Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Tarikh/Date : 18/08/2003
Tajuk/Title : THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC ACTION
COUNCIL
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai : PM
" The Malaysian Experience in Nation-Building and
Development and the Management of the
Financial Crisis of 1997 "
I would like to thank the National Economic
Action Council of Syria for this invitation to speak
about the Malaysian experience in Nation-Building and
Development and the Management of the Financial
Crisis of 1997.
2. Right from the beginning of Malaysia's independence
from the British in 1957, we had focussed on giving the
fruits of independence to our people. We wanted them to
have peace and prosperity. The independent Government
had inherited a country wrecked by a guerrilla war to
overthrow the elected Government and an economy based
entirely on the extraction of tin and rubber for exports.
The majority of the people were poor and landless. There
was only subsistence agriculture. We had little
experience in the administration of the country during
the British period.
3. Fortunately the support for our party which had
fought for independence was very strong. With this
support we were able to fight against the insurgents
and to focus mainly on the rural areas which had been
completely neglected by the British. We began to
provide land to these people under a scheme which
enabled the land to be managed as big estates by
competent managers. Initially we even used British
estate managers.
4. But land is not unlimited and we could not
provide employment for the growing number of our
workforce. We decided to industrialise in order to
create jobs. Not having industrial expertise,
capital, management skills and knowledge of the
market for manufactured goods, we invited foreigners
to invest in the manufacturing industries. We gave
them attractive tax incentives.
5. So successful was the strategy that today we
have to accept almost two million foreign workers.
There is statistically no unemployment in Malaysia.
In addition our workers and managers acquired skills
and expertise and today they can venture into these
industries themselves.
6. Strong support for the Government party was
sustained. Here I would like to point out that
Malaysia is a multi-racial country. The Muslim
Malays are in the majority but the Chinese, Indian
and others make up almost 40 percent of the
population. It is an explosive mixture because the
ethnic differences are heightened by cultural,
lingual and religious differences.
7. To prevent racial conflicts we decided to govern
the country together. A coalition of racial parties
was formed right from the beginning. Today we have
fourteen parties in the Government coalition
representing practically every race and tribe. A
culture of respect and sensitivity for each other was
promoted. Adhering to the teachings of Islam, the
Muslim majority accepts that other people believe in
other religions. This Islamic tolerance has enabled
multi-ethnic Malaysia to remain stable and peaceful.
Development can therefore take place.
8. But the great disparity in the economic wealth
of the different races lead to race riots in 1969.
Following this we instituted the New Economic Policy
in order to level up the wealth of the indigenous
people, largely Muslim Malays with those of the non-
indigenous people. This affirmative action reduced
the tension between the different races so that even
during the financial crisis there was no racial
violence as happened in other countries.
9. The stability achieved by this and the strong
support of the people for the Government party
enabled the country to focus on economic development.
Foreign Direct Investment was followed by ventures by
Malaysians into the manufacturing industry, trade and
property development.
10. Government revenue increased greatly and much of
the money was spent on education and training of the
workforce. Huge numbers of Malaysians were sent
abroad to study science, engineering and all the
other professions. A good number study religion as
well. So there is a balance in spiritual and other
knowledge.
11. A business friendly attitude was adopted by the
Government under the Malaysia Incorporated concept.
Since 28 percent of the profits of business go to the
Government as corporate tax, helping the private
sector helps to increase Government revenue.
12. The work ethics of the people were changed
through the Look East Policy whereby the work culture
of the Japanese, the Koreans and the Taiwanese were
adopted. These countries had developed very fast and
this is because of their attitude towards work.
13. Malaysia had always been a trading nation. Its
domestic market is small and poor. The world must be
its market. But trading with the world must be
balanced. Malaysia imports almost as much as it
exports. Most of its imports go into the manufacture
of products for export. Today Malaysian trade is
worth nearly $200 billion USD, making it the 17th
biggest trading nation in the world.
14. But trading with the countries of the world can
be difficult at times. Some countries obstruct the
import of our palm oil and rubber. Tariff and non-
tariff barriers had to be overcome. Government and
the private sector have to work hard to overcome
these barriers and to find new markets. The economic
problems of our trading partners affect our economy
adversely.
15. Now we have to make adjustments for
globalisation. We cannot protect our products as we
used to. Equal tariff has to be applied to products
from all countries. Large foreign companies and
banks will soon be able to enter our country and
operate as if they are our own national companies.
As our corporations are small and weak, the
likelihood is that they will be swallowed up or be
pushed aside by foreign companies. Our ability to
control the direction of our economy would be lost.
16. Before globalisation Malaysia was doing very
well economically. In 1970 Malaysia's exports was
only worth RM5.2 billion equivalent to about $2
billion USD. By 2002 exports had grown to RM354.5
billion. If Malaysia's currency had not been
devalued, it would be equal to $140 billion USD. But
because of devaluation it is worth slightly less than
$100 billion USD.
17. Eighty percent of Malaysia's exports is made up
of manufactured goods. Petroleum and petroleum
products, liquefied gas, palm oil and rubber make up
the rest of Malaysia's exports.
18. Acquisition of technology and business expertise
is very important for Malaysia. Despite high duties,
sometimes as much as 300 percent, Malaysians like to
own motor cars. The Government decided to produce a
national car using Japanese expertise. Today
Malaysia produces two makes of national cars
amounting to 350,000 vehicles per year, some of which
are exported even to Europe.
19. But it is in the petroleum industry that the
biggest progress was achieved. In 1974 the National
Petroleum Company or Petronas began to operate. At
first it merely collected royalty from foreign oil
companies. But soon it began to acquire expertise in
the production of oil, in gas liquefactions and in
oil trading. It went on into prospecting and
downstream into petro-chemicals and retailing.
20. Today Petronas is involved in all the upstream
and downstream petroleum business and operates in
over 30 countries worldwide. It is listed by Fortune
magazine as the 270th biggest company in the world,
but is among the top in terms of profits. It has
contributed much to Government revenue.
21. We have been able to grow quite fast because we
regulate the openness of our country. While we allow
the world's products to be imported freely, a
selective taxation policy enable us to protect our
industries and nurture them. We were therefore able
to ensure that certain industries do well through
differential taxes. Thus while foreign investments
in the electronic and electrical industries were
encouraged through giving tax-free status, the
automotive industry benefited from high taxes on
imported completely built up cars. On the other hand
import of luxury items like watches and pens attract
no tax and this has improved the retail sales,
increased the number of outlets and given the traders
good profits. The tax on those profits is bigger
than the import duty of 100 percent imposed on luxury
goods in the past.
22. An important element of Malaysia's economic
success is the heavy investment in physical
infrastructure, which was maintained at around 20
percent of development expenditure most of the time.
Malaysia's high quality infrastructure and its
trainable and skilled workforce have often been cited
as important factors for the country's efficient and
competitive business environment.
23. To keep pace with changes in the economic
environment, we took a bold step by embracing
information technology. We created the Multimedia
Super Corridor (MSC) in 1995, which is a 15km by 50km
area where the administrative city of Putrajaya, the
"Smart City" of Cyberjaya, the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport and the Petronas Twin Towers
are located. Several universities are also located
within this area, including the Multimedia
University. The MSC aims to bring together, an
integrated infrastructure with all the unique
elements and attributes necessary for the creation of
a perfect global multimedia environment. Today the
well-known multinational companies like HSBC, Sun
Microsystems, Sony, Fujitsu, Nippon Telephone and
Telegraph and FedEx have begun operations in the MSC.
More than 900 companies have been given MSC status as
of June this year, involving the creation of 21,102
jobs for knowledge workers. In 2002, total corporate
expenditure amounted to RM4.77 billion. This exceeds
by far the targeted 500 companies by 2003 with 30
world class corporations.
24. Malaysia's development approach has also been
premised on close public-private sector
collaboration. The private sector is the engine of
growth, while the government provides active support
and direction. Under the Malaysia Incorporated
concept, the nation is perceived as a corporate
entity jointly owned by both the public and private
sectors. Regular meetings and constant dialogues
between the public and private sectors have removed
the suspicions and divisions of the past and created
a harmonious environment that fosters growth and
enterprise.
25. Privatisation has further consolidated public-
private sector relationship. Blazing a trail that
few have taken before, Malaysia made impressive
strides in its privatisation programmes since its
adoption in the early 1980s. Privatisation of
electricity generation, telecommunications, highways,
ports and airports has contributed to the accelerated
economic growth in the 1990s, while reducing the
financial burden of the Government. Between 1983 and
2002, a total of 471 Government entities have been
privatised with gains to public sector amounting to
RM149 billion. The divestment of public sector
entities and the subsequent listing of 40
corporations in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange
accounted for a market capitalisation of RM117.4
billion or 24.2 percent of total market
capitalisation in 2002.
26. Malaysia's privatisation is not for the purpose
of selling Government assets to foreigners to raise
funds to pay foreign debts as encouraged by the IMF.
We privatise in order to strengthen the private
sector. Foreigners may buy some shares when the
company is listed.
27. In our efforts at material development, the
country's social needs have not been neglected. Major
strides have been made to eradicate poverty. For 30
years, we instituted anti-poverty measures, ranging
from land development schemes to the provision of
agricultural infrastructure and support services to
raise the income of poor households. Our labour
intensive industrialisation created jobs for the
workforce and helped to reduce poverty. Education
and intensive training have produced the skilled
labour to meet the changing industrial environment.
For the hardcore poor, special programmes for income
generation and increasing the access to social
amenities were implemented. By 2000, the incidence of
poverty was reduced to 7.5 percent and that of hard-
core poverty to 1.4 percent. This was a far cry from
the situation in 1970 where one in every two
households lived in poverty.
28. Efforts to raise the quality of social services
and amenities enabled Malaysians to live healthier,
longer and more fulfilling lives. Over the last 30
years, the population to doctor ratio increased
fourfold, the infant mortality rate declined to 7.8
per thousand, and literacy rate grew to 94 percent.
Some 93 percent of the population now have access to
piped water and 98 percent to electricity. The life
expectancy of Malaysians increased by nearly 10 years
to 72 and 74 for men and women respectively during
this period, thanks to better health facilities,
better nutrition and educational standards.
29. Having illustrated our successes let me add that
it has not been an entirely smooth journey.
Malaysia's progress was hampered by three recessions.
One was in the mid-1970s as a result of the oil
crisis, the second in the mid-1980s as a result of
global recession, and the third in 1997/98 as a
result of the East Asian financial crisis. While the
recessions resulted in a temporary setback for the
economy, they however acted as a catalyst for policy
reorientation and reforms.
30. Before the 1997 financial crisis, the Malaysian
economy was growing strongly and developing well with
strong fundamentals. In the period 1991-1997,
economic growth averaged at 8.5 percent. In 1997,
inflation was low at 2.7 percent, there was virtually
full-employment. Our national savings was high at
39.4 percent of GNP.
31. The 1997 financial crisis was precipitated by
sharp reversals in short-term financial flows as well
as currency speculation. The crisis nearly wiped out
the economic progress that was achieved over the last
two decades.
32. The Ringgit, which ranged RM2.47-2.52 to the US
Dollar in January-June of 1997, fell to its lowest
level of RM4.88 on 7 January 1998. The share market
fell by 80 percent from 1,279 on 26 February 1997 to
262 in 1998.
33. The economy went from a growth of 7.3 percent in
1997 to a contraction of 7.4 percent in 1998. As a
result of the pressure on the Ringgit, per capita
income fell 30 percent from $4,400 USD in 1997 to
$3,100 USD in 1998 and inflation rose from 2.7
percent in 1997 to 5.3 percent in 1998. Unemployment
rose from 2.4 percent of the labour force in 1997 to
3.1 percent in 1998.
34. In order to bring the crisis under control,
selective capital controls were imposed on 1
September 1998 and the Ringgit was pegged to the US
Dollar at 3.80 on 2 September. We could have
strengthened the Ringgit to its previous level but
that would increase our cost of production and make
us less competitive than our neighbours who could not
revalue their currencies. With this we also forced
the closure of a Singapore stock market which dealt
in Malaysian shares causing them to be devalued.
Repatriation of funds from the sale of shares was
also banned. These unconventional measures ended the
crisis and Malaysia was able to regain control over
its macroeconomic policies. The economy rebounded
quickly, and share prices rose by more that 200
percent.
35. Three major factors led to the quick recovery of
the Malaysian economy.
(i) Selective Capital Controls: With capital controls
and pegging of the Ringgit, speculative activities in the
financial markets were stopped and certainty returned to
the traders. This financial stability also enabled
interest rates to be lowered, giving relief to the
corporate sector. The selective capital controls were
replaced with an exit levy in February 1999 and this was
finally removed in September 1999.
(ii) Strengthening Banking and Corporate Sectors: The
devaluation created a serious debt problem for the
corporate sector and the banks. In 1998, a special
purpose vehicle called Danamodal was set up to re-
capitalise the banking sector, whereas another entity,
Danaharta, an asset-management company, was created for
the purpose of managing and removing bad debts from the
books of the banks. Both measures helped to stabilise
the banking system.
(iii) Fiscal Expansion: Malaysia undertook fiscal
expansion in order to boost the aggregate demand of the
economy. Fiscal expansion was possible because
Malaysia's debt-servicing ratio was low at 5.5 percent in
1997. This fiscal expansion turned the Budget into a
deficit in 1998. The economic recovery was also aided by
the strength of the world economy. Malaysia's external
trade position turned around, from a small deficit of $16
million USD in 1997 to a huge surplus of $15.1 billion
USD in 1998.
36. A number of institutions worked closely together
to ensure the proper formulation and
implementation of the recovery policies. The
National Economic Action Council (NEAC) was
established on 7 January 1998 for the purpose of
identifying the basic economic problems and the
appropriate policies to respond to them.
37. This culminated in the National Economic
Recovery Plan (NERP), which was introduced in June
1998 as a blueprint for Malaysia's economic recovery.
The NERP recommendations included an expansionary
fiscal policy, an easy monetary stance and various
measures to restructure the distressed financial and
corporate sectors.
38. Bank Negara Malaysia, our central bank, has an
impressive track record. It has been pivotal in
implementing selective capital controls and played a
crucial role in stabilising the banking system that
was saddled with bad debts and capitalisation
problems.
39. Danamodal was formed in August 1998 to ensure
that the banks are sufficiently funded. This has been
successfully done such that no more capital injection
into a financial institution was necessary since
1999. Danamodal's outstanding investment has fallen
from $1.8 billion USD in 10 banks at its inception to
$0.6 billion USD in three banks by the end of 2002,
as a result of divestment or repayment. Danamodal
shall cease operations at the end of 2003.
40. As for Danaharta, it was established in June
1998 to remove bad debts from the books of the banks.
Danaharta has also made good progress in its debt
recovery programme and it is on track to wind up its
operations by 2005. In the five years of its
operation, Danaharta has resolved all 2,905 loan
accounts acquired or managed by them. Their
projected recovery rate is 57 percent, which is high
by international standards.
41. The Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee
(CDRC) did well in strengthening the corporate sector
by providing a platform for borrowers and creditors
to work out feasible debt restructuring schemes.
Since its inception in July 1998, the CDRC has
resolved 48 cases with debts amounting to $13.8
billion USD. They represented 65 percent of the
cases brought before it. Having completed its job,
the CDRC was dissolved on 15 August 2002, thus
concluding an important debt restructuring effort of
the country.
42. The banking system was consolidated and
strengthened. From a fragmented sector of 71 banking
institutions the banking system has now been
consolidated into 30 banking institutions under 10
major domestic banking groups. The banking groups are
now well positioned to realise the synergies of the
larger merged organisations. This has helped to
improve efficiency and enable the banks to meet the
competition posed by foreign banks.
43. For Government-related companies and companies
of national strategic importance, improvements were
made by the Government by bringing in professionals
into corporate management and subjecting the
management to greater transparency and controls. We
have also revamped many government companies as part
of the overall effort to strengthen the corporate
sector.
44. Malaysia today is among the region's best in
corporate governance, with excellent regulations,
open flexible markets and an active community of
relevant non-Government organisations.
45. As a result of its policies, the Government
managed to stabilise the Malaysian economy.
Consequently, confidence among consumers and
investors were greatly improved and the economy
rebounded. Real GDP, which contracted by 7.4 percent
in 1998, rebounded with a growth of 6.1 percent in
1999 and 8.3 percent in 2000. The external trade
account turned in a surplus and has remained in
surplus for 67 consecutive months from November 1997
to May 2003. Foreign reserves rose from $15.6
billion USD in 1997 to $ 37.1 billion USD in June
2003, sufficient to finance 5.8 months of retained
imports. Inflation has dropped from a high of 5.3
percent in 1998 to 1.8 percent in 2002.
46. However, since then, the international economic
environment has become increasingly challenging.
Excess US inventory build-up in early 2001 was
followed by the September 11 incident, and the Iraq
War and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
epidemic in early 2003. The Government had tried to
cushion the economy with two stimulus packages, the
first one in March 2001 (0.9 percent of GDP) and the
second one in September 2001 (1.3 percent of GDP).
These managed to keep the economy out of recession
with a growth of 0.4 percent in 2001 and 4.2 percent
in 2002.
47. In an effort to stimulate private investment,
the Government announced new measures for the capital
market in March 2003 and the economy in May 2003.
48. While the Malaysian economy has diversified
itself into manufacturing and services, growth has
been reliant on external demand and investment. The
competition for foreign direct investment has become
tougher as China and other large low-wage countries
in Asia and South America have become increasingly
aggressive in attracting FDI. Additionally, the
world today is facing increasing risks and
uncertainties such as the September 11 incident, war
in Iraq and outbreak of SARS. All these have
severely affected the global environment and the
prospects of an earlier world economic recovery.
49. In response to international uncertainty and to
strengthen the country's long-term fundamentals,
Malaysia needs to reposition the economy. To achieve
this, we introduced four broad strategies in May
2003. The first aims to promote private investment
while the second will strengthen the nation's
competitiveness. The third strategy encourages
developing internal sources of growth to reduce our
dependence on the external sector. These include the
promotion of private education and health, tourism
and the logistic chain. A plan is only as good as
its implementation and that is why the fourth
strategy of the new economic package is to enhance
the effectiveness of the delivery system. This
involves ensuring expediency in a host of business
enabling functions.
50. The Malaysian experience is of course based on
its unique assets and environment. But many of its
strategies can be modified and adopted by other
countries in order to achieve economic development.
51. The problems are many and the solutions are
numerous. There is no one single thing that can
ensure economic growth and development for any
country.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
e>
Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : DAMASCUS, SYRIA
Tarikh/Date : 18/08/2003
Tajuk/Title : THE DIALOGUE SESSION WITH THE
BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Versi : ENGLISH
It is truly a great pleasure for me to have this
opportunity to address and exchange views with
prominent business leaders of the Syrian Arab Republic.
2. Relations between Syria and Malaysia can only be
strengthened if it is pursued on as many fronts as
possible. Business and economic interface is certainly
an important component of that endeavour. For this
reason, we are here today to explore with you ways that
we can enhance bilateral economic and trade relations.
To help achieve that objective, several leaders and
representatives of the Malaysian business community
have joined me during this visit to identify and
develop opportunities for business collaborations.
3. While Malaysia prides itself as one of the major
trading nations in Asia, we recognise that Syria, in
particular Damascus, has for centuries been a trading
hub in this region and that Syria has a rich history in
commerce. As we continue to develop our nations, we
should make the most of our long involvement in trade
to develop business linkages between our two countries.
Obviously we have not done enough in this regard as
exemplified by the current relatively small amount of
trade between the two countries. Lack of understanding
of each other's economy could perhaps be the deterring
factor. As such, I wish to take this opportunity to
outline to you several fundamental elements of the
Malaysian economy. Hopefully, greater awareness of the
economic environment of the two countries will pave the
way for more bilateral business and trade transactions.
4. Malaysia had achieved strong economic growth over
the period 1988-1997 prior to the East Asian financial
crisis, averaging more than 8 percent per annum. While
Malaysia experienced an economic contraction in 1998 of
7.4 percent due to the impact of the crisis, its
economy has, however, recovered quickly to register
growth rates of 6.1 percent in 1999 and 8.3 percent in
2000. The global economic slowdown in 2001 had again
affected Malaysia's economic growth and during the
year, Malaysia registered a real GDP growth of only 0.4
percent.
5. With the improvement in the global economy in
2002, Malaysia was able to record a GDP growth of 3.5
percent. In tandem with anticipated improvement in the
global economy and as a result of the various measures
recently initiated to further stimulate the economy,
Malaysia's GDP growth for 2003 is forecast at 4.5
percent.
6. Malaysia's economy is private sector driven. The
Government provides support through necessary policies,
infrastructure and legal framework to provide a
conducive environment for the private sector to
operate. Through the Malaysia-Incorporated Policy we
have created a smart partnership between the Government
and private sector to grow the economy and enrich the
country.
7. Encouragement for foreign and local investments
has transformed our agriculture-based economy to a
modern manufacturing-based economy.
8. Industrialisation has taken Malaysia from import
substitution to export oriented, from labour intensive
to capital-intensive industries and now to knowledge-
based industries. We believe the future lies in the
knowledge-based economy where the key to wealth and job
creation lies in exploiting information, ideas,
innovations and technology.
9. In line with efforts to develop a knowledge-based
economy, Malaysia is actively promoting information and
communication technology (ICT) industry. Malaysia has
also established the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
for companies wishing to develop creative IT and
multimedia products and services.
10. The MSC, a 15x50 km corridor, is equipped with
high-capacity global telecommunication and logistics
infrastructure. The Government has put in place the
necessary incentives, policies and laws to meet the
needs of investors in the MSC. To date, there are 905
MSC-status companies with capital investments amounting
to $3.6 billion USD.
11. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in other
industries are still being encouraged. The priority
industries identified by the Government include higher-
end electronic products, medical devices, engineering
support industries, automotive components,
biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing related
services such as research and development, product
design and development, marketing, distribution and
logistics, international procurement and other regional
support functions.
12. Malaysia is able to sustain its global
competitiveness by further diversifying its economy
into other areas including the services sector. In
recent years, Malaysia has successfully marketed
services such as consultancy, healthcare, education and
tourism to many parts of the world. Malaysian
companies have developed skills and expertise in the
construction of infrastructure facilities, housing,
seaports and airports, roads and railways, water
treatment plants, power plants and telecommunication.
They have successfully implemented construction
projects in West Asia, East Asia, the Indian Sub-
continent as well as Africa.
13. I have been made to understand that the
construction sector in Syria has been expanding rapidly
over the recent years and has been one of the major
engines of growth for the country. We welcome the
opportunity for Malaysian companies to participate in
this sector in Syria and to share their experience and
expertise with Syrian companies.
14. Education is rapidly becoming a major contributor
to the economy of Malaysia as the country gains
recognition as a major centre for education in the
Asian region. Malaysia offers quality higher education
at affordable fees. In addition to locally developed
programmes that are internationally recognised, a
number of Malaysian universities and colleges also
provide twinning programmes with American, Canadian,
British and Australian universities. In 2002, a total
of 36,452 foreign students studied in Malaysia and
28,015 or 76 percent of those students studied at
higher learning institutions.
15. Twenty one Syrian students had enrolled in higher
learning institutions in Malaysia in 2002. This number
may be small, but we hope that the success of these
students will convince others to also pursue their
higher education in Malaysia.
16. Malaysia is also promoting the development of
Islamic banking, which has won wide acceptance among
the local banking fraternity and the public, including
the non-Muslims. The financial sector master plan,
launched in March 2001, incorporates a ten-year
plan for Islamic banking and re-insurance. The overall
objective of the plan is to create an efficient,
progressive and comprehensive Islamic financial
system and to promote Malaysia as a regional financial
centre for Islamic banking and finance. Malaysia is
cooperating with other Islamic countries to develop the
Islamic banking system.
17. While we seek new avenues of growth, merchandise
trade will continue to feature prominently in
Malaysia's economy. Malaysia is the eighteenth largest
exporter as well as importer in the world and conducts
trade with more than 230 partners globally. Malaysia's
total trade in 2002 was valued at $173.2 billion USD
with exports amounting $93.3 billion USD and imports
$79.9 billion USD.
18. Malaysia exports a wide range of finished and semi-
finished products comprising electrical and electronic
products, chemicals and chemical products, machinery
and equipment, palm oil, crude petroleum, liquefied
natural gas (LNG), timber products and rubber products.
19. As indicated earlier, trade between Malaysia and
Syria is relatively small. In 2002, Malaysia's trade
with Syria amounted to $67.5 million USD. Exports to
Syria was valued at $66.5 million USD and imports $1.0
million USD.
20. Major exports of Malaysia to Syria were textile
yarn, palm oil, machinery appliances and parts, veneer,
plywood and particleboard, and paper products. Main
imports from Syria were cotton, fabric and clothing
accessories, printed matter, spices, and electrical
power machinery parts. Definitely, trade between the
two countries can be enhanced in terms of volume and
range of products traded.
21. Malaysian products are competitively priced and
produced to meet the quality standards of international
markets.
22. Various measures being introduced by the Syrian
government to facilitate business and trade will
certainly strengthen Syria's position as a major
trading hub in West Asia. Currently, the majority of
Syria's trade is with Europe. We hope to see more trade
with Asia in the future, particularly with Malaysia.
Syria can also serve as the conduit for Malaysia's
products to the region.
23. Similarly, Syrian companies can use Malaysia as
the gateway to the ASEAN and East Asian markets.
Syrian exporters and investors can use Malaysia as a
springboard to tap the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a
regional market with a population of about half a
billion and a combined GDP of $750 billion USD.
24. Malaysia is keen to further expand its trade not
only with Syria but also with other Islamic countries.
The 10th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in
October 2003 that will be held in Putrajaya, Malaysia,
provides an excellent opportunity for us to pursue this
objective. In conjunction with the Summit, several
parallel events will be organised that will bring
together businesses from Islamic countries from all
over the world. Among these is the Expo OIC 2003 from
14 to 19 October 2003 and the OIC Business Forum from
15 to 16 October 2003. Malaysia is pleased to welcome
the representatives of the Syrian Government and its
business community to the Summit and the business
related events.
25. Your participation is certainly needed to make
these events a success. We should go beyond merely
indulging in exchanges of views and experiences. We
should aim for substantive results and to realise
actual business transactions. Our shared religious
beliefs can certainly facilitate a better understanding
of each other. However, we cannot just depend on our
common beliefs to survive in the international business
environment that is becoming more and more competitive.
We have to pursue business relations that is founded on
strong business fundamentals, which are constantly
reviewed, improved and modified to reflect the ever-
changing business environment.
26. Our presence here signals the interest of Malaysia
and its business community to further develop business
relations between the two countries. Several MOUs have
been concluded during and prior to this visit covering
sectors such as education, IT, tourism, science and
technology and statistics. Meetings between members of
the Malaysian business delegation and the Syrian
businessmen during this visit should lead to expanded
bilateral trade and business relations. We also hope to
see many of you again in October in Putrajaya where
greater opportunities await you.
27. Finally, I would like to express my sincere
appreciation to the Government and the people of the
Syrian Arab Republic for the very warm welcome and
hospitality extended to my delegation and I.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
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