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Q: Mr. Ambassador, first off could you touch upon the significance of your nation's National Day
Malaysia Day is a day of great significance for the people of my country. It was on 31 August 1957 that my country then known as the Federation of Malaya obtained independence from British rule. Britain extended control and colonial rule over the Malay Peninsula in stages from 1786. In 1874 a major territory of the Peninsula was brought under British rule and as time went on the whole country was colonized. British rule was interrupted for about three and a half years when the Japanese occupied Malaysia during the Second World War.
When the Japanese were defeated and surrendered in 1945 Britain resumed control of Malaysia for a further twelve years. As a result of peaceful negotiations, Britain agreed to restore sovereignty to the people of Malaysia on 31 August 1957. Some four years after obtaining independence Tunku Abdul Rahman, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia initiated talks with Britain to obtain the independence of two Northern Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak and Singapore and form an enlarged federation called Malaysia. Malaysia Day was set for August 31, 1963. Although the actual birth of Malaysia took place on September 16, 1963, Malaya's independence day August 31 was declared Malaysia Day.
For all Malaysians, Malaysia Day is significant because on that day we assumed greater control of the country's human and nonhuman resources, its administration, foreign policy and defence. The day is also of great significance as from that day on our sovereignty assumed added meaning as a result of additional territory and human capital becoming a part of our country.
Q: Could you elaborate on the policy direction of the Malaysian Government after former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad relinquished office on 31 October 2003. On that day his successor Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in as Malaysia's fifth Prime Minister. Upon assuming office, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a continuity of the policies of his predecessor.
Q: How do you foresee comprehensive cooperation between Korea and Malaysia taking shape in the years ahead, in particular, in regard to cooperation in the IT field
Bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the ROK has been increasing and deepening over the last four decades. This is seen in the huge volume of bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. There is also more people-to-people contact. In the ICT sector there is renewed commitment on the part of both the Malaysian and ROK governments to further enhance bilateral cooperation. ICT cooperation is being pursued in the context of bridging the digital divide that exists. During the recent visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on August 22 - 24 there was an exchange of a MOU by a Malaysian company with Korea Telecoms to introduce an integrated broadband and information village for rural areas in Malaysia.
Q: Please mention about the trade volume between the two nations right now and the activation method of the trade.
The total bilateral trade between Malaysia and ROK is in the region of US$ 8 billion, representing a five fold increase in the value compared to a dozen years earlier. There are excellent linkages between the business and corporate sectors of the two countries. Both countries identify each other as important sources and destinations for trade and investment. Since 1999 Korean companies have invested nearly a billion US dollars in manufacturing industries in Malaysia.
Q: What do you think about cooperative methods to promote bilateral relations in regional body such as ASEAN
ASEAN and ROK have had an excellent record of cooperation. Today every ASEAN country has a diplomatic mission in Seoul, attesting to the importance attached by these countries to their relations with the ROK. Ongoing cooperation with the ROK on subjects ranging from information sharing on bond markets to youth exchanges attest to the broadening, deepening and maturing of ASEAN-ROK relations. The culmination of these efforts is the formalization of the ASEAN Plus Three process. Malaysia has scheduled a East Asian Summit for next year.
