MALAYSIA HAILS NZ EFFORTS TO ENSURE SAFETY IN QUAKE-HIT CHRISTCHURCH

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has expressed its appreciation to
the New Zealand authorities for helping Malaysian nationals and students in
quake-hit Christchurch to ensure their safety and well being.

Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand Hasnudin Hamzah also
praised the local communities for their assistance following the devastating
7.1-magnitude earthquake last Saturday.

"Thanks to God Almighty, there was no loss of lives. Our thoughts are with
you and those people affected during these difficult and trying times and we
pray to God Almighty to shelter us all from such incidents in the future," he
said at Malaysia’s 53rd Merdeka Day reception in Wellington on Monday night.

Present were New Zealand’s Minister for Courts Georgina Te Heuheu, Trade
Minister Tim Groser and representatives of the New Zealand-Malaysia Business
Council and Malaysian student associations there.

The South Island city was reported to have been rattled by aftershocks
following the quake -- New Zealand's biggest in nearly 80 years.



On Malaysia-New Zealand relations, Hasnudin said the celebration marked 53
years of strong ties and friendship between the two countries, which is amongst
the first countries Kuala Lumpur had established diplomatic relations following
independence on 31 August 1957.

"Over the last one year, Malaysia and New Zealand bilateral ties have been
further reinforced through continuous contact between leaders, members of the
government, senior officers and people of both countries," he said. The visit of
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to Malaysia in October last year,
accompanied by Groser and 60 representatives from the New Zealand business
community in conjunction with the signing of Malaysia-New Zealand FTA, was most
significant, said Hasnudin.

He said he hoped that more New Zealanders would visit Malaysia when AirAsia
X, Malaysia’s leading low-cost airline, flew the Malaysia-New Zealand sector
soon.

"Malaysia’s Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen, who visited New
Zealand recently, is keen to attract more New Zealand tourists to come to
Malaysia, especially those travelling on Malaysia Airlines on transit to Europe
and on the way back to New Zealand," he said.


Malaysia Airlines currently operates five flights per week and plans to add
another early next year.

On cooperation in education, Hasnudin said there were 2,316 Malaysian
students in New Zealand as at August.

"I hope there will be a lot more New Zealand students studying in Malaysia
in the near future as this will help to foster better understanding of each
other's values and cultures for the long-term benefit of both countries.

"Malaysia is ready to offer places for New Zealand students to enroll at
universities in Malaysia to study Bahasa Malaysia, for example," he said.

-- BERNAMA