RAPPORT FROM PEOPLE TO LEADER, SAYS FORMER ENVOY

By Tham Choy Lin

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- Abdul Majid Khan was Malaysia's ambassador
to China from 1999 to 2005 and the retired diplomat is still a regular visitor
there.

Travel between the two countries is a breeze these days, kudos to the
efforts put in by Malaysia and China in increasing people-to-people contact in
the past two decades in 35 years of diplomatic relations, he said.

"Before 1990, our ties were largely state-to-state but bilateral relations
were broadened to focus on people-to-people contact since then," Abdul Majid
told Bernama in an interview ahead of a visit by China President Hu Jintao.

Hu arrives Tuesday for a two-day visit, the first by a Chinese head of state
in 15 years.

Abdul Majid is president of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, a
non-governmental organisation started in 1992 to enhance people and business
ties with China.

He is also an executive council member of the Malaysia-China Business
Council, headed by Musa Hitam, which is seeking to encourage trade and
cooperation between small and medium enterprises.

"I think the policies of the two countries have resulted in a very dramatic
surge in contact between the peoples from the two countries, just look at
business, tourism, airlines, sports, business and the cultural exchanges," said
Abdul Majid.

"This speaks of the good rapport between Malaysia and China, from the people
to the top leadership," Abdul Majid said.

The opening of flights between the two countries had played a key role, with
the latest, Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia, opening up more routes to Chinese
mainland cities.

"Now several Chinese airlines including Air China and China Southern, even
Shenzhen Air, have services to Malayia. This has led to the tremendous explosion
in travel and contact," he added.

Malaysia was among the first countries which China allowed its nationals to
visit when it began opening up, and last year, the number of Chinese tourists
reached a new high of almost a million.

Hordes of Malaysians too have travelled to China to enjoy its four season
attractions and the ancient Silk Route.

"We have both benefited from this. Malaysia put in a lot of effort to
liberalise immigration and visa rules to make it easy for the Chinese to come
over," Abdul Majid said.

An estimated 15,000 Malaysians including students, businessmen and
professionals are in China, including in Hong Kong.

Chinese nationals are among the biggest groups of foreign students in
Malaysia, numbering some 10,000.
-- BERNAMA