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.