BATU PUTEH TOOK CENTRE STAGE IN MALAYSIA'S INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN 2008 BY R.Ravichandran

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- The year 2008 saw several key events in Malaysia's international relations, with the Pulau Batu Puteh issue taking centre stage.

Pedra Branca (formerly referred to by Malaysia as Pulau Batu Puteh and now
as Batu Puteh) is an outlying island of Singapore. The name means "white rock"
in Portuguese, and refers to whitish guano (bird droppings) deposited on the
rock.

In May, the International Court of Justice handed sovereignty over Batu
Puteh, located off Johor, to Singapore and granted ownership of Middle Rocks to
Malaysia and ruled that South Ledge belongs to the state in whose territorial
waters it is located.

Foreign Minister Dr Rais Yatim said that the Malaysian team had
done its best to defend Batu Puteh but the Hague-based ICJ decided that Kuala
Lumpur had no right to Batu Puteh based on a historical fact that the Johor
authorities, and later Malaysia, did not take any action on Batu Puteh from June
1850 until nearly a century later.

Following this, Malaysia and Singapore have reiterated their
commitment to
honour and abide by the ICJ's judgment on the three rocky outcrops in the
Singapore Straits.

In February, Malaysia ratified the charter of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean), marking an important milestone in Kuala Lumpur's
commitment to the strong progress of the 10-member regional
organisation.


Last year also saw Malaysia handing over the chairmanship of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to Senegal during the 11th Summit
in Dakar in March, after holding the post since October 2003.

In handing over the chairmanship, Malaysia said it would remain active in
the organisation and viewed the 57-member grouping as an important organisation
to serve and safeguard the interest of Muslims globally.

In July, Malaysia once again hosted a major international conference, the
Sixth Summit of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries (D-8), attended
by Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and
Turkey.

Among the important decisions taken was the acceptance of a 10-year roadmap
for economic collaboration among member states and serious discussions were held
on energy and alternative fuel to tackle the rising global oil price
then.

On the regional side, Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur relations took another step
forward with the launch of the Indonesia-Malaysia Eminent Persons Group here in
July, to address issues relating to Malaysia and Indonesia.


In July, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak led the Malaysian
delegation to the Southern Africa International Dialogue (SAID 2008) in Lusaka,
Zambia, aimed among others, at promoting smart partnership between the public
and private sectors.

On Sept 17, Malaysia, represented by Rais, ratified the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), reflecting the country's determination to
eradicate corruption.

On Oct 31, Malaysia recognised the newly independent Republic of Kosovo,
about eight months after it declared independence and the move prompted Serbia
to expel Malaysia's ambassador to that Balkan country, Datuk Saw Ching
Hong.

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th United States President in the
eyes
of many countries including Malaysia, brought about hope for change in its
foreign policy. In expressing Malaysia's hope, Rais said Malaysia hoped that
Washington could change its foreign policy and image as a brash and aggressive
country to a country that recognises the democratic principles and diplomacy of
other countries.

A few months ago, the Foreign Ministry sent a letter of regret to US State
Secretary Condoleezza Rice expressing Kuala Lumpur's disappointment over remarks
made by a US State Department official on the sodomy allegation against People's
Justice Party advisor Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysia's name was also on the pages of world newspapers when two vessels
were hijacked separately by heavily armed pirates off the coast of Somalia
within a spate of 10 days in August.

Following that, Wisma Putra utilised all diplomatic channels and worked
closely with countries in the Gulf of Aden region to solve the problem. After
an unspecified ransom was paid by the vessel owner, MISC Berhad, the 79 crew
members were freed.

On Malaysia's mandate in the International Monitoring Team (IMT) which
expired on Nov 30, Malaysia had expressed disapointment over the lack of
progress in the peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Last month, Malaysia said it was prepared to consider future participation
in IMT if there was progress in the peace process and if a formal request was
made by both the peace panels of the Philippine government and the MILF.
Malaysia also made an impact at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec)
meeting. Najib, who led Malaysia's delegation, got the Apec leaders to agree to
Kuala Lumpur's call for economies to coordinate their respective fiscal stimulus
packages in the form of expansionary budgets.

Najib also told the leaders about Malaysia's proposal for a naval
peacekeeping force to combat piracy in the high seas, especially in the Gulf of
Aden, as a concrete step to combat the menace.

The year 2008 also saw several foreign leaders visiting to Malaysia, among
them Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, then Thai Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej, Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.

Besides that, Abdullah also attended several international conferences
including the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Beijing and the 14th Nikkei
Conference in Japan, and visited several countries, among them Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan.