Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
BANGKOK, THAILAND
Tarikh/Date : 19/08/93
Tajuk/Title : DINNER HOSTED BY H.E. MR CHUAN
LEEKPAI, P.M. OF THAILAND
Your Excellency Mr Chuan Leekpai,
Prime Minister of Thailand;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
May I express my sincere appreciation to Your
Excellency and to the Government of Thailand for the warm
welcome and generous hospitality accorded to me and my
delegation. It is a great pleasure for me to be in Bangkok,
a city whichremains always vibrant and enchanting. The
continuously changing Bangkok skyline is a reflection of
the remarkable economic progress that Thailand has been
achieving.
2. I certainly welcome this opportunity to visit Thailand
and meet your Excellency again, having had the privilege of
playing host to you and members of your delegation in Kuala
Lumpur last January. This visit will provide me with the
opportunity to exchange views with you on important
subjects of mutual interest to both our countries. We had
very good discussions in Kuala Lumpur. We have again had
very fruitful consultations and exchange of views earlier
today. I look forward to more consultations between the
two sides duringthe course of this visit in the common
effort to expand relations between our two neighbourly
countries.
Your Excellency,
3. When we met some seven months ago, you and I noted
with profound satisfaction the excellent cooperation
between Malaysia and Thailand in a wide range of fields.
But we also agreed that more could be done to enhance our
bilateral cooperation. The broad areas of cooperation under
the purview of the Joint Commission and the General Border
Committee are generally going on very well. In many
instances they manifest the trust and confidence Malaysia
and Thailand place in each other. They are a product of
long-standing friendship, built upon the deep-rooted spirit
of good neighbourliness. We do, however, encounter problems
in our relations off and on. But I am confident that we can
overcome those problems, relying upon the same spirit of
friendship and good neighbourliness that has guided us in
our relations in the past.
Your Excellency,
4. During our discussions last January, we agreed that
more efforts should be undertaken on both sides to tap the
full potential of trade and other economic opportunities
between our two countries and between us and other
countries. For this purpose, I have invited some prominent
Malaysian entrepreneurs and businessmen to join me on this
visit. Their presence in my delegation is symbolic of the
important role the private sector can play in complementing
the efforts of the two Governments to enhance bilateral
economic cooperation between our two countries. I am
confident that we can achieve a more constructive and
mutually rewarding cooperation if the Malaysian and Thai
private sectors were to focus on the numerous opportunities
for trade, investment and tourism that exist in and between
our countries, as well as in exploring joint ventures in
other parts of the world.
5. It is certainly my hope that private sector cooperation
would develop fully into an ASEAN-wide phenomenon so as to
enhance intra-ASEAN Trade and help expedite the realisation
of Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA). In this regard, both the
Governments and private sectors have to play equally
important roles in developing a strong sense of regional
purpose so that AFTA could be sooner realised. Intra-ASEAN
trade is expanding. AFTA could certainly help accelerate
this trend. Malaysian and Thai entrepreneurs and
businessmen could contribute immensely to this process.
6. I am happy that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have
agreed to cooperate in developing a sub-regional growth
area involving parts of the three countries. A Tripartite
Ministerial Meeting held in Langkawi last month is a clear
manifestation of our common desire to translate quickly the
idea into practical reality. I am confident that the
Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMTGT) would
bring about tremendous benefits to all the three countries.
But it is crucial that besides the commitment of the three
governments, there should also be the active participation
and involvement of the private sectors of the three
countries in order that this triangular partnership will
work well and succeed.
7. I also wish to express my thanks to Thailand for the
support given to the East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC). It
is indeed gratifying that ASEAN has now achieved consensus
on the EAEC. ASEAN has once again demonstrated its ability
to address an important issue in a pragmatic manner. Others
had expected ASEAN to come up with the practical solutions
and ASEAN has done so. It is now up to the East Asian
countries to come to agreement on how EAEC should progress.
We should now be able to look forward to the convening of
the inaugural meeting of EAEC in the very near future.
Your Excellency,
8. Malaysia has always believed that a stable and
prosperous region would be crucial to its own stability and
prosperity. Therefore, we welcome the positive developments
in Indochina. Malaysia, like Thailand, sees the need to
cooperate with our neighbours in Indochina so as to enable
them to achieve a higher level of economic development. We
have therefore embarked on modest cooperation programmes
for these countries. But our resources are quite limited.
We may not be able to fulfill some of the needs of those
countries. It would be worthwhile for Malaysia and Thailand
to work together, possibly even in partnership with the
other ASEAN countries, to coordinate our technical
cooperation programmes vis-a-vis these three countries to
ensure optimisation of resources and results.
9. General elections have been held successfully in
Cambodia under the supervision of UNTAC. We should all be
encouraged by the process of national reconciliation taking
place under the leadership of Prince Norodom Sihanouk and
wish him success in his efforts. However, I believe the
Prince and his compatriots need the strong support of the
international community in their effort to rebuild their
country and revive the spirit and potential of the
Cambodian people. The United Nations must continue to play
a role in ensuring peace and stability as well as helping
to accelerate economic reconstruction in Cambodia.
Your Excellency,
10. While the conflict in Cambodia has come to a positive
settlement, other parts of the world continue to suffer the
ravages of war and political turmoil. We cannot ignore the
plight of the Bosnians. There remains little political
commitment among those who are directly concerned to adopt
concrete measures to halt the hostilities and ensure just
and lasting peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Malaysia is
working actively with other countries to help the Bosnians
defend their lives, protect their rights and keep their
homeland. We believe that more serious efforts have to be
done to save Bosnia-Herzegovina and its people from
disintegration and total destruction.
Your Excellency,
11. I view the tradition of regular exchanges of visits
between the prime ministers, ministers, senior officials
and members of the private sectors of Malaysia and
Thailand as important for the promotion of bilateral
relations and coope ration. Such exchanges provide us
the opportunity to exchange views, explore fresh ideas and
identify new areas of cooperation, not only in the
bilateral context, but also in the regional and
international contexts. They have proven to be successful
in resolving issues and problems as well as in enhancing
cooperation in many areas. I look forward to more of
these exchanges with you.
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