Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	10/08/83 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	AT THE LUNCHEON HOSTED BY THE 
'			BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS IN SEOUL 




Mr. Shin Byong Hyun, Chairman, Korea Traders Association, Distinguished
Guests, Gentlemen.

I understand that it has become a Korean tradition that four business
organisations gather together to host a lunch for visiting
dignitaries. Not only are you all extremely proficient in business
transactions but you also demonstrate a consumate diplomatic skill which
even professional diplomats would envy. I do not know how to categorise
this practice, whether under ethics, discipline or simply technique but I
will surely ask the Malaysian business organisations to explore the
possibility of their extending similar hospitality to visitors to
Malaysia. We can include this under the transfer of technology sector of
our bilateral relations.

Nevertheless, I take this opportunity to thank you for kindly inviting me
to this gathering.

2. I believe by now you have a fine grasp of Malaysia and what it stands
for. Some of you I have met in Malaysia, while others may have made visits
in the course of business promotion, while still others maintain branch
offices in Kuala Lumpur which should be able to provide exhaustive
information on the country, both politically and economically. I only hope
the reports that you receive have been favourable to us unlike those that
you would have read in some of the international news magazines and press,
especially those of the West.

3. I congratulate you all for the great contribution you have made to your
country. The investments that you have put in, and the ingenuity and
single-mindedness that go into the growth of your companies and the
promotion of exports, have assured for your country its eventual entry
into the magic club of the industrialised and the developed. As time goes
by, however, you will soon reach the optimum limit to the operations you
could carry on economically at home, and then you will have to explore
beyond your shores for new locations for some of your industries. As you
will then be moving to the more sophisticated and high technology
ventures, away from the labour-intensive and low technology operations,
you will need reliable partners in other countries to carry on. You have
now to exercise some vision and look much further ahead as done by those
in some countries.

4. In view of this you may wish to consider Malaysia as one of the focal
points for future relocation of your industries. You, as clear-minded and
determined entrepreneurs, know exactly the advantages Malaysia offers -- I
think, there are a sufficient number of Malaysian companies and concerns
who would be keen to work together with you in manufacturing and
commercial ventures. In so doing we do not ask of you any more than what
you have already done in your own country. I believe you are always
conscious of your role in society and of the contribution you could make
in ensuring and enhancing the prosperity and well-being of your
people. Similarly countries which welcome foreign companies to invest and
operate in their midst, would also expect such companies to contribute to
a higher level of technology and to the training of their nationals which
would ensure an efficient and competitive edge for such operations. In
other words, there has to be a constant flow of technology to the host
country, improved and modernised as time goes by.

5. By its very own nature a joint venture must be mutually beneficial to
be viable. Anything short of this golden rule will surely face various
difficulties and even setbacks, not to mention the unnecessary ill-will
that would surface sooner or later between the local and foreign
partners. The days of multi-national companies running roughshod over the
interests of the locals are over. I would like to stress here that
Malaysia welcomes foreign investors to invest in the country not solely
for profit motives but also to actively participate as partners in
development. At present Korean companies are essentially involved in
construction work -- in infrastructure, such as bridges, highways,
housing, hydro-electric dams, and other civil work. In order to accelerate
development both in the agriculture and industrial sectors the Malaysian
government will have to expand existing infrastructure and other
facilities. This means more opportunities to foreign companies, including
Koreans.

6. I should, however, state that your involvement in Malaysia should not
end with this kind of operations alone. You may consider what industries
you could promote with the raw materials that Malaysia have -- timber,
rubber, tin, palm oil, cocoa and petroleum -- to produce manufactures, not
only for domestic use but principally for export. You, as astute
businessmen, know the potential -- you can help bring it to reality. It is
my view that this is the kind of involvement that would be welcome by
Malaysians. The Republic of Korea, for example, has to import all the
timber for its export oriented furniture industry. It would make more
sense to relocate your wood-based factories in Malaysia where there is
already an abundant supply of timber and reliable workers, and produce all
the furniture, doors, etc. that you need to supply the markets that you
have created -- at a considerable saving and hence maximise your
profits. As Malaysia becomes more industrialised there would be a demand
for a whole range of products and I suggest you consider all these
possibilities.

7. The experiences of the Republic of Korea are invaluable to us in
Malaysia in our efforts to modernise and expand our economy and trade. Our
industrialisation programme is still very much in its nascent stage but we
are determined to push ahead more vigorously in the near future. We need
the right skill and trained manpower, those who are diligent and
motivated. I would like to thank you for the assistance that some of you
are providing, and others who are thinking of extending in the training
programmes that we have initiated in the Republic of Korea. While we hope
that Malaysians will benefit from your methods and techniques, the benefit
will not be entirely one-sided. The Malaysians trained by Koreans are sure
to prove useful in you dealings in Malaysia. They would help to smoothen
things somewhat in your growing business and commercial relations with
Malaysia. I do realise that some of your business firms are consolidating
your domestic operations but eventually I hope to see your greater
participation in what would prove to be an exciting and challenging
experience in Malaysia's industrial growth.

8. I should also like to encourage the general trading companies to expand
the existing trade between the two countries. You should not limit it to
the import of commodities and raw materials and exports of steel, cement
and the like. You should be thinking of extending them to our manufactured
goods. Malaysia is an open market and you would do well to study it,
despite the stiff competition from other countries. Likewise, you can work
with Malaysian suppliers for the import of goods which are not already
available here.

9. With the burgeoning bilateral economic interaction, you may assist both
your Government and the Malaysian government by improving the existing
shipping and air services between the two countries. Readily available and
efficient shipping and air services between the two countries are
essential prerequisites for increased trade and commerce between the two
countries. Should we neglect their significance for short-term gains or
benefits, then we could only expect slow progress in the achievement of a
closer cooperation and greater interaction between our two countries.

Gentlemen, 

10. I cannot possibly cover every aspect of your present and future
economic relations with Malaysia in this speech.

There remains a lot to be explored. Suffice for me to say the future is
indeed bright for us, not least for Korean business involvement in
Malaysia's expanding economy. With these brief remarks, I wish to thank
you once again for your kind invitation to this luncheon and I wish you
every success for the future.