SPEECH BY
HE DR AHMAD FAISAL MUHAMAD
AMBASSADOR OF MALAYSIA
AT THE OFFICIAL RECEPTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH
56TH NATIONAL DAY
AND
80th ARMED FORCES DAY
OF
MALAYSIA
31ST AUGUST 2013
TRADERS HOTEL
HE Lieutenant General U Wai Lwin
Minister of Defence of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Daw Swe Swe Oo
HE Major General San Oo
Commander of the Yangon Command
Daw Kyu Kyu Soe
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
Mingalabar, Selamat Datang and Welcome to the reception commemorating the 56th National Day and 80th Armed Forces Day of Malaysia.
Malaysia at 56, is still quite a young nation. At the onset of our independence, many had little confidence in the survival of our nation. This was because of the fragile nature of our society due to our multi-ethnicity and underdevelopment, as well as objections from some of our neighbours towards the birth of our nation.
56 years later, we are thankful to God Almighty for his blessings that make Malaysia one of the most peaceful and stable countries in the region. In addition, the Malaysian economy continues to grow at an impressive pace.
The achievements we have today are attained through a great deal of sacrifices, compromises and hard work by all Malaysians. We owe it to our past leaders who had the foresight to instil within us the importance of racial harmony and political stability, in our pursuit for economic development and progress. Through careful economic planning over the decades, the Malaysian Government has ensured that no community would be marginalised or left behind in our growing economy.
It has not been easy. Until today, our government continues to nurture Malaysia’s inter-ethnic harmony. It is something that we never take for granted. Through the 1Malaysia campaign, the government under Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak promotes national unity through the practice of moderation. Under 1Malaysia, we continue to celebrate our multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural traditions, which have long been a unique part of our national identity. We believe that our diversity is our strength.
Since the last decade or so, global communities unfortunately have become increasingly polarised by way of religious, racial, ideological and other identifications.
Realising the value of moderation as practised by Malaysia, our Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak has initiated the Global Movement of the Moderates (GMM) as a platform to share Malaysia’s experience to the world. We hope that the GMM will be able to galvanise like minded people of different faiths and racial backgrounds to promote moderation against extremist messages that have sadly gained prominence in some parts of the world.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Malaysia and Myanmar have long-standing close relations. Actually, contacts between our peoples predate our countries in their current modern form. In fact, many Myanmar people can trace their family roots back to Malaysia, and vice versa. This historical link, coupled with shared colonial experience and aspirations for development and progress provide solid foundations upon which we build our exceptionally strong relations.
There are many things that Myanmar and Malaysia can learn from each other, due to our many commonalities. The Malaysian Technical Co-operation Programme (MTCP) has been the key channel through which Malaysia has been sharing our experiences with Myanmar. Up until now, more than 1500 Myanmar officials have received training under MTCP since the programme started in 1983. Myanmar remains the second largest recipient of MTCP.
Malaysia and Myanmar have also been very close partners in ASEAN since Myanmar joined the regional organisation at the Kuala Lumpur Summit in 1997. As the country that had been pivotal to Myanmar’s entry into ASEAN, Malaysia is very encouraged with the historic first ever Myanmar Chairmanship of ASEAN next year in 2014. To assist Myanmar in this important task, a series of training of Myanmar officials have been conducted under the MTCP. Recently in May, about 100 Myanmar officials attended a specially organised training programme in Nay Pyi Taw conducted by Malaysian officials under the MTCP.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you may be aware, there is a large number of Myanmar nationals who are in gainful employment in Malaysia. I have met many of the returnees and most spoke very fondly of their time in Malaysia. I am very happy to note that most of them now enjoy higher living standard, helped by the skills they acquired in Malaysia. Some even managed to start their own small businesses out of their savings while working in Malaysia. Malaysia appreciates the contribution of Myanmar workers to our economy and our authorities work very closely with the Myanmar authorities to ensure that their welfare is always protected.
Recently, a few violent incidents broke out within the Myanmar migrant community in Malaysia. Malaysian authorities had taken swift actions to control the situation and order was restored in the affected area very quickly. However, the incidents were exaggerated and blown out of proportion by some elements here in Myanmar. The Government of Myanmar quickly responded by despatching a team headed by two deputy ministers to Malaysia to assess the real situation. They came back with positive feedback on the general condition of the Myanmar workers in Malaysia and co-operation they received from the relevant Malaysian authorities. This is yet another clear example of our extremely close co-operation.
There were many other friends, beyond those in the government, who were not intimidated and came forward to explain the real situation in Malaysia at that time. Here, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support. I do not want to miss this opportunity to express my gratitude because as human beings, we can so easily take such loyalty in friendships for granted.
Throughout this period, I am happy to note that the number of applications for visa to Malaysia stayed more or less constant. This proves that Malaysia remains an attractive destination for Myanmar people to go for work, study or holiday. I hope many more Myanmar people will consider Malaysia for tourism, healthcare and education.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are also taking the opportunity this evening to launch the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign. I would like to record my appreciation to Tourism Malaysia for its contribution, including for arranging a cultural troupe from Malaysia for this event. Also, there will be a Malaysian food and cultural promotion here at The Traders starting from Sunday, 1st September to Thursday, 5th September. I hope all of you will take the opportunity to enjoy Malaysia’s traditional cuisines and cultural performances during this promotion.
I also would like to record my appreciation to Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), Education Malaysia, Felda Global Ventures (FGV) and the Grand Wynn Group for their support this evening.
Lastly, I wish to again thank all of you for making the time to join in our celebration to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the National Day and 80th Armed Forces Day of Malaysia. Thanks especially to HE Lt. Gen. U Wai Lwin, Minister of Defence and Madam, as well as Maj. Gen. San Oo, Commander of the Yangon Command, and madam for being here as our Guests of Honour.
I hope all of you will enjoy the reception. Have a very good evening.
Terima kasih, Jizut Timba De, Thank you.
