Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	DEWAN TUN ISMAIL, PWTC, 
			KUALA LUMPUR 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	11/04/97 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE JOINT MEETING OF THE MALAYSIA-
			BRITISH SOCIETY AND BRITISH-
			MALAYSIA SOCIETY 



   1.  Firstly, I wish to thank the organiser, The  Malaysia-
  British Society, for inviting me here today to share  some
  thoughts  with  you on issues that could  trigger  a  more
  serious  effort  to promote collaboration between  Britain
  and  Malaysia.  The relations between Malaysia and Britain
  have  largely  matured  over the  years.   The  generation
  which  knew  the  Malay  States of the  colonial  days  is
  almost  gone. The present generation know very little  and
  remember  not  at all of the links that our two  countries
  had had in those years.
  
  2.    Still  there  is  a sense of familiarity  with  each
  other  and  along with it a degree of comfort.   We  don't
  need  interpreters for example when we talk to each  other
  and    this   in   itself   contributes   towards   better
  understanding.   When  we  have  interpreters  we   really
  cannot  be  sure they are in fact interpreting  correctly.
  The  story  goes  that General Templer, one  of  the  most
  prominent  of  the  British  High  Commissioners  in  pre-
  independent  Malaya, told the villagers of  Kulai,  Johore
  who  had  failed  to provide information  of  a  communist
  ambush  in  that area that they were all bastards  but  he
  was  a  greater bastard than all of them.  The interpreter
  was  flabbergasted and translated it by  saying  that  the
  good  General knew that the parents of the villagers  were
  all  not married but the General's parents too did not get
  married.  Templer was quite happy with the reaction.
  
  3.    Well, I am glad no one in this room will be  getting
  the  benefit  of the dubious ability of such  interpreters
  to interpret for me.
  
  4.    But that aside, we know we are comfortable with each
  other  because our systems are largely similar.   We  have
  the  same system of administration, the same understanding
  of  the rule of law (You are innocent until you are proven
  guilty  etc.)  and the same abhorrence of rude  bluntness.
  Except  for  the fact that the Malaysian Constitution  was
  written,   we  have  the  same  system  of  constitutional
  monarchy  and  every year we hold a tea party  and  confer
  numerous sashes and medals with sonorous titles.  In  fact
  even  in terms of racial composition of the population  we
  are  slowly  approximating each  other.   I  suspect  next
  year's  Commonwealth  Games will  see  quite  a  colourful
  British team participating.
  
  5.    All  these  similarities should enable  us  to  work
  closely  together.  The relations now of course should  be
  as  between  equals.   Malaysia is still  junior  in  many
  ways.  Population-wise, GDP/GNP-wise, technology-wise,  we
  are  miles  or eons behind.  But ego-wise we have  managed
  to  blow ourselves up and we think and behave as if we are
  at  par  with our partner, the British.  Just to  convince
  you  and  everyone, we dig into our pockets and  paid  for
  the  world's  highest  building and the  region's  biggest
  airport.  For  good  measure we  throw  in  two  reputedly
  intelligent cities in between the towers and the airport.
  
  6.     Many   say   that   we   are  being   irresponsibly
  extravagant.    Those  edifices  or  monuments   cost   us
  billions  which  we  cannot afford.  An American  magazine
  did  a good job by publishing a picture of the twin towers
  with a wretched slum building in the foreground.  But  the
  Prime  Minister  seems  a little  bit  carried  away  with
  memorials  before he is even gone.  But  actually  if  you
  add  up,  his  ego is even bigger.   The whole  Multimedia
  Super Corridor will actually cost over RM100 billion.   By
  the  time  it  is half-finished, Malaysia  will  be  going
  around  with  a begging bowl.  But the Prime Minister  has
  already  worked this out.  The Economic Planning Unit  has
  predicted that he will not be around to carry the bowl  in
  2020.    His  successor  unfortunately  will.   The  Prime
  Minister  will  go to his grave smiling happily,  all  his
  monuments in place.
  
  7.   Sorry for this gallows humour.  But actually it is  a
  standard  joke  whenever I make a speech  about  2020.   I
  always  tell  my audience ad nauseum, that  the  date  was
  chosen so I would not be around when the things fail.   It
  never  failed  to bring a laugh - although I  notice  that
  the  laughter is becoming a little bit more strained  each
  time.
  
  8.    But really, Malaysia has some big plans.  We do want
  to  become a fully-developed country by the year 2020.  We
  cannot  do  this alone.  We need help from  friends.   And
  British  friends are the most comfortable.  You  have  the
  technology and the skills which we need.  To be  developed
  is  of  course  not just a question of per capita  income.
  We  must have a fair deal of the know-how, the skills  and
  the  expertise.  We must be able, firstly, to produce  all
  those  sophisticated  products which  developed  countries
  produce  and  sell  to the world, and  secondly,  we  must
  eventually  be able to invent and innovate and patent  our
  products  so  that  the  current  stress  on  intellectual
  property becomes meaningful to us.
  
  9.     We   know  Britain  has  the  technology  and   the
  sophistication.  A glance at the new products  section  of
  the  brochures  issued  by  the  British  High  Commission
  should   convince  everyone  of  the  innovativeness   and
  inventiveness  of  the  British.   It  is  said  that  the
  Japanese  are more skillful in applying these  discoveries
  and  profiting  by  them.  Perhaps  British  entrepreneurs
  working  with  Malaysians can find ready  application  for
  these  ideas  and discoveries and market  them,   or  test
  market  them  in  this region.  The  Japanese  have   been
  doing   this  all  the  time. If their  South  East  Asian
  guinea  pigs  survives then it is safe to market  whatever
  in  the  rest of the world.  Why not the British  and  the
  Malaysians together avail themselves of this strategy.
  
  10.   Malaysians  have  bought into British  companies  in
  order  to gain access to technology or other assets.   The
  purchase  of  Lotus is a case in point.  The potential  is
  tremendous.   We need the sophisticated engineering  know-
  how  of the company and the injection of Malaysian capital
  has  apparently come in handy for Lotus.  The  synergy  is
  obvious  here.   I  am  sure there  are  other  Lotus-like
  companies which can benefit from `Malaysian injection'  of
  equity capital.
  
  11.   There is one area which the twin societies can  help
  to  realise.   For more than a century Malaysian  students
  have  been going to Britain to study.  This has benefitted
  both  Malaysia and Britain.  Malaysia of course  gain  the
  kind   of  knowledge  and  skills  it  requires  for   its
  development.   Britain on the other hand gained  from  the
  tendency  of  those who had studied in the United  Kingdom
  to    favour   everything   British,   particularly    the
  engineering students.
  
  12.   But  beyond  that, partnership between  British  and
  Malaysian   companies  should  also  do  well   in   third
  countries.  Malaysian companies are now testing the  water
  in  many  countries of the South.  They have not done  too
  badly  but  they  need greater skills and  sophistication.
  Employing  British  engineers and other  professionals  is
  one  way out for the Malaysians.  They could have employed
  Russian  or  Poles but there is a language  problem.   The
  British fortunately speak English and although it  is  not
  exactly  the English the Malaysians speak, the  Malaysians
  can  understand  the British English quite  well.   But  a
  better  way would be for serious joint-ventures to be  set
  up  between  Malaysian  and British companies,  each  side
  contributing  its particular strength, thus enhancing  the
  capacity  of  the joint venture company.  It is  difficult
  to  identify  what strength  the Malaysian companies  have
  which  is  not  found  in British  companies.   But  I  do
  believe  they have something to contribute which could  be
  worthwhile.
  
  13.   But at the ASEM meeting in Bangkok last year it  was
  decided that there is merit in European students in  large
  numbers   studying  in  Asian  universities.    As   Asian
  students  studying  in  Europe learnt  to  understand  the
  culture  and  the  way of life of the Europeans,  European
  students  studying  in  Asia will  similarly  learn  Asian
  culture   and  Asian  ways.   They  would  be  then   more
  understanding  and  less  critical  of  Asians  and  would
  contribute towards better relations between the  West  and
  the  East.   It  may  not happen of course.   There  could
  still be clashes of civilisations.  But we can try.
  
  14.   Now  Malaysia  in  particular  is  keen  to  receive
  European students, particularly British students to  study
  in  Malaysia, not about anthropology, about Homo Asiancies
  or  Homo  Malaysiancies but other quite mundane  subjects.
  We  assure you our universities will be just as good.  You
  can   provide  some  of  the  teachers  and  the  external
  examiners.  God willing, British students  will  learn  to
  appreciate  our  value systems and be more  friendly  when
  later  on they work in the British press or in the British
  Foreign  Office. They might even learn how  to  understand
  and  speak  Malaysian English.  I am sure Malaysia/British
  relations will benefit from this.
  
  15.   Finally  I would like to mention our most  ambitious
  project  yet - the Multimedia Super Corridor.  Physically,
  this  is  a 15km wide stretch of land extending  from  the
  Kuala   Lumpur  City  Centre  50km  south   to   the   new
  International  Airport in Sepang.  Within  this  area  and
  next  to the new so-called paperless electronic Government
  Administrative City will be Cybercity, a haven and  heaven
  for the Information Age industry involving Multimedia.   I
  will not say much more about this Super Corridor but I  am
  sure  we can provide lots of information on what we intend
  and  is  in  fact already doing there.  British multimedia
  companies are welcome to participate in this exciting  new
  venture,  a testbed for real life experiment in electronic
  government,     multimedia     university,      borderless
  manufacturing,  a single intelligent card to  replace  the
  numerous   cards  that  we  have  to  carry   today,   R&D
  laboratories, media content producers and a host of  other
  activities  which have become possible because  of  modern
  real-time,  borderless  information  distribution   world-
  wide.
  
  16.   Clearly  the  scope for cooperation between  Britain
  and  Malaysia is unlimited.  Britain (and America) has the
  advantage because language is less of a problem.   Hiccups
  will occur but we have had two major hiccups and came  out
  of  them with better understanding and stronger relations.
  We should be able to take future hiccups in our stride.
  
  17.    The   Malaysia-British  and  the   British-Malaysia
  societies  can obviously play a big role in enhancing  the
  relations  between our two countries and peoples.   Purely
  business   consideration  should   be   supplemented   and
  augmented  by  forays  into other  fields,  into  culture,
  education and even religion.  As long as we can  agree  to
  disagree and leave the meeting rooms as friends, there  is
  no  limit  to  the things we can discuss  when  these  two
  societies meet.
  
  18.   I  wish  you all the very best for this  session  of
  your  conference.   I am sure you will take  us  one  step
  further  in  the  cementing of relations between  our  two
  countries and peoples.