“Korea’s rags to riches story have inspired many developing countries”.

 

   
Amb. Ibrahim (sixth from left) slicing a congratulating cake with envoys.

“Korea’s rags to riches story have inspired many developing countries”.
Such remarks were common subjects the host and the congratulatory guest mentioned in common during the reception to commemorate the 55th national day of Malaysia which was held at the Lotte Hotel on Sep. 10, 2012.
Amb. & Madame Dato’ Ramlan bin Ibrahim of Malaysia and other embassy members including DCM Abdullah Zawawi bin Tahir and Trade Counsellor A. Rashid bin Mohd Zain etc. welcomed invited guests warmly at the reception line. Commissioner Noh Dae-lae of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Dean Vitali v. Fen of the Diplomatic Corps. who serves as Amb. of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Secretary-General Chung Hae-moon of the Asean-Korea Centre attended as distinguished guests.
After playing the national anthem of the two countries, Amb. Ibrahim said: “31st August marks a special day for Malaysia. 55 years ago in 1957 Malaysia gained its independence and has since then emerged as a vibrant nation creating a common space for all its people to live and prosper in harmony and peace”.

The following is the speech of His Excellency Amb. Dato’ Ramlan bin Ibrahim of Malaysia, delivered during the reception. –Ed.

Like many countries, the national day of independence is a day to rejoice and pay tribute to our forefathers whose vision had made it possible for us to be free and to call our home our nation state. As we march forward as one nation, we continuously begin to redefine ourselves through the national transformation programme particularly to fast track our growth to join the ranks of high income developed country in less than a decade from now. We are confident that we could soon transform ourselves from a resource based economy to one that is service oriented. The nation’s mood is about embracing this change and transformation for a shared common future for all. This is an inclusive agenda that empowers all Malaysians.
In our quest to create national wealth, we are glad to have found many friends from around the world who saw Malaysia’s improving global competitiveness an attractive place to do business. More than 8000 companies from 40 countries are profiting from the Government’s initiatives to create a robust and conducive environment for business and we are working to encourage more to do so. In this respect, we are encouraged by the level of our comprehensive bilateral relations with the Republic of Korea. Our diplomatic relations established in 1960 have gained so much traction over the past 50 years. In 2011, we are happy to note that Korea achieved a triple eights for Malaysia. It was Malaysia’s 8th largest trading partner, 8th largest export destination and 8th largest source of imports. 8th is a good number in Asia as it means prosperity. I am sure this bodes well for our two countries and our common desire to expand and deepen the excellent relations further. Our total trade amounted to USD 16.01 billion.
Korea is also one of Malaysia’s main sources of foreign direct investment since 1980. So far, a total of 305 projects have been implemented with total investment of USD 3.l57 billion. 2011 was a record year with a substantial increase of 2,400 per cent investment amounting to USD 1.7 billion in 10 projects. Last year Korea emerged as Malaysia’s second largest foreign investor after Japan. Many top chaebols are operating in Malaysia. Malaysian businessmen too have come to regard Korea as a lucrative base for investment and have invested about USD 2.6 billion in Korea with a sizable sum coming from Berjaya Jeju Resort Ltd. Malaysia is optimistic that given the opportunities created under the on-going Transformation Program in the service industry and higher value added businesses in electronics and healthcare, it will continue to be an attractive place to invest.
Korea’s rags to riches story have inspired many developing countries. In early 1980s, Malaysia saw the need to look at Korea and its development model. We launched our Look East Policy and since then continues to send our students to leading Korean institutions. We are impressed with Korea’s can do spirit and the sense of urgency in its parli parli culture. Most of all we are impressed with its high level of education particularly in mathematics and science and its ability to nurture and retain top notch talents. Many of our students have acquired this Korean success X factor and have found employment in top Korean companies.
The increasing connectivity between Malaysia and Korea has seen a surged in arrivals in both countries. In 2011, there was a 44.8 percent increase in Malaysian arrivals or more than 153,000. Last year there was a total of 263,000 Koreans visiting Malaysia. The East Malaysian state of Sabah continues to be a favourite Korean destination with a 12 percent increase of tourist arrivals. It would be amiss if I did not mention the excellent response received by the Malaysian Pavilion at Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea. We surpassed our target of 800,000 visitors and credit must be given to the Korean organizers for enabling participating countries to show case themselves at their respective pavilion.
I am confident that our relations would continue to flourish and strengthen in the coming years as we work progressively to scale new heights.
May I now invite you all to join me in a toast to the continued good health and prosperity of His Excellency Lee Myung Bak, President of the Republic of Korea and to the people of the Republic of Korea; and to the close and warm bond of friendship and the excellent cooperation between Malaysia and the Republic of Korea.


 

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