Malaysia-China Bilateral Ties

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao arrived Malaysia in the afternoon of Wednesday 27 April and began his two-day official visit to Malaysia; with the expectation to push forward Malaysia and China's bilateral cooperation in economic and education, and to promote the friendly exchanges between the people of both countries, thus helping to create a new chapter in the Malaysia-China bilateral ties.
Malaysia established formal diplomatic ties with China 37 years ago. The mutual bilateral exchanges and visits between the government officials and people from both countries have since then maintained a steady growth. Over the years, both countries have also expanded bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, culture and education. Such development has allowed the relationship between Malaysia and China to become even more stable and robust and thus reaping mutually beneficial mutually advantageous results and gains.
Mutual Benefit, Gain
This is Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's second visit to Malaysia. During Wen's official visit to Malaysia, Wen will hold talk with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, respectively. He will also witness the signing of the Framework Agreement to Facilitate Mutual Recognition in Academic Higher Education Qualifications Between Malaysia and China. He will also witness the signing of an agreement to expand and deepen economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, among others. The signing of these agreements has highlighted the fact that the Chinese Government has attached great importance to its bilateral ties with Malaysia.
Although Wen Jiabao has a very tight visiting schedule, Wen has nevertheless led a Chinese business enterprise delegation to Malaysia to engage dialogue with the Malaysian business enterprises to explore investment and trade cooperation opportunities with Malaysian counterparts in Malaysia. This economic and business enterprise dialogue held during Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia can play an important role in strengthening Chinese business enterprises' investment in Malaysia and in pushing forward Malaysia's economic development.
Since China's reforms and opening up have already gained outstanding results and its economic achievement has the tendency to overtake the United States and become the world's largest economy; the further advancement of Malaysia-China trade relationship to a higher level should allow both countries to reap win-win beneficial results. The people from both countries can also gain benefits through the economic growth of both nations.
Creating Business Opportunities
In addition to strengthening the bilateral economic and trade cooperation between Malaysia and China through the visit of Wen Jiabao, the two countries can also strengthen cooperation in higher education, particularly in the mutual recognition of university degrees.

The bilateral cooperation in higher education can lead to the increase of student exchange volume between the students from both nations the cooperation in higher education can also avoid the loss of national talents, and thus create business opportunities in many sectors. Through mutual recognition of university degrees, Malaysia and China can take a further step in the strengthening of academic exchanges between the two countries.
Impact on Regional Stability
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia is an important event in the Malaysia-China diplomatic history. Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia can also bring positive impact on regional stability and regional development. Wen Jiabao's visit can also create new business and trade cooperation opportunities and promises to Malaysia and China. Malaysians at large hope that this round of Wen Jiabao's visit to Malaysia can bring more mutually beneficial good news to both Malaysia and China.

New Economic Model Brings Good News to Malaysians

The Invest Malaysia 2010 Conference Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the New Economic Model (NEM) on 30 March to lead Malaysia into an open, free and open economic path. The goal is to enhance national competitiveness and per capital national income. This new NEM is encouraging and exciting for the ultimate goal of the NEM is to improve the national per capita income, regardless of race, in the next 10 years to double from the current $7,000 to $15,000.

In term of Malaysian currency, the current national average annual income of $23,800 ringgit, or $1,983 ringgit per month per citizen, is not very much.

Reducing Reliance on Foreign Workers
We trust the real meaning to improve the national income should be for all Malaysians to upgrade their knowledge, working skills, trade competitiveness and value in the workplace. With the implementation of this NEM, Malaysians and civil workforce can no longer sit around and wait for the government or business to automatically increase the salary. This is not the meaning of NEM. Instead, citizens and workers need to improve productivity in order to achieve the goal to increase revenue. The government can only play the role in the promotion and planning but the ultimate effort to increase income has to come from the citizens.

Once we understand the clear concept of NEM, we hope all citizens can cooperate with the government policy and use own action to demonstrate that all can make efforts to upgrade their knowledge and market value. This is because the NEM will eventually need full cooperation from the people to carry out the implementation.

On policy control, the Government must gradually reduce the reliance on cheap foreign labor, and make effort to bring back the 350,000 Malaysian professionals now working in other countries.

Return of Overseas Malaysian Professionals
Undeniably, brain drain of Malaysian talents to other countries is a serious condition. This is the stumbling block for Malaysia to move toward the high-knowledge-based economy.

Therefore, the government must overcome this problem. The government must create a platform for fair and good employment environment in order to retain Malaysian professionals in Malaysia.

Implementation Process
This NEM is fundamentally a good policy. However, we believe that in order to ensure the smooth implementation of this NEM effectively, the government must remove the obstacles that can pop up during the implementation process.

These include the extremist views recently published in the local media and certain extremist group such as the Malay Right Group PERKASA in making demand for the government to retain all Malay rights. It is only then that the NEM can reach the desired goals.

60th Anniversary of China’s National Day

Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he was satisfied with the relationships between Malaysia and China. He further pointed out that ever since Malaysia established diplomatic ties with China in 1974, the 35 years of bi-lateral ties between the two countries have not only expanded but also have continued to strengthen.

In his congratulatory message to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the occasion of China's National Day, PM Najib said: "I believe that in June when I paid my official visit to China, the signing of the Malaysia-China Strategic Cooperative Joint Action Plan between the two countries is a positive mark that confirms Malaysia's intimate ties and friendship with China will move toward a new height."

In his message, PM Najib expressed his heartfelt congratulations on China's National Day Celebration. He said Malaysia has long admired China's outstanding achievement. China's progressive development has allowed both countries to create many opportunities for cooperation. Najib pointed out that for the benefits of the peoples of two nations; he would do his best and work closely with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to have ever closer bi-lateral cooperation in areas of common interest.

Malaysian King and Queen Also Send Congratulatory Message to Chinese President Hu Jintao
However, Malaysian King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Queen Tuanku Nur Zahirah also sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Hu Jintao to congratulate China's celebration of its 60th anniversary of National Day.

His Majesty said that the friendly relationship between Malaysia and China have already benefited in the two countries' bi-lateral cooperation in many areas. His Majesty hopes the two countries will continue to put the well-being of the people of both nations as first option and to push forward positive co-operation between Malaysia and China to a higher level.

His Majesty said he is happy to note that the establishment of 35 years of long diplomatic between the two nations has allowed the friendly relationship between the two countries to prevail and progress as day goes by. His Majesty said that since the formation of People's Republic of China 60 years ago, China has achieved great success and progress. His Majesty added: "China has moved forward steadily with firm resolve. We wish the Chinese President and the people of China to achieve greater success in the future."

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hopes to Establish Closer Cooperative Ties with China
In Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman's congratulatory message to China's Foreign Minister Chinese Yang Jiechi on the occasion of China's National Day Celebration, Minister Anifah said Malaysia regards China as a close and reliable partners; he hopes both nations can establish ever closer cooperation than what it is now. He said: "For the interest of both nations, I wholeheartedly hope that the friendly and close cooperative relationships between the two countries can continue to move on."

In his message, Minister Anifah also expressed his willingness to work with China and to cooperate with China fully, closely, and wholeheartedly in order to continue, expand and strengthen the fruitful bilateral relations between the two countries that have already been achieved.