Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, 
			BANGKOK, THAILAND 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	19/08/93 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	DINNER HOSTED BY H.E. MR CHUAN 
			LEEKPAI, P.M. OF THAILAND 



 Your Excellency Mr Chuan Leekpai,
Prime Minister of Thailand;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
   May  I  express   my   sincere   appreciation   to  Your
Excellency  and  to the Government  of Thailand for the warm
welcome and  generous hospitality  accorded  to  me  and  my
delegation.  It is a great pleasure for me to be in Bangkok,
a  city  whichremains  always  vibrant  and enchanting.  The
continuously changing Bangkok skyline  is  a  reflection  of
the  remarkable  economic  progress  that  Thailand has been
achieving.
2.   I certainly welcome this opportunity  to visit Thailand
and meet your Excellency again, having had  the privilege of
playing host to you and members of your  delegation in Kuala
Lumpur last January.  This visit  will  provide me  with the
opportunity  to  exchange   views  with  you  on   important
subjects of mutual interest  to both our  countries.  We had
very good discussions in  Kuala Lumpur.  We have  again  had
very fruitful consultations  and exchange of  views  earlier
today.  I  look  forward  to  more consultations between the
two sides duringthe  course  of this  visit  in  the  common
effort to  expand  relations  between  our  two  neighbourly
countries.
Your Excellency,
3.   When  we met some seven months ago,  you  and  I  noted
with  profound  satisfaction   the   excellent   cooperation
between  Malaysia  and  Thailand  in a wide range of fields.
But we also agreed that more  could  be  done to enhance our
bilateral cooperation.  The broad areas of cooperation under
the purview of the Joint  Commission and the General  Border
Committee  are  generally  going  on  very  well.   In  many
instances  they  manifest the trust and confidence  Malaysia
and Thailand  place  in each  other.  They are a  product of
long-standing friendship, built upon the deep-rooted  spirit
of good neighbourliness. We do, however,  encounter problems
in our relations off and on.  But I am confident that we can
overcome  those  problems,  relying  upon the same spirit of
friendship and  good  neighbourliness  that has guided us in
our relations in the past.
Your Excellency,
4.   During our discussions last  January,  we  agreed  that
more  efforts should be undertaken  on both sides to tap the
full  potential of  trade  and other  economic opportunities
between  our   two  countries  and   between  us  and  other
countries.  For this purpose,  I have invited some prominent
Malaysian entrepreneurs and  businessmen to join  me on this
visit.  Their  presence in  my delegation is symbolic of the
important role the private  sector can play in complementing
the efforts of  the  two  Governments  to  enhance bilateral
economic   cooperation   between  our  two  countries.  I am
confident  that  we  can  achieve  a  more  constructive and
mutually  rewarding  cooperation  if the  Malaysian and Thai
private sectors were to focus on the  numerous opportunities
for trade, investment and tourism that  exist in and between
our  countries,  as  well as in  exploring joint ventures in
other parts of the world.
5.  It is certainly my hope that  private sector cooperation
would  develop fully into an  ASEAN-wide phenomenon so as to
enhance intra-ASEAN Trade and  help expedite the realisation
of  Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA).  In this regard,  both the
Governments  and  private   sectors  have  to  play  equally
important  roles  in  developing  a strong sense of regional
purpose so that AFTA could be  sooner realised.  Intra-ASEAN
trade  is  expanding.  AFTA  could certainly help accelerate
this   trend.  Malaysian   and   Thai   entrepreneurs   and
businessmen could contribute immensely to this process.
6.   I am  happy that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand  have
agreed to  cooperate  in  developing  a  sub-regional growth
area involving  parts of the three  countries.  A Tripartite
Ministerial  Meeting  held in Langkawi last month is a clear
manifestation of our  common desire to translate quickly the
idea  into  practical  reality.   I  am  confident  that the
Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand  Growth  Triangle (IMTGT)  would
bring about tremendous benefits to all the three  countries.
But it is crucial that besides the  commitment  of the three
governments, there should also be  the active  participation
and  involvement  of  the   private  sectors  of  the  three
countries in order that  this  triangular  partnership  will
work well and succeed.
7.   I also wish to  express my thanks to Thailand  for  the
support  given to the  East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC).  It
is indeed gratifying  that ASEAN has now achieved  consensus
on the EAEC.  ASEAN has  once again demonstrated its ability
to address an important issue  in a pragmatic manner. Others
had expected  ASEAN to come up  with the practical solutions
and ASEAN has done so.   It is now  up  to  the  East  Asian
countries to come to  agreement on how EAEC should progress.
We  should  now be  able to look forward to the convening of
the inaugural meeting of EAEC in the very near future.
Your Excellency,
8.   Malaysia   has  always  believed   that  a  stable  and
prosperous region would be crucial to  its own stability and
prosperity. Therefore, we welcome the  positive developments
in  Indochina.  Malaysia,  like  Thailand,  sees the need to
cooperate  with our  neighbours in Indochina so as to enable
them to  achieve a higher level of economic development.  We
have therefore  embarked  on  modest  cooperation programmes
for these  countries.  But our resources  are quite limited.
We may  not be  able to  fulfill some  of the needs of those
countries.  It would be worthwhile for Malaysia and Thailand
to  work  together,  possibly  even  in partnership with the
other   ASEAN  countries,   to   coordinate   our  technical
cooperation  programmes  vis-a-vis these  three countries to
ensure optimisation of resources and results.
9.   General  elections  have  been   held  successfully  in
Cambodia  under the supervision of  UNTAC.  We should all be
encouraged by the process of national  reconciliation taking
place under  the  leadership of Prince  Norodom Sihanouk and
wish him success in  his efforts.    However,  I believe the
Prince and his compatriots need  the strong  support  of the
international community  in their  effort to  rebuild  their
country  and  revive  the  spirit  and   potential  of   the
Cambodian people.  The United Nations  must continue to play
a  role  in ensuring peace and stability  as well as helping
to accelerate economic reconstruction in Cambodia.
Your Excellency,
10.  While  the conflict in Cambodia has  come to a positive
settlement, other parts of the world  continue to suffer the
ravages of war and political  turmoil.  We cannot ignore the
plight of  the  Bosnians.  There  remains  little  political
commitment  among  those who are directly concerned to adopt
concrete  measures  to  halt the hostilities and ensure just
and  lasting  peace  in   Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Malaysia  is
working actively with other  countries to  help the Bosnians
defend their lives,  protect their  rights  and  keep  their
homeland.   We believe  that more serious efforts have to be
done  to  save   Bosnia-Herzegovina   and  its  people  from
disintegration and total destruction.
Your Excellency,
11.  I  view  the  tradition of regular  exchanges of visits
between the  prime  ministers,  ministers, senior  officials
and  members  of  the  private  sectors    of  Malaysia  and
Thailand  as  important  for   the  promotion  of  bilateral
relations  and  coope  ration.  Such  exchanges  provide  us
the opportunity to exchange views,  explore fresh ideas  and
identify  new  areas   of   cooperation,   not  only  in the
bilateral  context,  but   also   in   the   regional    and
international contexts.  They have  proven  to be successful
in  resolving  issues and problems as  well  as in enhancing
cooperation in  many  areas.  I  look  forward  to  more  of
these exchanges with you.