per se. I plead rather for the many Third World coun-
tries who are facing serious economic and social difficul-
ties. I think we all accept the fact that economic
development is a vital factor in promoting peace and stabil-
ity.
22. The question in our mind is whether Eastern Europe will
now draw away the already sparse inflow of European invest-
ments into Southeast Asia. Despite assurances that more
would be done to encourage greater investments in ASEAN,
European investments continue to lag behind those from other
regions.
23. In the area of trade the situation is equally less re-
assuring. It would be disastrous for us if a combination of
the 1992 Single Market and special trading privileges for
Eastern Europe lead to diminished market access for ASEAN
exports.
24. Western Europe has therefore a unique and historic op-
portunity not just to mould the future of Eastern Europe but
also the future of the world as well. You can create oppor-
tunities for ASEAN countries, and others, to join with you
in the reconstruction and development of Eastern Europe and
indeed of other regions as well. You can also help to bring
together businessmen and business opportunities in a three-
way link-up between Western Europe, Eastern Europe and
ASEAN. You can also help by ensuring that your single mar-
ket, will lead to greater international cooperation and to
an upsurge of international trade that will benefit all na-
tions. Peace and progress in Europe cannot be pursued sepa-
rately from peace and progress elsewhere in the world.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
25. Let me now take up some issues nearer home. We in
Malaysia view with great concern the campaign currently be-
ing waged against us on the issue of tropical rain-forests.
We have seen how these campaigns have resulted in the boy-
cott of tropical timber in some EC countries.
26. We recognise that there are many organisations, groups
and individuals who are genuinely concerned about the envi-
ronment. However, there are those who are bent on carrying
out their campaigns based on sentiments and irrationality.
And when they have the ears of political parties either in
power or in the opposition, biased policies emerge. Action
is often taken against us not because it is deemed right but
because it is popular. While this may be a vote-catching
issue for some, for us in the developing countries, it is a
matter of economic survival.
27. The timber industry plays an important role in the
Malaysian economy. In 1988 it constituted 5.1% of
Malaysia's total export earnings and gave direct employment
to 162,000 people. There is every indication that the tim-
ber industry is poised to make a bigger contribution to the
economy as we concentrate on value-added products, partic-
ularly furniture-making. Industrialised countries could as-
sist us in these efforts by lowering their protective walls
currently in place against such manufactured products. At
the moment, the tariff barriers in some countries favour
sawn timber and logs against finished higher value products.
The irony is that this not only retards our
industrialisation process but it also encourages more trees
to be felled. If the environmentalists are truly concerned
they should encourage relocation of timber-based industries
into the timber producing countries. That way employment
and foreign exchange earnings will be sustained with less
timber felling. A boycott of tropical timber may result in
the clearing of more forest land for agriculture and devel-
opment.
28. The ASEAN countries collectively have over 170 million
hectares of tropical forests. This represents more than
half of the total land area of ASEAN. In Malaysia, our
tropical rainforests cover about 20 million hectares, out of
a total land area of 33 million hectares, or about 61%. If
you take into account tree crops such as rubber, oil palm
and cocoa, the area under forest and tree crops comes up to
nearly 74% of the total area. Considering that nearly a
hundred years have passed since we first started clearing
our jungles to make way for plantation agriculture, you will
appreciate that far from indiscriminately clearing our for-
ests as alleged, much care and planning have gone into man-
aging our forests. Long before it became fashionable for
those in the West to espouse the cause of the rainforests,
we in Malaysia were already actively engaged in managing our
forest resources and in preserving our wildlife and biolog-
ical diversity.
29. What we would now like to see is the discussion being
carried to a more constructive level so that the focus is on
joint efforts by both the developed and the developing coun-
tries to protect the environment while pursuing the twin ob-
jectives of economic growth and sustainable development.
The Langkawi Declaration adopted by the Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meeting in Kuala Lumpur recently, could form a
useful basis for such action by both ASEAN and the EC.
30. And now let me touch briefly on the so-called issue of
the Penan about which two resolutions have already been
adopted by the European Parliament. You could not have met
at a more appropriate place to know more about this matter.
31. For now, let me emphasise one point clearly: we do not
intend to turn the Penan into "human zoological specimens"
to be gawked at by tourists and studied by anthropologists
while the rest of the world passes them by. The Penan in
question number about 900 out of a total Penan population of
about 9,000 in Sarawak. Whilst the majority of them have
successfully settled, the remainder are still leading
nomadic lives in the jungle. It is our policy to eventually
bring all jungle dwellers into the mainstream of the na-
tion's life. There is nothing romantic about these help-
less, half-starved and disease-ridden people and we will
make no apologies for endeavouring to uplift their living
conditions. I hope during your stay in Sarawak you will be
able to appreciate the situation better.
32. You also have the question of drugs on your agenda and
rightly so. ASEAN-EC cooperation is an essential part of
the international effort to combat drug abuse and illicit
trafficking. Malaysia, on its part, has adopted a mixture
of harsh measures against traffickers and mandatory rehabil-
itation for drug users to meet this challenge head on. As a
result the spread of drug abuse here is much less than in
the more tolerant countries, where the spread of drug abuse
is much more and with greater speed. There must be no let
up in our war on drug abuse.
33. It is heartening to note that countries have pledged
their political support for more intensified cooperation on
all fronts. The 1987 International Conference on Drug Abuse
and Illicit Trafficking in Vienna laid that foundation.
Hopefully, the UN General Assembly's Special Session On
Drugs which is to be held in a few days time will carry the
fight forward for a concerted programme of action involving
both the producer and consumer countries. ASEAN-EC cooper-
ation on this issue must also move forward. Drug
traffickers must know that we are determined to leave them
no place to thrive or to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
34. Recent initiatives on the Cambodian issue have given us
fresh hope for progress in finding a peaceful political
settlement. The central point in these initiatives is an
enhanced United Nations role in Cambodia. The decision of
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to be
collectively and directly seized of the matter is certainly
significant. The Australian proposal can also form the ba-
sis in our search for a political settlement. I welcome the
convening of the Informal Meeting on Cambodia in Jakarta at
the end of this month. Malaysia will contribute positively
to this peace process.
35. While our attention is focussed on the developments
concerning Cambodia we must not marginalise the problem of
the Vietnamese boat people. For 14 years Malaysia and other
South East Asian countries have for humanitarian consider-
ations accorded temporary refuge to the Vietnamese boat peo-
ple. Increasingly, this asylum facility is being abused by
Vietnamese seeking a better life in Western countries.
Their continuing influx has exerted unacceptable pressures
on our social and political fabric. Malaysia believes that
a durable solution to this problem is obtainable in the Com-
prehensive Plan of Action (CPA) provided all its aspects are
implemented in totality and simultaneously. We cannot ac-
cept being singled out to shoulder the burden. In the first
instance we were not, even indirectly, the cause of the
problem. It is therefore incumbent on the international
community and particularly those adopting high moral posi-
tions to ensure the full and immediate implementation of the
CPA.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
36. You have a full agenda ahead of you. All of us in
ASEAN look forward to exchanging views with you on the im-
portant issues before both our regional groupings. Now, it
gives me great pleasure to officially declare this meeting
open. May you have a good meeting and a memorable stay in
Malaysia.
Thank you.
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