Message from the Ambassador: Friendship and support
Message from the Ambassador: Friendship and support
Today marks the 44th Anniversary of Malaysia's Independence.
On this auspicious occasion, I join all Malaysians living in
Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia in celebrating our National
Day.
This is a day of remembrance and appreciation. It is a day for
remembering our forefathers and saluting them for their enormous
sacrifice and contribution in the struggle for independence and
nation building.
It is a day for appreciating our history and learning from our
failures and achievements. Malaysians in Indonesia join our
leaders and fellow citizens in Malaysia in commemorating this
44th Malaysian National Day.
We are undertaking various activities here in Jakarta and
other Indonesian cities to celebrate this day.
This National Day comes at a time when Malaysia and Indonesia
are enjoying extremely cordial relations and excellent
cooperation in various fields.
This is evident from the successful state visit of President
Megawati Soekarnoputri to Kuala Lumpur just a few days ago on
Aug. 27 and Aug. 28.
Malaysia and Indonesia share the same vision for peace,
security and prosperity for the region and the world. Both
countries have been working closely to meet the daunting
challenges faced by the developing countries.
Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed attended the G-
15 Summit in Jakarta last May. Malaysia and Indonesia continue to
promote excellent cooperation in various fields, including trade
and investment, education, tourism, human resources development,
law enforcement and defense.
Both countries have embarked upon the joint promotion and
marketing of palm oil since the beginning of this year. A private
Malaysian company, Guthrie Bhd., has made significant investment
in the oil palm plantation sector in Indonesia in 2001.
Other Malaysian companies have also shown interest to invest
in infrastructure and other projects in Indonesia.
Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Indonesia increased to
US$3.1 billion in the second quarter of last year from nearly $2
billion in 1999.
Prospects remain good for trade expansion between the two
countries. Malaysia continues to be an interested partner to
invest in Indonesia. Total cumulative investments by Malaysian
companies in Indonesia stood at $7.9 billion, making Malaysia
the 11th largest investor in Indonesia in 2000.
Indonesia continues to be an attractive investment destination
for certain sectors of Malaysian industries due to Indonesia's
proximity to Malaysia and lower operational and production costs.
Malaysia continues to promote its higher learning education
centers to Indonesian students pursuing tertiary education.
At present, there are more than 9,000 Indonesians studying at
all levels in Malaysia. Similarly, the Malaysian government and
private sector also send students to study in excellent
Indonesian universities in specific fields.
Mutually beneficial cooperation has also been developed in the
field of tourism.
Tourism associations and travel operators from both countries
have been working very closely to jointly promote and market
tourism in both countries.
The current state of excellent bilateral relations reflect the
long standing closeness and mutual trust that has existed between
the peoples of the two countries as well as their leaders.
As Indonesia undergoes another transformation in leadership
and government, Malaysia remains committed to working together
and developing closer and mutually beneficial relations with
Indonesia, as well as monitoring cooperation in many areas that
have benefited both countries in the past.
Malaysia is confident that the new Indonesian government under
President Megawati Soekarnoputri would be able to tackle the
enormous challenges it has to face.
In this respect, Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir
Mohamed has once again reiterated Malaysia's readiness to share
with Indonesia its experience and knowledge in various fields, in
particular economic development.
On this auspicious occasion, I would like to reiterate my
confidence that the warm and close bilateral relations between
Malaysia and the Republic of Indonesia will be further
consolidated and enhanced for the benefit of the
two nations and people.
On this day, together with other Malaysians in Indonesia, I
pray and hope for peace and prosperity for the two countries.
To all Malaysian citizens in Indonesia, I urge that they
continue to be responsible citizens and play a constructive role
in all their endeavors in this beautiful country.