more coverage of mahathir's visit

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New Straits Times

PM tells Myanmar: Consider adopting standard practices of the world 

Wednesday, March 11, 1998

>From Zainon Ahmad in Yangon

TUES: MALAYSIA has advised Myanmar leaders that in the best interest of
their country, they should consider adopting certain standard practices or
values that have been accepted by the international community.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is on a two-day visit to
Myanmar said while it was the right of the government in power to
administer the country, it could not ignore international standards in
"certain matters".

A country which is a member of the international community could not be
cocooned against other people's opinions and criticisms, he told Myanmar
leaders during their meetings with him and his delegation on Monday.

Shortly after his arrival to a red-carpet welcome and a 19-gun salute, he
met with the chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council,
Gen Than Shwe, who is also Prime Minister, and SPDC secretary Lt-Gen Khim
Nyunt at the Sein Le Kantha State Guesthouse.

Later Dr Mahathir and his delegation, which included Foreign Minister Datuk
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, met Myanmar government officials at the house of
Parliament.

Abdullah, who briefed Malaysian journalists after the meeting, said the
meeting also discussed Myanmar's new constitution being drafted by the
National Convention set up in 1990.

He said Dr Mahathir asked whether the drafting could be speeded up even
though he understood that the NC had come up against problems which could
not be easily resolved.

The Malaysians were told that these problems had to do with the various
ethnic groups that were vehemently against integrating into the mainstream
Myanmar society.

Dr Mahathir told the Myanmar officials the Malaysian experience of race
relations emphasised on tolerance in resolving racial or ethnic issues.

He said tolerance should also be observed when dealing with religions of
others.

When asked whether the question of Rohingyas who are Muslims of Myanmar
fleeing the country was raised, Abdullah said Malaysia had mentioned that
some illegal immigrants in Malaysia had claimed they were from Myanmar.

Dr Mahathir suggested that the Myanmar ambassador in Kuala Lumpur make
efforts to verify their status, and if they were confirmed to be from
Myanmar, then the country should take them back.

Gen Than Shwe agreed to the suggestion and said some senior officials would
be sent to Malaysia to help their embassy in this matter. The two sides
also discussed the currency issues and the economic problems besetting the
region.

Myanmar agreed with Malaysia's suggestion of using local currencies in
regional trade. It also agreed that the use of barter trade was acceptable.

============================

New Straits Times

Malaysia to invest more in Myanmar once economy picks up 

Wednesday, March 11, 1998

>From Zainon Ahmad in Yangon

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad assured Myanmar that Malaysia
will increase its investments in the country once the economy of the region
has picked up again.

He said though Malaysia's capability to invest abroad had been reduced due
to the currency problem, it did not mean the end of trade with countries in
the region.

Malaysia would continue to trade but would use local currencies instead of
the US dollar or enter into counter-trading, he told a Press conference
before leaving Myanmar at the end of a two-day official visit.

"But when we recover from the present problems, we want to invest more in
Myanmar," he said in response to a question from a Myanmar journalist.

To a question by a Malaysian journalist, the Prime Minister said trade
between Myanmar and Malaysia was very much in Malaysia's favour and it was
necessary to try to balance this up.

"Malaysia must look around to see what we can buy and buy more of them so
that Myanmar will be in a position to buy our products," he said.
Malaysia's trade with Myanmar stood at RM1.1 billion last year, with
exports worth RM974.6 million and imports amounting to RM140.3 million.

He said among the Myanmar products Malaysia was interested in were granite,
marble, minerals, precious stones and even chillies, onions and potatos,
while the Malaysian goods Myanmar was interested in included manufactured
products.

"If we want to sell, we have also to buy and this is how we see trading
should be and this is how we deal with our partners," he said.

To another question by a Myanmar journalist, he said much had changed in
Myanmar since he was here in 1988 - the country had made good progress
since its switch to market economy.

He said: "At that time I remember seeing only two hotels - the Inya Lake
and the Strand. But now there are many hotels, a new port and industrial
estates. And Myanmar is now in Asean."

On whether he would be attending the upcoming Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in
London, now that Myanmar would not be accepted as a member, Dr Mahathir
said participants were admitted individually and not by blocs or groups.

Malaysia was a participant at ASEM1 and would participate at ASEM2 because
it was not admitting new members from Europe - the same number that
attended the first meeting in Bangkok would attend the meeting in London.

To a question by a Financial Times journalist who asked whether George
Soros was discussed during the meeting between Myanmar and Malaysian
officials, Dr Mahathir said: "Why should we? For a time it was fashionable
to do so. Now it is no longer fashionable."

In the morning the Prime Minister visited the Micasa Service Apartments
being built in Yangon, the new port in the Thilawa area south of Yangon and
the industrial trade zone near it. Later, he was a guest at a lunch hosted
by Malaysians in Myanmar.

In his speech, he said Malaysian businessmen in Myanmar should not exhaust
their welcome in the country. He said they should also not be too eager to
sign memorandums of understandings without first ensuring their capability
of consummating their intentions.

As a precaution, they should report their intentions to enter into MoUs to
the Malaysian embassy first.

The only English language daily, the 12-page The New Light of Myanmar,
devoted whole pages of 1, 2, 3 and 12 and much of pages 6 and 7 to the
visit of Dr Mahathir.

==========================

The Star

Wednesday, March 11, 1998

Malaysia will attend Asem

We won't be participating as a bloc, says Dr Mahathir

By Ng Poh Tip 

YANGON: Malaysia will attend the upcoming Asia-Europe meeting (Asem) in
London as an individual participant and not as a member of a bloc, Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said here yesterday. 

He announced that he would attend the meeting, clearing earlier doubts of
Malaysia's participation without the presence of Myanmar which was admitted
into Asean last year. 

"From the beginning, it was not an Asean-Europe meeting. It is an
Asia-Europe meeting and since Asem will not be admitting any new Asian or
European countries, Myanmar will not be a participant. 

"The same participants who attended the last meeting in Bangkok will attend
the London meeting," Dr Mahathir told a press conference at the end of his
two-day official visit to Myanmar. 

On his talks with the Myanmar government, he said the most important
subject discussed was economic co-operation, how to stimulate each other's
economy and reduce the impact of the current economic downturn on
South-East Asia. 

Earlier at a lunch hosted by the Malaysian business community in Yangon, he
asked the businessmen to identify Myanmar products which Malaysia could
import to balance the more than RM1bil worth of trade between the two
countries. 

The balance of trade was in favour of Malaysia, he said. 

He added that Malaysia believed in smart partnerships where the partners
could all benefit and now the focus was on trade, not investment. 

"The currency problem has limited our capacity to invest in other countries. 

"When we recover, we will invest," he said. 

Malaysia and Myanmar, he proposed, could engage in trading arrangements
whereby the imports could be offset by the exports and payment need only be
made for one difference, regardless of the companies involved. 

On the use of local currencies in intra-Asean trade, the Prime Minister
said Malaysia had spoken to a number of Asean countries, including Myanmar,
and the response had been very good. 

He noted that ever since Yangon switched to a market-driven economy,
Myanmar had made a great deal of progress. 

He said he was told that it was not difficult to do business in Myanmar
since the government was ready to co-operate even in private ventures. 

In the morning, he visited the Micasa apartments project, the Thilawar port
and the Hlaingthayar industrial zone. 

On arriving home, Dr Mahathir told reporters at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah
Airport in Subang, that Myanmar had relaxed its military rule as it had
accepted the market economy. 

"Many industrial estates are also being built and roads are being expanded.
Progress has been achieved in Myanmar," he said. 

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