Message from Ambassador Dato' Dali M. Hashim

Message from Ambassador Dato' Dali M. Hashim

On the auspicious occasion of the 38th anniversary of the
Independence Day of Malaysia, I wish to take this opportunity to
congratulate the government and the people of Indonesia who have
just celebrate the historic 50th anniversary of the Proclamation
of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17th,
1995. I would also like to thank The Jakarta Post for the
opportunity of this message.

The year 1995 witnessed the holding of the eighth General
Elections in Malaysia. The result of the elections was an
overwhelming victory of the governing Coalition Government of the
National Front. This fact would augur well for the continued
stability of the country.

The year 1995 also brings Malaysia yet one year nearer to the
deadline of achieving the national objective of "Vision 2020".
What is "Vision 2020" ? As its name indicates, it is the
crystallization of Malaysia's ambition to become a fully
developed nation by the year 2020 in every sense of the word :
socio-economically, technologically, politically and from the
ethical and spiritual viewpoints. More specifically, the
Malaysian economy by the year 2020 would have, among other
things, the following features :

1. A diversified and balanced economy with a mature and widely-
based industrial sector, a modern and mature agriculture
sector and an efficient, productive and an equally mature
services sector.

2. An economy that is able to quickly adapt to changing patterns
of supply, demand and competition.

3. An economy that is technologically proficient, fully able to
acquire, adapt, innovate and adopt the latest in modern
technology and to keep up with it.

4. An economy that has strong and cohesive industrial linkage
throughout the system.

5. An economy driven by brain-power, skills and diligence, in
possession of a wealth of information, and able to utilize it.

6. An economy with high and continuously increasing productivity
at every phase of the process.

7. An entrepreneurial economy that is self-reliant and
outwardlooking.

8. An economy characterized by low-inflation and low cost of
production.

9. An economy that is geared to the full discipline and rigors of
market forces.

To achieve the objective of Vision 2020, Malaysia would need
to have an economic growth rate of seven percent per annum from
now till the year 2020.

Obviously, the key to sustaining a growth rate of seven per
cent per annum lies largely in stimulating a high rate of
investment -- both domestic and foreign. In this regard, Malaysia
has been quite successful in improving the physical, legislative,
administrative and financial infrastructures so as to sustain
investment at 34 to 35 percent of GDP in order to achieve growth.

Thus Malaysia was able to achieve a continuous economic growth
rate of above 7.5 percent for the past five years. For this year,
the expectation is a growth rate of between eight and nine
percent. The high growth rate is all the more remarkable when
viewed against the low rate of inflation experienced in the
country . In 1994, inflation was 3.8 percent while for this year,
it is projected to be below the target of four percent.

The point has been made that success in attaining the national
objective of Vision 2020 would require a massive injection of
capital and technology and a further liberalization of global
trade. It therefore follows that Malaysia would continue to
attach utmost importance to a durable environment of peace and
stability in order to enhance the flow of investment and
technology and greater growth of world trade. By the same token,
the target to become a fully industrialized society would also
mean that Malaysia offers a vast opportunity and potential for
greater economic cooperation and interaction with the
international community.

Malaysia-Indonesia bilateral ties continue to be strengthened
and deepened in every respect. I am particularly happy to note
that both countries have been giving greater importance to
expanding economic cooperation particularly in trade and
investment. Reflecting this new emphasis, Malaysian investments
in Indonesia increased significantly in 1994 reaching a total of
US$ 603 million compared to only US$56 million in 1993. The
quantum of Malaysian investments in Indonesia for 1995 is also
expected to be impressive. From Indonesia too, there has been a
significant increase in commercial transactions including cross
border listing and exchange of shares mechanism.

Given the firm commitment of the leadership at all levels of
both countries as well as their respective strong performing
economies, I am confident that the future will see an even grater
quantitative and qualitative improvements in Malaysia-Indonesia
bilateral relations.