The Malaysians aren’t just coming,

Malaysia

The Malaysians aren’t just coming, they’re here!

The Malaysian trade mission to visit the Pacific in August will visit three countries, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Solomon Islands.

The mission has been organised by the international trade division of the Malaysian Trade and Industry Ministry.

It will promote interest in Malaysian goods, assess market prospects and arrange channels of distribution.

It will work for closer relationships between Malay sian exporters and Pacific importers, chambers of commerce, governments and trade organisations.

Manufactured goods, materials and foodstuffs will form a prominent part of the trade drive.

Island nations of the South Pacif ic have a new and very active partner in the fields of trade and aid the Federation of

Malaysia.

Indicative of Malaysia’s keen interest in the South Pacific is that it has sent no fewer than three trade missions to the region this year. The third mission is visiting Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Solomon Islands from Au gust 13-26.

In many ways Malaysia is a “natural” for this role. Its rela

tively modest size population

14 million means that small Island countries can deal with it with an ease of mind which would probably not apply in the case of some other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) In donesia, for example, with its 150 million people.

The country is well and truly part of the new wave of high

technology industrialisation

which is at present under way in East Asia Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singa pore are other examples. It thus has much to offer both as trading partner and aid-donor.

But none of this would count for much if Malaysia lacked the political will to involve itself in the affairs of the region. There is absolutely no doubt by now that it does have the political will.

Fiji

Malaysia’s closest relationship

with a South Pacific nation is undoubtedly with Fiji. It is no accident that the first announce ment in a South Pacific country of Malaysia’s new policy of pay ing much more attention to bila teral relations with Asian and Pacific countries, and much less to traditional ties with the West, was made by Malaysia’s Prime

Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir in Suva.

Speaking in June 1982 at the start of an eight-day visit to Fiji, Tonga, and Western Samoa, Dr Mahathir also revealed that his government had decided to es tablish a high commission office in Suva.

He said Malaysia expected “no

particular political gains” from

opening the mission, which for some time would concentrate on building up knowledge of the region, and contacting countries in it.

Malaysia was ready to assist economic development in the re gion in any way it could, he said.

His country had limited re sources, but considerable techn ical knowledge. It also had specialised educational institu tions which it was ready to open up to Pacific Island students.

Dr Mahathir then demon strated that he was not only cap

able of taking foreign policy in

itiatives, but also keenly aware of the necessary limitations on such initiatives.

To a reporter’s suggestion that a formal link might be establish ed between ASEAN and the South Pacific Forum, he replied that such a link would create a

“large, clumsy organisation on

which the major powers would want to move in”.

Much better, he said, that the two organisations should work together, but as separate entities.

As relations between Malaysia and Fiji enter a new phase “a new chapter”, as Dr Mahathir describes it it is only the latest of many chapters which have gone before.

Ethnic, linguistic and cultural links between the populations of the two countries reach back into

pre-history.

A small but impressive piece of evidence of this is nowadays emblazoned on the streets of

Sydney.

That city’s massive Queen

Victoria Building in George

Street is at present the subject of a major re-development. Around its four sides, above the awnings, are a series of brightly painted metal panels carrying transla tions in scores of languages of the words “Queen Victoria Building, Sydney City Council Development Project”.

In the Malay version, “Queen Victoria” is translated as “Ratu Victoria”, the very same great chiefly title borne by Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of Fiji, and other traditional lead ers in that country. Other ling uistic parallels abound.

In modern times, relations were renewed well before either country achieved independence (Malaysia 1957, Fiji 1970).

In Malaya’s anti-communist Emergency of the early 19505, a Fiji contingent made a consider able name for itself in combat ting the insurgents.(ln their lei sure hours, members of the con tingent also proved to be very popular cricketers.) Ratu Mara, on a number of visits, made a careful study of the politics of Malaya (the name was changed to Malaysia in

1963), the more so as the prob lems created by the delicate ra cial balance of its population (see table) closely resembled Fiji’s own.

Ratu Mara himself has ack nowledged that the multi-racial concept and even the name of his Alliance Party, which has ruled Fiji since independence, were inspired by the Malayan Chinese Association-United Malays Na tional Organisation Alliance (MCA-UMNO Alliance), which, headed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, led Malaya to inde pendence in 1957. Reinforced by the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), it later became known simply as the Alliance Party.

Png

Although not so venerable as Malaysia-Fiji relations, Malay sia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea has been developing steadily over recent years.

Leading officials of the two countries have been in regular contact both through meetings of the Commonwealth, and meet

ings of ASEAN, with which PNG has observer status.

In talks late last year in Port Moresby, PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare and Dr Mahathir reached agreement on the strengthening of bilateral re lations, with Malaysia increasing its technical assistance to PNG and developing more com prehensive trade links.

Malaysia also undertook to help PNG identify investment opportunities.

Visiting Kuala Lumpur in the last week of June, PNG Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Rab bie Namaliu singled out oil palm and rubber plantation develop ment as areas in which his coun try would look to Malaysia for help.

Mr Somare is scheduled to visit Malaysia in November on his way to New Delhi for the Commonwealth summit meeting.

Solomons

Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Solomon Islands

were formally established on May 10, 1983.

The move followed a hurried June 1982 meeting at Honiara’s Henderson Airport between Sol omons PM Solomon Mamaloni and Dr Mahathir, who was on his way to visit Fiji, Tonga, and Western Samoa.

Malaysia’s High Commission er in PNG, Kamarudin Abu, will be accredited to Honiara, and Solomon Islands will appoint a non-resident high commissioner

to Malaysia.

A “Country Profile” on Sol omon Islands issued by Malay sia’s Ministry of Trade and In dustry to members of the August trade delegation says; “Trade between Malaysia and Solomon Islands is negligible, amounting to only 0.31 million ringgit in

1982 (the ringgit is roughly equi

valent to A5O cents). Malaysia’s exports have yet to make any significant inroads into Solomon Islands, and in 1982 amounted to only 0.21 million ringgit. The main export items were veneers, plywood, rubber tyres, and tex tile fabrics”. Malcolm Salmon.