Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	PAKISTAN 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	22/03/84 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE OFFICIAL BANQUET HOSTED IN HIS 
			HONOUR BY HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL 
			MOHAMMAD ZIA-UL-HAQPRESIDENT OF 
			THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN 




Bismillahir rahmanir rahim.

Your Excellency General Mohammad Zia-Ul-Haq, President of Pakistan; Begum
Zia-Ul-Haq; Honourable Ministers; Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Assalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

I would like, on behalf of my wife and members of the Malaysian delegation
as well as on my own behalf, to express my heartfelt gratitude to Your
Excellency and Begum Zia-Ul-Haq, the government and people of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan for the warm and friendly welcome and generous
hospitality accorded us since our arrival in Pakistan today.

2. I would also like to take this opportunity to convey to Your Excellency
and Begum Zia the warm and brotherly greetings and best wishes of their
majesties the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong.

3. I wish at the same time to deeply thank Your Excellency, the government
of Pakistan and people for having kindly conferred on me the high award of
Nishan-E-Quaidiazam. This conferment together with Your Excellency's kind
invitation to me to attend and participate, as the principal guest, in
Pakistan's national day celebrations tomorrow, are indeed a great honour
and privilege to me personally, and also to my country. These deeds by
Your Excellency and the government of Pakistan symbolise beyond doubt the
close and brotherly relations existing between our two countries based on
our common faith, Islam, and shared ideals and aspirations. We look
forward to tomorrow morning to join and share with the people of Pakistan
your joy and happiness in celebrating your auspicious 37th. anniversary.

4. Your Excellency, your visit to Malaysia in 1982 has provided additional
impetus to the development of our bilateral relations. Since then we have
seen a number of positive developments in our relations. I hope this visit
I am making will further contribute to the strengthening of the relations
between our two countries.

5. Your Excellency, Malaysia and Pakistan stand on common ground in the
conduct of our respective foreign policies. We have been able to cooperate
closely and successfully at various international fora, particularly at
the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). Both Pakistan and Malaysia
are playing active roles in our respective regions to bring about regional
peace and stability. As a believer in regional cooperation and proud of
the success of ASEAN, Malaysia is delighted that Pakistan, subscribes to
the concept as shown by its support of the South Asian Regional
Cooperation (SARC). Malaysia also holds in high regard Pakistan's active
and consistent role in promoting cooperation and solidarity among Islamic
countries. We are confident that under Your Excellency's chairmanship, the
OIC committee on scientific and technical cooperation will succeed in its
endeavours. We are thankful to Pakistan for being one of the first OIC
countries to co-sponsor the establishment of the International Islamic
University in Malaysia.

6. Your Excellency, Malaysia and Pakistan are both developing
countries. As such we must strive to improve the quality of life of our
peoples while at the same time developing our national resilience. But,
unfortunately, we are being distracted and hampered in our endeavours by
the unstable situations in our respective regions. In Kampuchea and
Afghanistan, foreign military forces continue to illegally occupy these
two countries in gross violation of the basic tenets of international law
and openly defying the numerous calls by the international community for
their speedy withdrawal. The continued Vietnamese military occupation of
Kampuchea threatens the security and stability of Southeast Asia and is a
serious obstacle to the early realisation of a Zone of Peace, Freedom and
Neutrality (ZOPFAN) in Southeast Asia. The same dangerous and explosive
situation also persists in Afghanistan as a result of Soviet intervention
and continued military occupation of that country. Malaysia and Pakistan
hold identical positions on the peaceful settlement of the Kampuchean and
Afghanistan problems, namely the withdrawal of all foreign military
forces, recognition of the rights of the Kampuchean and Afghan peoples to
self-determination and independence free from outside interference, and
the return of refugees to their homes in safety and honour. While on this
subject Your Excellency, I would like to place on record Malaysia's
admiration for the generous help and assistance rendered by the people and
government of Pakistan to the Afghan refugees.

7. Malaysia is extremely concerned at the deteriorating situation in the
Middle East. We believe that a just and durable peace in the region can
only be achieved through the restitution of the inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people, which is the crux of the problem.

8. It is Malaysia's conviction that the Middle East problem has remained
unresolved because of the intransigence and continued acts of aggression
by Israel. Not only has Israel defied successive United Nations
resolutions calling for her withdrawal from occupied Arab territories but
it has also aggravated the situation by expropriating Arab land and
attempting to change the status of Jerusalem. Any relocation of embassies
to Baitul Muqaddis by any nation will be tantamount to support for
aggression. Malaysia vehemently condemns such irresponsible action. We
also cannot exonerate the major powers from responsibility for the
continuing problem. The sophisticated arms used by all the parties in the
multiple conflicts in the Middle East are supplied by the big powers. And
apparently no party is given sufficient arms to win
decisively. Consequently death and destruction escalate without the end
being anywhere in sight.

9. A solution to the Middle East conflict is possible through the line of
action mapped out by the United Nations Regional Conference On The
Question of Palestine in Kuala Lumpur last May and the United Nations
International Conference in Geneva in August last year in which both
Pakistan and Malaysia played a role. Individual countries should now cease
to promote their own pet solutions but instead give their support to the
United Nations and the implementation of the line of action referred to.

10. The continuing Iran-Iraq conflict remains a cause for much anguish and
sadness for all Muslims and indeed to the international community. In the
interest of Islamic solidarity and world peace, this tragic conflict must
be brought to an end. Malaysia as a member of the OIC peace committee
remains fully committed to seeking an early and peaceful solution to the
conflict.

11. If the world political outlook is gloomy, the prospects for improving
international economic cooperation is no less so. Developing countries,
which are badly affected by the world economic recession and which are
frustrated by the lack of response from the developed countries to promote
a new international economic order must find new ways and means to
overcome their plight without being too heavily dependant on the developed
countries. This is why Malaysia is a strong proponent of South-South
cooperation and sincerely believes that developing countries, like
Malaysia and Pakistan, can increase trade and economic exchanges which
will be mutually beneficial. A fair amount of our trade with the North can
be redirected to the South without hurting any one of us. It is all really
up to us to make the decision and to act.

12. I am very happy that both Malaysia and Pakistan are already engaged in
a formal and continuous dialogue through our joint commission on economic
and technical cooperation. Undoubtedly, the private sector has an
important role to play in the process and this is the reason why I have
included in my delegation some important representatives of the Malaysian
private sector, who will meet their Pakistani counterparts and hold
discussions on trade and possible joint venture projects.

13. In concluding my remarks, I would like once again to thank Your
Excellency and Begum Zia-Ul-Haq for this grand dinner that you have very
kindly hosted in our honour tonight.

14. May I now invite all present to join me in wishing for the continued
good health and happiness of the President of the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan and Begum Zia-Ul-Haq, to the continued prosperity and well-being
of the government and people of Pakistan, and to the close and brotherly
relations between Malaysia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Thank you.