Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : AT THE LANGKAWI ISLAND RESORT HOTEL
LANGKAWI, KEDAH
Tarikh/Date : 25/08/94
Tajuk/Title : THE SIXTEENTH ASEAN MINISTERS OF
AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
MEETING (AMAF)
I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture for
inviting me to officiate the 16th Meeting of the ASEAN
Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry in Langkawi today. I
hope that in the spirit of ASEAN cooperation you will be
able to discuss candidly the issues before us and come up
with proposals that will mutually benefit us all.
2. The ASEAN economies today are booming and experiencing
rapid economic growth averaging 6.7 percent per annum in
1993. In all these economies, the leading sectors have
always been the manufacturing and the services sector. Yet
a large number of people are still highly dependent on
agriculture and forestry for their livelihood. The
agricultural sector, compared to the manufacturing and
services sector, has been lagging behind in terms of rate of
growth and contribution to the GDP. As such efforts must
be made to ensure that agriculture continues to develop
alongside other sectors.
3. In Malaysia, between 1991 and June 1994, out of RM 82.8
billion of capital investment that was approved for 20 types
of industry, agro-based and food-based industries accounted
for about 11 percent or RM8.7 billion. This included food
manufacturing, beverages and tobacco, wood and wood
products, and paper and rubber products. Thus, even though
the manufacturing sector takes on great importance in a
country's industrialisation, the agriculture component is
not an insignificant component. Besides, for Malaysia, the
biggest import item and the biggest cause of inflation is
food, especially imported food products.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
4. The private sector of ASEAN countries can play a major
role to enhance intra-ASEAN investment in the agriculture
and forestry industry so as to exploit the complementarity
within ASEAN in terms of factor endowments, labour costs,
technologies, and skills. ASEAN private initiatives should
aim at strategic alliances and joint ventures in the
production, processing and marketing of agricultural
products. The thrust of cooperative efforts in this
direction should result in penetration of extra-ASEAN
markets. With the conclusion of the GATT negotiations,
there will be more trade and competition, and
competitiveness will be the key to survival in the world
market place. Hence all the comparative advantages of the
ASEAN member countries should be combined in order for ASEAN
to be a low cost producer and exporter of quality
agricultural products.
5. In ASEAN we have the Growth Triangle development
strategy involving all ASEAN member countries, namely the
IMT-GT between Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand; the SIJORI
between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and BIMP-GT
between Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. In
all these projects, agriculture offers a great potential
because these are resource frontier regions. I would,
therefore, like to urge the private sectors of all the
ASEAN member countries to initiate projects which would
benefit all parties and help expedite the process of opening
up these growth centres. Potential areas of development
include food production and large-scale livestock rearing,
as well as the various tree-crops.
6. We in ASEAN produce the same commodities, have
the same climate, the same environment, eat the same staple
food and face the same problems. In agriculture, as in
other fields, we are both competitors and rivals. We want
to be the best producers and to get the maximum market
access for our products. In fact we want to be the best in
all our endeavours because entry into the world market means
we can develop faster and improve the standard of living of
our people. This is a logical and rational mode of thinking
and action because the real world is a harsh one. But I
believe we can do better if we cooperate rather than compete
ferociously and fiercely. It is in this spirit that the
ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) can play
an important role. I hope that the AMAF will be an
effective forum for the resolving of common problems related
to agriculture and forestry in the region. We have no time
to engage in polite and unproductive forums using scarce
public funds that need to be used for the benefit of our
peoples. We have to make a commitment to come up with more
task-oriented and substantive work programmes. If we all do
this sincerely and with commitment, then agriculture will
continue to be an important contributor to our growth.
7. Although environmental issues have dominated the world
scene since the UNCED summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992
the role of agriculture cannot be ignored. It is obvious
that expansion of agricultural land must be at the expense
of forest land. But we can minimise this by more intensive
cultivation of available land and through research on
increasing yield per unit of land. It is worth noting that
research has made the original rubber tree yield ten times
more latex. The same is true for oil palm and other crops.
Still there are many ways of improving quality and yield.
It is up to the agriculturists to do research and to
develop. Funds expanded on R&D in agriculture is never a
waste. ASEAN researchers should publish their works and
exchange information on a regular basis. That way we can
help sustain our environment and in particular our forests.
8. Growth in population tend to exhaust marine products.
While fishing should be controlled, aquaculture should be
expanded. Many ASEAN countries have more than adequate land
for aquaculture. At the same time research in aquaculture
should not only make the industry profitable but should help
with the food needs of ASEAN countries, and for exports.
9. ASEAN remains a major tropical forest region in the
world, with some 180 million hectares which represent about
60 percent of the ASEAN land area. ASEAN is also the most
important supplier of tropical timber products in the world,
accounting for more than 80 percent of the international
trade in these products valued at more than US$12 billion a
year. Forestry has played a dominant role in the
socio-economic development of the region.
10. You may recall that when the need to conserve the
world's forests was first recognised, the focus was almost
exclusively on the tropical forest and its exploitation. A
full scale and emotive campaign was mounted in the West to
ban the use of tropical hardwoods. It would seem that
temperate land timber has no role at all in maintaining the
ecological balance. The timber tycoons of the north could
clear-fell millions of hectare of forest with impunity.
11. While we are not denying the role played by tropical
forests in sustaining the ecological balance, we would like
to point out that we do no clear felling. Extraction of
timber is controlled so that if you fly over the ASEAN
countries, you will still see only green below you.
12. When ASEAN timber companies expand their operations to
the South Seas and other regions they are equally careful
not to destroy the forests they log. Unfortunately the
activities of ASEAN loggers to help the economy of many
developing countries have aroused resentment on the part of
some regional powers. Suddenly money was offered to these
developing countries to persuade them to stop Malaysian
investors. We do not know what to call such aid but it is
questionable whether ecology has anything to do with it.
13. While many ASEAN countries can afford to reduce
dependence on the forest for their economic development,
other countries may not be able to do so. They have a right
to extract their forest products in order to free themselves
from others.
14. Finally, I am glad to note that the ASEAN Secretariat
has drafted a Memorandum of Understanding for the Joint
ASEAN Agriculture and Forestry Product Promotion Scheme in
order to strengthen the collective bargaining position of
ASEAN and expand agriculture and forest products exports.
This MOU is very timely and in fact is long overdue in the
quest for ASEAN economic cooperation in the face of a more
competitive world economy.
15. On that note, I have the pleasure to declare open the
Sixteenth ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry
Meeting.