Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	WASHINGTON, USA 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	18/01/84 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE WHITE HOUSE LUNCHEON HOSTED BY 
			PRESIDENT REAGAN 




It is an honour for me and my delegation to be among the first to be
invited for an official visit to Washington in 1984. This is a very
important year for your country as it is the year for the presidential
election. I observe that although no official statement has been made
either confirming or denying Mr. President of your desire to seek
re-election to the Oval Office, the air in Washington is however
reverberating with keen expectation on your being voted to another term as
the chief executive of the United States.

2. I fully appreciate the pressures this visit imposes over and above the
competing demands on your time, arising from your many heavy duties and
responsibilities as President, and indeed, as a world statesman. With the
Presidential election just around the corner and the world continuing to
throw up crisis after crisis, playing host to a small South East Asian
country must be quite a strain. I am greatly flattered and honoured that
you should deem it worth your time.

3. Mr. President, I am of the impression that our bilateral relations are
on a sound footing and I concur readily with your sentiments that there is
every reason for us to expect our co-operative relationship to expand
further in the years ahead, in the spirit of global inter-dependence for
mutual benefits.

4. Even though our two countries are on the opposite sides of the globe
with a time difference of 12 hours, we have many things in common. We both
subscribe to the democratic process and the rule of law, and we believe in
the free enterprise system.

5. We also share a common perspective on the security and stability in the
Southeast Asian region which has been severely threatened by recent
events, such as the continued occupation of Kampuchea by Vietnamese
troops, and slightly further afield, by the Soviet Union's military
intervention in Afghanistan. Malaysia abhors military intervention, and
for that matter any form or manner of interference of a state by
another. We hope that there will be quick and peaceful solution to global
flash points which is a prerequisite to security and stability which will
in turn facilitate the urgent task of economic development and progress.

6. However, all this does not mean that we should take our sound and
balanced relationship for granted. Nor does it imply that we have had no
differences in views or problems. On the contrary, we are very conscious
of the fact that your Administration has policies that cause some
anxieties, even serious problems on occasions, in our bilateral
relationship as well as in our respective multilateral policy
postulates. Still, I feel confident that through continued and expanding
direct contacts, such irritants in our relationship can be ameliorated if
not indeed removed.

7. Let us pledge therefore our mutual commitment to widen as well as to
deepen the channels of communication and contacts in the interest of
further improving the tone and texture of the relationship between our two
democratic societies.

8. I must confess Mr. President that I had looked forward to this
privilege and pleasure of meeting you and your Cabinet colleagues with a
certain sense of expectation. Now having met you, I can only say that I am
truly pleased for having made this official trip to
Washington. Mr. President, my delegation and I have been touched by the
generosity and warmth of your hospitality and the cordiality which have
been extended to us from the time of our arrival in Washington.

9. Before I conclude, let me on behalf of my delegation and myself, once
again express our sincere thanks and appreciation for all the many
courtesies so warmly extended to us. It is our hope in the traditional
Malaysian spirit that we will be able to have the opportunity to
reciprocate the kindness and the generous hospitality in the not too
distant future. In the meanwhile, let us pledge to strengthen further the
bonds of friendship, understanding and mutual respect which have existed
between our two countries over the years.

10. Gentlemen, I would now like to invite you to join me in a toast to the
President and to the friendship and positive cooperation of our two
countries.