GOVT LEGAL EXPERTS CAPABLE OF ADAPTING TO GLOBALISATION ERA NEEDED

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- The era of globalisation, especially the
emergence of new and complex issues, requires legal experts to understand and
rise to the challenges posed by the new era, said Deputy Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin, here Monday.

"Government lawyers need to be continuously educated and trained to ensure
that their knowledge and skills develop in tandem with current needs," he said
in his inaugural address at the 48th annual session of the Asian African Legal
Consultative Organisation (AALCO), here.

The text of his speech was read by Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Muhyiddin also stressed on the importance of education, research and
training as a transformational tool in developing human capital with expertise
on various subjects of international law to keep abreast with prevailing issues
of international law.

Touching on the economy, Muhyiddin said that market liberalisation could
result in an economic disruption if it was poorly strategised.

"Together, we must address ways to weather global financial turmoil by
sharing our knowledge and experience. When the 1997 economic crisis hit Asia,
various economic strategies were pursued.

"Malaysia adopted the capital control policy to regulate movements of
international capital, while some followed macro-economic models as advised by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The interaction between macro-economic policies and enabling legal
framework to fight recession cannot be ignored," said Muhyiddin.

He said it was timely that the 48th AALCO Annual Session took the
initiative to deliberate on intricate legal and economic issues on managing
global financial crisis.

"We are living in an increasingly inter-dependent world, thus it is
imperative for us to broaden our horizons to look beyond our borders. The
resurgence and increase in piracy in the current economic slowdown is worrying.

"More so, since the shipping industry transports the bulk of the world trade
cargoes such as petroleum, gas and food supplies, the income generated by States
from this commercial activity helps to sustain the basic needs and amenities of
their nation," said Muhyiddin.

He also said the complexity of maritime geography which resulted in
overlapping maritime claims had created tension among States when exercising
their jurisdiction in countering maritime threats and ensuring maritime safety
and security.

"In protecting our national security, trafficking in persons, especially
women and children has also become a serious problem with the increasing
involvement of organised criminal group.

"In addition to criminalising the trafficking in persons in all its forms, I
implore that we further enhance our border control measures to fight trafficking
in persons on the global scale," he said.

AALCO comprises 47 countries from the Asian and African region and this
year was Malaysia's second time hosting the Annual Session with the body's
current Secretary General Prof Dr Rahmat Mohamad from Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA