Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : WASHINGTON DC, USA
Tarikh/Date : 14-05-2002
Tajuk/Title : ON THE OCCASION OF THE US -
ASEAN BUSINESS COUNCIL DINNER
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai : PM
I am pleased to be in Washington, and to be here
with you tonight. I am thankful to President Bush for
extending to me an invitation to meet with him at the
White House. We had a very good discussion on many
issues of importance both to Malaysia and the United
States. This was our second meeting. We also had a
good discussion last October, in Shanghai, at the APEC
Senior Leaders' Conference.
2. I am pleased tonight to address such a
distinguished gathering of movers and shakers: US
Government officials, Members of Congress, corporate
executives, prominent academics and think tankers,
representatives of important non-governmental
organisations, and the media.
3. I want to thank the US - ASEAN Business Council
for organising this dinner. I especially want to thank
my good friend, Ernie Bower, the President of the
Council. As President, Ernie has spent most of his
time in the region, including Malaysia, bringing with
him delegations of US businessmen and women, and
working to promote trade and investment. He has spent
so much time with us, and done such an outstanding job.
Thank you Ernie.
4. The United States and Malaysia have many things in
common, much more than most people realise. We share a
common history, language, many of our values, goals and
even challenges. It is appropriate, therefore, that
our two flags should be so much alike that, many
mistake one for the other.
5. To begin with, we both achieved independence from
the same colonial power, from whom we inherited the
same language, common law system, and principles of
representative government. What you may not know is
that America's success in freeing itself from British
rule led directly to the colonisation of what is now
Malaysia, by the very same colonialists. In 1786, only
five years after the Continental Army led by General
George Washington defeated the British at Yorktown, the
same British commander who surrendered to Washington,
Lord Cornwallis acquired what is now the state of
Penang, as a British colony. Thus began the British
colonisation of the Malay states.
6. The American Revolution had an even more profound
impact on Malaysia, however. The Founding Fathers of
this country -- Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams and
others - gave Malaysia its model of governance -- based
on regular, democratic elections, separation of powers,
and the protection of fundamental civil liberties.
7. America's welcome mat for the oppressed people of
other countries has made it a melting pot of
multiethnicity and multiculturalism upon which you
built a prosperous, powerful and forward-looking
nation. Malaysia too attracted immigrants to our
shores. And today our people is made up of indigenous
Malays, descendants of Chinese, Indians and other
migrants living together in peace and a climate of
tolerance and mutual respect. Our diversity, like
yours, is the basis of our strength.
8. With all of this in common, it is natural that we
should see eye to eye on many things affecting us and
the world. Besides some 150,000 Malaysians lived and
studied here and are now helping to shape the mores and
policies of the country.
9. Since Malaysia's industrialisation the U.S. has
become Malaysia's largest trading partner and export
destination. In year 2001 the U.S. accounted for 18.3
percent of Malaysia's global trade, 20.2 percent of
exports and 16 percent of imports. Total trade with
the U.S. last year amounted to US$ 29.6 billion with
exports valued at US$ 17.8 billion and imports US$ 11.8
billion, most of which is made up of manufactured
goods.
10. While 75.3 percent of Malaysia's total exports to
the U.S. is made up of electrical and electronic
products, we also export textiles and apparels, optical
and scientific products and rubber products to the U.S.
11. U.S. investments in Malaysia have been growing
consistently and the U.S. remains the largest source of
FDI, both cumulatively and on an annual basis, over the
last few years. Cumulative U.S. investments amounted to
US$10.5 billion in 2001, mainly in manufacturing,
petroleum-related and service-based industries. U.S.
investments are particularly significant in the
electrical and electronics industry. More than 30 of
the Fortune 500 companies have operations in Malaysia.
Among them are Intel, Motorola, Dell, Agilent, Dow
Chemicals, Exxon Mobil, Hewlett Packard, Solectron and
Goodyear. U.S. companies are comfortable in Malaysia,
where the business climate is safe, secure and very
positive and profit - especially for U.S. companies -
have been exceptionally high. We do not begrudge you
this. To us profit is not a sin and you are welcome to
it.
12. Malaysia has continued to attract a significant
amount of FDI despite the intense competition for FDI
worldwide. Foreign investments in the manufacturing
sector over the five year period of 1997-2001 amounted
to US$ 19.7 billion and accounted for over 58 percent
of total approved investments. The major sources of
FDI were from the US, Japan, the EU, Singapore and
Taiwan.
13. As I said earlier, the United States and Malaysia
have also faced, and continue to face, common
challenges. During the post-World War II era, the
United States confronted the challenge of an
expansionistic Communism. For over 42 years,
Malaysia fought against militant communism which we
eventually defeated, at a great cost in blood and
resources.
14. Today, militant Communism is no longer a threat.
But, we now face another common threat, which
constitutes a greater challenge -- terrorism.
Terrorism is a crime, a crime against humanity as a
whole. It is a crime against the whole world no matter
who or what or which country has been or is being
targeted. The attack on September 11 affects the whole
world and damages not just buildings in a particular
country and the people in them. It has shattered the
confidence of the world and has left an atmosphere of
fear.
15. Let me be perfectly clear about one thing.
Malaysia has no tolerance for terrorists. Whether
people are fighting for what they consider a noble
cause or not, there are certain acts which they may not
perpetrate. Exploding bombs in public places and
killing innocent civilians cannot be accepted. Holding
people to ransom or as shields cannot be accepted.
Poisoning food, medicine or water supply cannot be
accepted. Deliberate killing of civilians even when
sanctioned by legitimate Governments is equally
unacceptable. These are acts of terror and anyone
committing these acts must be regarded as terrorists by
everyone irrespective of the causes they are fighting
for, irrespective of their religion, race or creed.
And once they are defined as terrorists it is the duty
of everyone, every country to hunt them down and bring
them to justice. There must be no discrimination on
any basis.
16. The attack on the World Trade Center on September
11, the human bomb attacks by Palestinians and the
Tamil Tigers, the attacks against civilians by Israeli
forces, in Jenin and elsewhere, the killings of Bosnian
Muslims and others are acts of terrorism and the
perpetrators must therefore be condemned as terrorists.
Where states are behind the acts of terrorism, their
governments must stand condemned. But no race or
religion should be condemned or discriminated against
simply because people of the same race or their co-
religionists have been involved in terrorist
activities.
17. In Malaysia, we have been very successful in our
own fight against terrorism. The Communist insurgents
whom we defeated practised widespread terrorism. We
defeated them, and eradicated terrorism from our
country not only by military means, but also by
addressing the root causes of the terrorism that
plagued Malaysia. Terrorism can never be justified,
under any circumstances. However, if we are to prevent
it, we must not only hunt down all the terrorists but
also remove the root causes that make some people angry
and bitter enough to commit or support acts of terror.
By addressing the grievances of our Chinese community,
from which most of the terrorists sprang, we were able
to put an end to terrorism in Malaysia.
18. Recently, Malaysia has had to deal with another
source of terrorism; extremist Muslim groups who claim
that our government is not Islamic and want to replace
it with a Taliban-style state spanning Malaysia,
Indonesia and the southern Philippines. They are
opposed by the overwhelming majority of Malaysians,
including Muslim Malaysians, who want to preserve our
democratic, multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-
cultural society and the spirit of religious and ethnic
tolerance that underlies it. Malaysians want to
preserve our commitment to modernisation, development,
and openness to the outside world, which have played
such an important role in our unprecedented economic
growth and prosperity over the past two decades.
19. We studied the causes for extremism among Muslims
and their resort to terror but found that they were
mislead by the situation in other Islamic countries and
their wrong perceptions of Islam. We have taken
measures to ensure the spread of the true teachings of
Islam as espoused by the majority of Malaysian Muslims.
Fundamental Islam proscribes suicides and the killing
of innocent people and Muslims should not resort to
indiscriminate violence, but should seek peace instead.
As to the situations in other Muslim countries, in
Palestine for example we will try to alleviate them, to
help overcome their problems. Accordingly we have been
able to act against the would be terrorists in
accordance with our laws with the full support of our
people.
20. We are firm when dealing with terrorists whether
they be Chinese, Indians or Malays, Muslims or non-
Muslims. If anyone plots terror in Malaysia he will be
arrested under the laws of the country. As one of your
newsmagazines recently wrote, Kuala Lumpur is a modern
and attractive city, an outstanding place to do
business, but also to rest and relax. But this is not
so for terrorists. We do not tolerate their presence.
We give them no rest, no quarter, and no place to hide.
We have adequate laws and capacity to deal with such
threats. And we have had much experience in this
field.
21. Malaysia is willing to support neighbouring
countries within ASEAN, the international community,
and the United States in the fight against terrorism.
Long before September 11 we have shared information
with the United States and acted against suspected
terrorists.
22. We are still doing so with regard to suspected Al-
Qaeda members. If they are Malaysians then we take
action against them ourselves and this includes putting
them back on the right path.
23. President Bush has acknowledged Malaysia's support
in the fight against terrorism. He expressed these
sentiments in both of our face-to-face meetings, in
Shanghai last October and again today at the White
House. We see eye to eye on this important issue of
terrorism and that the United States can count on
Malaysia's continued support in the fight against
terrorism.
24. Thus far, I have talked about what the United
States and Malaysia have in common. There is certainly
a lot. But we also have important differences.
Malaysia is, as you know, a majority Muslim state.
Unfortunately, many people in the West unthinkingly and
disparagingly identify Muslims with terrorism. This is
not only wrong, it is counter productive.
Discriminating against people who are ethnically or
religiously similar to the terrorists only angers more
people and perhaps contributes to the breeding of new
terrorists.
25. Muslims do have serious grievances. The
Palestinians in the occupied territories are subjected
to oppression and humiliation. Israeli troops attack
and kill Palestinian civilians, including women and
children, who have nothing to do with suicide bombers;
they bulldoze their homes and demolish their
businesses; they destroy airports, water and
electricity supply. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, more than
100,000 Muslims were massacred in full sight of
television viewers and for a long time nothing was
done. Elsewhere Muslim countries are subjected to
attacks and economic sanctions resulting in many deaths
from deprivations of all kinds. Because of all these
there is a great deal of bitterness and anger among
Muslims.
26. We would like to see Muslims and their countries
express their anger and frustrations in a rational way.
They should defend themselves with conventional
methods. By and large they do or try to do. But when
these are futile, invariably there will be elements who
cannot contain their anger and who resort to
unacceptable ways not so much to prevent their own
humiliation and oppression but merely to vent their
anger and frustrations. While we must never excuse
them for their counter productive acts, we must
nevertherless try to defuse their anger and the causes
for it. I am afraid the world is not doing this.
Indeed with the events in Palestine, with Jenin, the
anger has become worse. The fight against terrorists
who are Muslims will therefore take longer. Fighting
against terrorists is not like fighting against a
country. You can defeat a country and end the war with
a military victory. But terrorists do not operate from
within a country. They can be anywhere. They can be
anybody. They can act in concert or alone. They can
destroy buildings or kidnap, snipe or kill individuals,
individuals who may be completely innocent. The
technique of fighting terrorists cannot be the same as
fighting a country. It has to be different. Our view
is that we must remove the causes of their bitterness
and anger also.
27. Islam, in its true essence, is a religion of
peace, tolerance, and respect for human life in all its
variations. When it is properly understood, and its
true precepts are followed, it offers a path to
enlightenment, to harmony, to stable and responsible
government, to progress and to prosperity. Malaysia is
an Islamic state. At the same time, and without
contradiction, it is democratic, diverse, tolerant,
peaceful, economically and politically stable,
progressive and forward-looking. There is no inherent
conflict between Islam and any of these achievements.
In fact, we believe that the way we adhere to the
essential or fundamental teachings and practice of
Islam in Malaysia has contributed to our success as a
nation. We see no contradiction between Islam and
women's equality, for example.
28. Our economic and business climate is outstanding.
You all know about the success of Malaysia Inc., so I
don't need to tell you about it. But I want to tell
you about some things you may not know. We have no
intention of resting on our laurels. We are proud of
what we have accomplished, but we intend to do much
more. Our external reserves may have reached US$ 32.5
billion, which is 5.3 times the short-term external
debt and enough to finance more than five months of
retained imports, but we will try to do even better.
We may have a strong fiscal position, with outstanding
debt contained at 37 percent of GDP and a debt service
to GDP ratio of 2.8 percent, but we will do better.
Inflation remains low at 3 percent, while our savings
rate is nearly 40 percent, but we will still strive to
do better.
29. How, you might ask? By aggressively modernising
our banking, financial and corporate sectors. We are
implementing new financial reforms to bring greater
transparency and accountability to our banks and other
financial institutions. We are, at the same time,
reforming our corporate and securities laws to improve
corporate governance, and assure transparency in our
capital markets. Our government is fully committed to
privatisation, restructuring and reforms. We are
committed to modernisation and continued growth.
30. Your investments are safe and secure, and they
will continue to give good returns. We hope you will
continue to demonstrate your confidence in us with new
and even larger investments.
31. We also hope, and we urge you as well, to invest
in the other countries of ASEAN. Nothing will
contribute more to the stability of our neighbours, and
the region as a whole, than their economic growth and
development. And one of the best ways to stimulate
growth and development is with direct foreign
investment. Malaysia long ago adopted a philosophy
which we call "prosper thy neighbour". We believe in
enlightened self-interests. We believe very strongly
that what benefits our neighbours also benefits us.
32. ASEAN is a good investment location. And it is
getting better all the time. Take, for example, the
creation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, or AFTA. This
will result in the creation of a community of 500
million people, which is almost 10% of the world's
population. They are relatively poor now but AFTA will
increase their GDP and purchasing power.
33. We see Malaysia, and we invite you to see it as
well, as a regional hub for this extremely and
increasingly important economic region of the world.
34. We all strive to live out our dreams. The
American dream has been the lode star for generations
of people in this country. In Malaysia, we too have a
dream for a better life. We call it Vision 2020, and
it inspires us to work harder, to constantly make
things better, to fully develop Malaysia's potential
over the next two decades. Our goals for peace and
security, for tolerance and mutual respect, for
economic and political stability, for ending poverty
through growth and development, are in essence very
similar to yours. It behoves us -- Malaysians and
Americans -- to work together to accomplish our shared
goals for our common good.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
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