Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR.
MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : MAHSURI INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
CENTRE (MIEC), LANGKAWI, KEDAH
Tarikh/Date : 01/12/99
Tajuk/Title : THE LIMA '99 OFFICIAL
OPENING CEREMONY
First of all, on behalf of all Malaysians, I
would like to extend to each and everyone of you,
gathered here this morning, a very warm welcome, and
"Selamat Datang" to Langkawi and in particular, to the
fifth Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace
Exhibition or in short LIMA '99.
2. I am indeed very proud and honoured again to be
here this morning for such an auspicious event and in
the presence of so many distinguished personalities.
The participation of yet another record number of
companies both local and international from both the
aerospace and maritime industries indeed bears
testimony to the fact that the LIMA exhibition has
earned for itself international recognition as an
important aerospace and maritime biennial international
show. Malaysia is very proud of this recognition and
today LIMA serves as a meeting point for aerospace and
maritime exhibitors and traders to showcase their
latest state-of-the-art defence and civil products of
interest to the countries in this once again dynamic
region. As the recession retreats the civil and
defence needs are once again occupying the attention of
national Governments and their maritime and air
transport industries. Here at LIMA, exhibitors and
potential buyers can reestablish or form new
relationships for their mutual benefit.
3. LIMA '99 is fully supported by the Malaysian
Government in line with the concept of Smart
Partnerships and Malaysia Incorporated. The LIMA
series of exhibition is of particular importance to the
Malaysian Government, as we deepen and intensify
efforts to build up a strong technological base to
become fully developed by the year 2020. Towards this
end, both the aerospace and maritime industries have
been identified as strategic industries to help promote
industrial and technological advancement. In
particular, our aerospace blue print has outlined how
foreign and domestic investments, transfer of
technology, research and development, together with
smart partnerships could best be implemented under our
industrial master plan.
4. I am proud to note that our local aerospace
industry has begun negotiating with leading aerospace
companies worldwide to form strategic alliances to
embark in the manufacture of aircraft parts and
components under license and sub-contract. This
achievement is timely, and I have been told that there
will be a number of contracts, purchase orders and MoUs
to be signed during this LIMA for both the aerospace
and maritime industries, between the foreign and our
local companies. For example, I am to witness the
contract signing between SME Aerospace and British
Aerospace and between SME Aerospace and Alenia
Aerospazio of Italy.
5. I am also told, our Malaysian aerospace companies
are also venturing into other hi-tech areas such as
systems integration and simulator development.
Malaysia has today moved a big step forward in its
ability to participate meaningfully in the aerospace
and maritime industries with established OEMs (Original
Equipment Manufacturers) abroad.
6. Just like the aerospace industry, the importance
of our maritime industry is also duly recognised by the
Malaysian Government. With the Asia Pacific region
emerging from the financial crisis and the economic
slow down, the demand for sea transportation is
expected to register a high growth. Given the
considerable opportunities for further growth of the
maritime industry, steps have and will be taken to
augment its capacity and operations.
7. An area of growth to note in the maritime
industry, is the development of the leisure craft
industry. It is being actively promoted by the
Government as more Malaysians become affluent and
acquire a taste for "yachting lifestyle". The
increasing number of marinas and seaside resorts being
built speaks for itself. To complement this new
lifestyle is the development of lake resorts. It is
obvious that this development would result
subsequently, in higher demand for leisure craft and
boating facilities, thereby creating many more spin-
offs for industrial growth in the country. Lake-
hopping using amphibious aircrafts is a tourist product
which we are keen to pursue. The beauty of Malaysia's
lakes are yet to be discovered.
8. Another pertinent development in the maritime
industry is the number and capacity of our local
shipbuilding and repair yards which have increased many
folds over the years. The current acquisition of
frigates and the launching of the Royal Malaysian
Navy's patrol vessels project undertaken by NSD-Naval
Dockyard together with the German Naval Group are
Government efforts to further stimulate shipbuilding
and ship repair activities, while enhancing indigenous
technical know-how through various means of transfer of
foreign technology. Already we are able to build high-
speed ferry boats for export all over the world. In
this hi-tech area, it is very much desired that the
maritime industry embarks upon a more aggressive role
in such technologically high end activities as warship
design and development. This would eventually
stimulate the development of local capabilities in the
field of naval architecture, marine engineering, marine
communication and others. In line with our promotion
of the "Multimedia Super Corridor" project, the
maritime industry should also aggressively embark upon
"Smart Partnerships" towards incorporating more IT
based technology and automation in maritime activities.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in
a global market place, only the strong survives. To
succeed, we need to find our own niches. We need to
build upon our strengths and focus on our
competitiveness through continuous improvements in our
products, services, productivity, quality and cost
control. In cases where competitions are overwhelming,
we should think of strategic partnerships or even
mergers in order to be more competitive.
9. One significant feature which is new in the series
of LIMA exhibition is the introduction of the
Malaysian Pavilions in LIMA '99, where leading
Malaysian aerospace and maritime companies will
showcase some of their products and services. Through
this effort, I hope it will give the necessary exposure
for our local companies to potential international
partners to forge a mutually beneficial business
relationship.
10. It is Malaysia's hope that it would not be long
before more Malaysian companies are able to compete and
win international contracts in both the aerospace and
maritime sectors. I believe the Asia Pacific
region as a whole, still presents abundant business
opportunities in the field of aerospace and maritime
for everyone of you exhibitors present this morning, as
we all enter the new millennium.
11. Defence spending, for most ASEAN countries in
particular, has not been much reduced, despite the
slow economic recovery. I am confident that as the
Asia-Pacific economies recover, there will be a
definite surge in the demand for more sophisticated
military and commercial aircrafts, submarines and
patrol vessels, as well as support weapons and
equipment. Needless to say, this will create numerous
spin-offs, as there will be a corresponding increase in
the demand for renewing and upgrading facilities to
support the increasing number of military and
commercial aircraft, leisure as well as naval and
maritime vessels in the Asia Pacific region.
12. I am sure all of you present here realise that
the aerospace and maritime industries are technology-
intensive industries with high value-added, and are
undoubtedly a catalyst for the development of new
technologies and for industrial growth. So, it is
expected that foreign industries will strive to develop
and achieve meaningful and sincere smart partnerships
in every sense of the word, with our local growing
aerospace and maritime industries. In this way, they
not only can secure stronger and longer lasting
business partnerships and access to the burgeoning
market in this region, but can also take advantage of
our competitive rates, skills as well as disciplined
work force. Language is also not a problem as
Malaysians are generally very at home with the English
language.
13. In the context of smart partnerships, I would
like to say a few words here, about the role of our
newly formed "Malaysian Defence Industry Council or in
short "MDIC", which was launched recently in August
this year. In the context of achieving future
business ventures, MDIC can serve as a useful platform
for foreign aerospace and maritime companies to network
themselves with their "potential counterparts" in
Malaysia, and maximise whatever strengths Malaysian
companies can offer.
14. Indeed, Malaysia has seen yet another milestone
in the development of its aerospace industry, a
testimony of the spirit of "Malaysia Boleh".
15. I would also like to note here, that some of our
local companies have started to progress into designing
and manufacturing their own products. Therefore, our
local efforts must be integrated further with some
international interest and participation through "Smart
Partnerships", so as to create a "win win" situation
for those involved.
16. I sincerely hope that for those of you who have
similar organisations to "MDIC" in your own country,
you will take advantage of them to enable your
companies to network with our local companies towards
promoting each other's capabilities and facilities, as
well as keeping abreast with current defence
technologies for future collaborative and business
partnerships. For those of you who do not have such an
organisation, you can network directly with our local
companies or through the MDIC Secretariat at the
Ministry of Defence.
17. I would like once again to thank all of you for
your attendance and participation at LIMA '99 and a
special thank you to those who have contributed in
many ways to make this LIMA '99 a success. I hope you
will all have a fruitful and enjoyable stay in
Langkawi, and clinch some business deals before you
leave for home.
18. On that note, I have great pleasure to declare
open the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace
Exhibition '99.
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