MALAYSIA PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

By Nurul Jannah Kamaruddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, which has always been known to
"punch above its weight" in international affairs, will continue to lead the way
among developing nations, especially the Islamic countries.

Syed Hussein Al Habshee, secretary-general of the National Chamber of
Commerce and Industry Malaysia (NCCIM) said as a top Islamic trading country in
the world, Malaysia plays a bigger role in helping Islamic nations to be at par
with other economies.

Malaysia, he said has been actively voicing out its opinions on many issues,
particularly on the financial system, economy, climate change, regional
cooperation as well as security.

The country, he said, is the only Islamic nation being ranked top trading
countries in the world eventhough there are 57 member states under the
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

"As of now, trade within the OIC is still low eventhough the Islamic
Development Bank had allocated funds totalling US$1 billion each year to help
these Islamic countries boost their trade.

"As such, Malaysia being a successful story must provide guidance to them.
Not only are we able to help the Ummah but we would also gain advantage from
this good relationship," he told Bernama recently.

Besides OIC, Malaysia is also an active member of various international
organisations including the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Nations, and the
Non-Aligned Movement.

It had also been an active proponent of regional co-operation; actively
participating in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Asian
Development Bank and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Malaysia, he said has much benefited from a flood of foreign direct
investment (FDI) into the country, thanks to its active involvement in the
foreign economic organisations.

As international trade is an important contributor to Malaysia's economic
growth and development, Syed Hussein said the government was pursuing more free
trade agreements (FTAs), which have proved to be one of the best ways to open up
foreign markets for Malaysian exporters.

Bilateral and regional FTAs, which Malaysia have implemented included the
China-Asean FTA, Malaysia-New Zealand FTA, Asean-Australia-FTA,
Malaysia-Pakistan FTA and Malaysia-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) FTA.

Currently, FTAs with India, the United States, Chile, Australia and
Asean-European Union (EU0 are still under negotiations.

Being an active player, Malaysia this year hosted the 6th Developing 8
Countries (D8) Summit, an economic grouping of eight Muslim countries.

NCCIM, was also the co-organiser of the D8 Business Forum 2009.

During the event, Malaysia has proposed to rich Islamic countries to invest
in the food sector in the Third World to overcome the global food crisis.

It also proposed that investors from Islamic countries pool their
resources to invest in the countries, eventhough they are not members of D-8.

The D8 comprises Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Pakistan and Turkey.

In Asean, Malaysia is one of the founding members and has participated in
all its economic initiatives.

The current initiative it is working on is in establishing the Asean
Economic Community (AEC), to enhance trade and investment flows into the region
which would contribute towards regional integration.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) this year, the country's
sixth Prime Minister, Najib Razak was dubbed the "Star at APEC".

During the APEC Leaders week in Singapore, his bold moves to liberalise the
Malaysian economy caught the eyes of many and were amply lauded.

Najib also made a strong impact with the business community during the APEC
business dialogues.

The APEC Council co-chairman and US East-West Center President Dr Charles
Morrison said Najib clearly made a strong impression on the audience who liked
to see determination, confidence, honesty, and the touch of modesty that the
Malaysian Prime Minister had portrayed.
-- BERNAMA