Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SRI PERDANA, KUALA LUMPUR (K.L)
Tarikh/Date : 11/01/91
Tajuk/Title : DINNER IN HONOUR OF HIS EXCELLENCY
MR GOH CHOK TONG, PRIME MINISTER OF
THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
It is with great pleasure that my wife and I, on behalf
of the government and people of Malaysia, welcome you, Mr.
Prime Minister and Mrs. Goh, and the members of your deleg-
ation to Malaysia. Your visit this time is of considerable
significance, being your first official visit to Malaysia as
Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore. As a close
neighbour, we in Malaysia have followed with admiration your
illustrious political career and your considerable achieve-
ments as one of Singapore's young leaders.
Mr. Prime Minister,
2. Your appointment as the Prime Minister of the Republic
of Singapore to succeed Mr. Lee Kuan Yew marks the culmi-
nation of a remarkable process of transition of Singapore's
leadership to another generation of leaders. The fact that
it was achieved so smoothly, with scarcely a ripple in ei-
ther the political arena or in the economy, testifies to the
wisdom and foresight of your predecessor. More importantly,
it is a measure of the high premium that Singapore places on
political stability, and of the confidence that you command
among your colleagues and among Singaporeans.
3. It is no accident that Singapore now is one of the ma-
jor Asian economies poised to develop into a leading world
economic, business and financial centre. Its economic
strength is evident from the fact that in spite of the Gulf
Crisis and the imminent recession in the United States,
Singapore is still expected to achieve an 8.5% economic
growth rate this year. We wish you every success in your
quest for a more prosperous and vibrant Singapore, and of a
society dedicated to high standards in every aspect of life.
4. Malaysia holds the view that its relations with its
closest neighbours are of utmost importance. Intertwined as
we are in both our history as well as our geographical prox-
imity, Malaysia will always give close and constant atten-
tion to the development of good relations between our two
countries. The media has often been guilty of an inordinate
amount of speculation on our bilateral relations, but this
is only to be expected given the fact that Singapore and
Malaysia were once one nation which separated because we had
differences. It is natural to expect those differences to
continue to haunt our relations.
5. But good and close bilateral relations can still be wo-
ven if we truly care for our countries and our peoples.
There is little to be gained by a confrontative attitude.
We both have had sufficient experience to understand the
waste resulting from prolonged and unreasoning confronta-
tion. Understanding this, we must be pragmatic and design
policies on bilateral relations that can be mutually benefi-
cial. Malaysia will always consciously endeavour to under-
stand the sensitivities and interests of Singapore and we
are sure you would do the same. In a situation such as
ours, where the scope of bilateral relations cover a wide
range of issues, including those where our interests may not
coincide, it becomes even more imperative that we con-
sciously set out to work together. And in order that we can
work together, it is necessary that we understand each
other, avoid unwarranted suspicions, and establish close
rapport.
6. Here I would like to state that I believe that rapport
lies not just in a shared past, nor just in personal chemis-
try, but rather in a common perception of what is best in
the mutual interest of our two countries. I believe we can-
not go wrong if we adhere to this tenet. In this context,
may I say that having had the occasion to meet you, Mr.
Prime Minister, and to exchange points of view with you when
you were Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister as well as today,
I know that we share the same ideals and aspirations, not
only for our peoples and our nations, but also for the re-
gion as a whole. I look forward with pleasure to working
with you in the closest possible manner on matters of mutual
importance to our two countries.
7. Looking at the achievements we have made so far, I re-
main confident that we can forge a common destiny that will
benefit our two nations if we continue to cooperate closely.
The list of matters on which we have been able to agree and
work together in the recent past alone is impressive. They
include the signing of a new water agreement, a gas agree-
ment, progress on the proposed second linkage, the expansion
of the causeway project, establishment of direct relations
with various states of Malaysia for investment, tourism and
other links, and Your Excellency's own initiative on the
growth triangle between Singapore, Johor and the Riau Is-
lands.
Mr. Prime Minister,
8. Both Malaysia and Singapore remain strongly committed
to ASEAN, and have devoted a great deal of effort to
strengthening the organisation. While ASEAN's achievements
in the political arena have gained for us a considerable
reputation as a strong regional organisation, the effort to
promote economic cooperation among its members have been
equally important. In a period when our wider interests and
well-being are being threatened by political and economic
uncertainties, it is crucial that we find new ways to break
down barriers to achieve even closer economic cooperation
among ASEAN member countries.
9. We are witnessing the very real threat of tumultuous
times in the world today. The peace dividend that came with
the ending of the Cold War appears to have dissipated, with
the Gulf Crisis threatening to worsen. In these times of
uncertainty, Malaysia reiterates its stand against the inva-
sion of small nations by stronger neighbours. We have aptly
demonstrated our commitment to this stand by our actions in
the UN Security Council on the Gulf Crisis.
10. While we witness an unprecedented unity among the com-
munity of nations in the political arena, unfortunately a
reverse trend threatens to develop in the multilateral trad-
ing system, with the establishment of economic blocs. The
European Community is moving towards the creation of a sin-
gle market, while the United States has signed a Free Trade
Agreement with Canada which could be expanded to include
Mexico and the Latin American countries. These are trading
blocs whether they are so called or not. These developments
bodes ill for the efforts to conclude the Uruguay Round, and
economies outside these two major blocs could find them-
selves at the losing end. For this reason, I believe that
Asian countries on the Pacific Rim, which have the potential
to collectively provide a dynamic core of growth, should ex-
plore ways of strengthening our regional cooperation. Ini-
tially at least we should learn to consult each other and
speak with one voice when negotiating with the European and
American blocs.
11. We should also look into ways and means of enhancing
trade between ourselves in order to build up our markets and
make them attractive to the European and American trading
blocs. That way we will be able to have more bargaining
power and be in a better position when negotiating for freer
flow of goods between all nations -- i.e. for free trade.
We are not about to abandon multilateralism. But in order
to save multilateralism we must stand up to trading blocs
which have already been formed and are working against free
trade. The choice is not for us to make. It has already
been made for us by others. If we do not know how or are
afraid to act because of labels which may be attached to us,
we are surely going to lose. We really do not understand
why it is proper for some countries to come together and
protect themselves while others may not do so. Malaysia and
Singapore are too closely linked for us to have
diametrically opposed approaches to problems affecting both
of us. I hope Singapore will maintain an open mind on the
Malaysian proposal for closer economic cooperation involving
the Pacific seaboard of Asia.
12. May I once again say how happy I am to welcome you and
Mrs. Goh to Malaysia. Your visit will further strengthen
the existing bond of friendship between our two countries
and intensify cooperation at all levels.
13. May I now invite you to rise and join me in a toast to
the good health of His Excellency Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong and Mrs. Goh and also to the good relations between
Singapore and Malaysia.
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