Special Supplement August 31, 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT AUGUST 31, 2020 31, AUGUST DESIGN BY TIM BORITH MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020 | WWW.PHNOMPENHPost.COM ‘We care, we share’ our climb will be steep and we may not get there soon, but I promise you that as a team we will get there one day. We can and we will get through this! When we are facing a grave situation like Covid-19, we should support each other, and as well as our fellow Malaysians, we have not forgotten local communities. It heartens me that the embassy’s “We Care, We Share” initiative has managed to reach out and help many Cambodians too. In addition, “We Care, We Share” reso- Y FELLOW Malaysians, nates well with this year’s national day today, on August 31, we theme. are celebrating our 63rd Thus, I am pleased that many Malaysians national day and the an- have come on board and stepped in to niversary of the estab- be part of this noble programme to assist Mlishment of diplomatic relations between those in great need. Malaysia and the Kingdom of Cambodia. We also continue to engage our Cambo- Let us recall that historic day when our dian friends through our Malaysian techni- first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman cal and defence cooperation programmes hailed the word merdeka – “independence” and alumni. – seven times before reading out the 1957 Such engagements have provided op- Proclamation of Independence in front of portunities for me to keep abreast of the thousands of Malaysians. alumni’s progress as they are now officially As well as celebrating our indepen- members of “Friends of Malaysia”. dence, we also commemorate those who This year has also witnessed a series of have made sacrifices to secure peace and repatriation flights managed by my team HE Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim, Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom of Cambodia. harmony for our beloved nation. that saw more than 500 Malaysians return We celebrate this year’s national day home safely. Even though we are not able to cel- Finally, I would also like to wish under the theme “Malaysia Prihatin” – This will not be the end of our work. ebrate this momentous event as usual, it Selamat Menyambut Hari Kebangsaan “Malaysia Cares” – and in the midst of There will be many more who will need should not be a reason for us not to enjoy, to all Malaysians in Cambodia. the Covid-19 pandemic the importance of help – and we will be there for them. embrace and further promote our society, Let’s remember how grateful we are unity has never been more And now is the moment for us to dem- our harmony and our patriotism, and to have Malaysia as our home. paramount. onstrate our undying patriotic spirit, pride uphold the agenda of nation building. Everything from its melting pot While battling this and love for Malaysia. What makes this year’s national day of cultures, multi-ethnicity, diverse common enemy, we must My team and I fly the flag of Malaysia even more special and exciting is that 63 heritage, multiple languages and continue moving forward – the Jalur Gemilang – all around Malaysians – to emphasise the 63rd birth- exciting food have become an and working together for the embassy, and I would like to day of our nation – from all walks of life integral part of our society. development based on the encourage all Malaysians in in Phnom Penh will have come together And last but by no means least, please strength of our solidarity. the Kingdom to do the on Sunday as a nation in a foreign land to stay safe, and together let’s march to We will need this unity same – let’s fly our pedal their bikes and ride their motorcycles victory in our Covid-19 battle! and solidarity more than Jalur Gemilang on a “Merdeka Ride” to pay tribute to all Thank you, God bless you, and ever. high! those who have fought for us against all may God bless our “Malaysia Prihatin” Let us strengthen our odds. initiative. resolve so that we can So I would like to take the opportunity achieve all our goals so we to thank my fellow Malaysians for their HE Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim, can achieve greatness. The strong support for having made this event Ambassador of Malaysia to the road ahead will be long, so successful. Kingdom of Cambodia. MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020 | WWW.PHNOMPENHPost.COM MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020 | WWW.PHNOMPENHPost.COM All-weather friendship blooms S 63 years of inde- pendence and the opening of diplomat- ic ties with the King- Adom are marked, Malaysian Ambassador to Cambodia HE Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim shares with The Post his views on the flourishing relations between the two nations. Q What are the main priority areas that will be given preference to enhance bilateral relations between both nations? One of my main priorities is of course to assist fellow Malaysians in Cambodia, including helping further their business interests here. Helping Malaysians establish a bigger business footprint in the King- dom will help enhance our ties with Cambodia. My other priority is to continue engaging closely with all cabinet ministers, senior ministers, members of parlia- ment, local authorities and key Cambodian figures to main- tain our existing cooperation, while exploring other areas of mutual interest such as tele- communications, finance and banking, cyber security, sport and tourism. In view of the Covid-19 re- strictions, I intend to keep the momentum going by utilising information technology such Eldeen (left) makes a courtesy call to Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace on July 4, 2019. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION as Zoom and social media, as well as organising gatherings in to better two-way ties? build further by the end of this and other possible link ups we definitely would not have developing its halal sector. We and events on a much smaller As mentioned before, our year with the ASEM [Asia-Eu- between our governments’ key come this far. Our two govern- have been working together scale. relations are already at an rope Meeting], but the Covid- people and organisations. ments did their fair share by since 2016 to realise this excellent level. I wouldn’t 19 outbreak changed that. That is why I am scheduled facilitating, promoting and aspiration. Malaysia and Cambodia say there was a need for However, I am certain to visit a number of provinces, encouraging business link-ups, Cambodia has certainly Q have enjoyed solid bilateral improvements, but rather for the world will address the such as Preah Sihanouk, Bat- but it’s our business people shown significant progress in relations. How do you rate the us to think innovatively and pandemic eventually and the tambang, Banteay Meanchey who actually got down and building up the needed SOP level of ties so far, both in terms do more to capitalise on our momentum of our two-way and Ratanakkiri, to explore made deals happen. [standard operating proce- of people-to-people ties and excellent state of relations. relations will build again. more possible link-ups. Our excellent state of trade dures] for halal certification. from trade and investment Among the things we need Another aspect that I wish to relations wouldn’t have been I am confident of Cam- perspectives? to look into is to promote more enhance are linkages between What is the current status possible without the commit- bodia’s potential as a halal Q exchanges of visits by our our key agencies. For example, of the Double Taxation ment and dedication of both hub – it has a young Muslim Having been in Cambodia senior officials and ministers. I want to engineer closer links Avoidance (DTA) agreement? our private and public sectors. demographic, it is strategi- for just over a year now, I We had built up good between military, trade and However, trade from January cally located in Indochina and would summarise our relations momentum in 2019 pursuant investment agencies, our agen- The signing of the DTA until June this year decreased Asean, and there is clear desire as Malaysia and the Kingdom to our head of government’s cies specialising in economic agreement on September 3 last 46 per cent compared to the and commitment by the Cam- having collectively built up official visit in September that transformation, our respective year, during the official visit same period in 2019. This bodian government to develop excellent bilateral ties. We now year. This had looked set to institutes on foreign relations, of the then Prime Minister year’s lower figures are due to the Kingdom’s halal sector. have a solid platform on which Mahathir Mohamad to the the challenges brought about to continue helping each other Kingdom was a watershed by Covid-19. The Covid-19 pandemic has Q to achieve further greatness. event. If it wasn’t for Covid, our created unprecedented I am upbeat because you It was one of those mile- trade links would probably levels of challenges – in the just need to look at the figures stones that signified an eleva- have continued on their upward cross-border movement of – we are among the top inves- tion of our bilateral ties. trajectory. That’s why I am con- people, the suspension of flights tors in the Kingdom, while The DTA agreement is one fident the numbers will increase and a slowdown of businesses. bilateral trade and other statis- of the most essential bilateral again by next year or even How have both nations been tics such as tourism numbers agreements. The provisions earlier as the pandemic clears.