Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : DUBLIN
Tarikh/Date : 22/09/92
Tajuk/Title : THE STATE DINNER IN HIS HONOUR
HOSTED BY H.E. ALBERT REYNOLDS
PRIME MINISTER OF IRELAND
Your Excellency Prime Minister Reynolds
and Mrs. Reynolds;
Excellencies;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of my wife and members of my delegation, I
would like to sincerely thank you, Mr. Prime Minister and
Mrs. Reynolds, for the very warm welcome and kind hospital-
ity extended to us since our arrival this morning. The
friendliness and cordiality convince us that our visit to
your fair country will be enjoyable and fruitful. We look
forward to seeing more of your beautiful country in the next
few days.
Mr. Prime Minister,
2. Relations between Malaysia and Ireland have generally
been warm and friendly. I do not recall any instance in the
past when our two countries faced any bilateral problems,
and neither are there any contentious issues facing us now.
Many Malaysians are quite familiar with your country and
would have read a little of your history, more of your folk-
lore and generally aware of things Irish. We hope you also
know us, just as we know you.
3. Despite this relationship between our two countries, it
is also essentially passive. We are like two neighbours who
have been on talking terms for a long time, but whose
friendship had never gone beyond cordial acquaintanceship.
In an era when ideology is taking a backseat in relations
between countries, and cooperation is the norm for the fu-
ture, I am certain that you agree with me that it is timely
to stimulate more interaction between our two countries and
place our bilateral relations on much stronger footing.
4. We have had fruitful discussions this afternoon, and
both sides had the opportunity to exchange views on the
state of our bilateral relations. I am pleased that gener-
ally we are in agreement as to the potentials of expanding
the scope and depth of our relations. Since the major
thrust of our relations is currently limited to trade and
the education sector, a healthy expansion in these and oth-
ers fields should be attainable fairly rapidly. I am confi-
dent that we will be able to identify more clearly these
areas during the next few days of my visit. The recent
joint-venture project between Asia Pacific Refinery Malaysia
and the Kent Group of Ireland to build a petrochemical com-
plex in the state of Trengganu represents a major step for-
ward in the development of economic relations between
Malaysia and Ireland. At the same time, Malaysian companies
should look more closely at the advantages of locating their
projects in Ireland.
5. Malaysia is a developing country with a relatively
small economy. Although our objective is to achieve a de-
veloped nation status by the year 2020, we are determined
that rapid economic development and modernisation will not
be at the expense of our national identity and traditional
values. We have a long way to go, but we are confident that
it is within our ability to achieve "Vision 2020".
Malaysia's growth of more than 8 per cent in real Gross Do-
mestic Product for the past 5 years and 6.7 per cent in the
last 20 years are the bases of this confidence.
6. Such growth rates are dependent on several factors.
Firstly, there has to be domestic and regional peace and se-
curity. Our domestic situation is presently very conducive
for economic advancement, and Malaysians are well aware that
this had not always been so. With regard to the region of
Southeast Asia, Malaysia is fortunate that its neighbours
share similar objectives for their respective economies. We
therefore cooperate within ASEAN, and to an increasing de-
gree among other Southeast Asian countries as well, to main-
tain a positive security and strategic environment in our
region. Our closest friends are our neighbours and the con-
sequent trust and confidence that have been carefully
nurtured make for productive relations in ever-widening
fields.
7. As a small economy heavily anchored on trade,
Malaysia's route to economic development is dependent on our
commitment to the maintenance of free trade with other econ-
omies in the world. For us, the existence of a free and
open international trading system is crucial. It has there-
fore been of major concern to us to witness the gradual for-
mation of regional economic groupings that show all the
signs of coalescing into trade blocs. The European Commu-
nity itself is slowly moving towards economic independence
from the rest of the world, no matter that the progress to-
wards this end is being complicated by developments within
the Community itself, or in the larger European theatre.
Across the Atlantic, we now have the North American Free
Trade Agreement, presently involving the US, Canada and
Mexico but with the possibility of other Latin American
countries joining in.
8. The European Community and North America are important
trading and investment partners of Malaysia and other ASEAN
members. We are concerned that the growth of such
exclusionist tendencies will create new currents that will
artificially restrict free trade only within regulated
boundaries. Such protectionism will impede the development
of a liberal world trading system that is consistent with
the principles of a free market economy. It will restrict
economic growth everywhere including in the blocs them-
selves.
9. These developments, as well as other non-tariff barri-
ers, threaten to hamper our own development plans. We are
particularly vulnerable because we are small and developing.
It is for this reason that the countries of ASEAN have pro-
posed the formation of the East Asia Economic Caucus that
would bring them and other dynamic economies of East Asia
together. The Caucus will not be a trade bloc because all
these countries depend on trade and economic relations with
other parts of the world. It is meant to strengthen the
voice of free trade by augmenting the voice of the small
states through collective stands on common issues when nego-
tiating internationally.
Mr. Prime Minister,
10. The foregoing serves to underline the fact that small
countries on their own can have their interests drowned by
stronger and more developed countries. One does not need to
look back into history for lessons to illustrate the reality
that small countries are expendable, especially when their
fate has no bearing on the well-being of bigger nations. It
is therefore imperative that we as small countries cooperate
and strengthen further our ties even if we belong to differ-
ent regional organisations.
Mr. Prime Minister,
11. May I, once again, thank you for your kind hospitality
and for receiving us with such warmth.
12. May I now invite you to join me in a toast to the Pres-
ident and the people of Ireland and to the continuing
friendship between Malaysia and Ireland.
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