THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Malaysia and to Sri Lanka 5 December to 14 December 2011 October 2012 The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia Report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation Malaysia and Sri Lanka 5 December to 14 December 2011 October 2012 Canberra © Commonwealth of Australia 2012 ISBN 978-0-642-79614-1 (Printed version) This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. Contents Membership of the Delegation ................................................................................. vi REPORT 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Aims and objectives of the visits ................................................................................................. 2 Appreciation ................................................................................................................................ 2 2 Malaysia ............................................................................................................... 5 Malaysia at a glance ................................................................................................................... 5 Background ............................................................................................................................... 6 Geography and population .......................................................................................................... 6 History and role in the region ...................................................................................................... 6 Political and parliamentary structure ........................................................................................... 7 The economy, trade and development ........................................................................................ 8 Delegation activities ................................................................................................................. 8 Bilateral and parliamentary relations ........................................................................................... 8 Higher education ....................................................................................................................... 11 ASEAN, trade and investment ................................................................................................... 12 Defence and security ................................................................................................................ 14 The work of the United Nations in Malaysia .............................................................................. 16 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 17 iv 3 Sri Lanka ............................................................................................................ 19 Sri Lanka at a glance ................................................................................................................ 19 Background ............................................................................................................................. 20 Geography and population ........................................................................................................ 20 Political history and parliamentary structure .............................................................................. 20 Civil conflict and reconciliation process ..................................................................................... 21 The economy, trade and development ...................................................................................... 21 Delegation activities ............................................................................................................... 22 Bilateral relationship and parliamentary links ............................................................................ 22 Reconciliation process following the civil conflict ...................................................................... 26 Australian development assistance to Sri Lanka ....................................................................... 29 Higher education ....................................................................................................................... 32 Trade and investment ............................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 34 APPENDICES Appendix A ............................................................................................................... 37 Delegation program - Malaysia .............................................................................................. 37 Monday 5 December 2011 ........................................................................................................ 37 Tuesday 6 December 2011 ....................................................................................................... 37 Wednesday 7 December 2011 .................................................................................................. 38 Thursday 8 December 2011 ...................................................................................................... 38 Appendix B ............................................................................................................... 39 Delegation program - Sri Lanka ............................................................................................. 39 Thursday 8 December 2011 ...................................................................................................... 39 Friday 9 December 2011 ........................................................................................................... 39 Saturday 10 December 2011 .................................................................................................... 40 Sunday 11 December 2011....................................................................................................... 40 Monday 12 December 2011 ...................................................................................................... 40 Tuesday 13 December 2011 ..................................................................................................... 41 v Wednesday 14 December 2011 ................................................................................................ 41 Appendix C ............................................................................................................... 43 Text of Press Release issued in Sri Lanka............................................................................ 43 Membership of the Delegation Leader Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP Member for Calwell Deputy Leader Mr Rowan Ramsey MP Member for Grey Members Mr Harry Jenkins MP Member for Scullin Senator Helen Kroger Senator for Victoria Dr Andrew Southcott MP Member for Boothby Ms Siwan Davies Delegation Secretary The Delegation was accompanied by Mrs Teresa Ramsey. 1 Introduction 1.1 The visit of a delegation from the Parliament of Australia to Malaysia and Sri Lanka between 5 and 14 December 2011 reaffirmed already strong ties with both countries. 1.2 Australia shares with Malaysia and Sri Lanka membership of the Commonwealth and similar parliamentary systems, as well as frank and constructive bilateral dialogues sustained through ongoing parliamentary exchanges and visits. 1.3 Visits to Malaysia have become more frequent as a consequence of the ASEAN bilateral delegation program.1 On the delegation’s visit, the program provided a good overview of the Malaysia-Australia relationship, particularly in relation to higher education, defence and trade. 1.4 The visit to Sri Lanka was the first official visit by an Australian Parliamentary delegation since the military victory by the Sri Lankan army over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009. The last delegation visited in 2003,2 during the ceasefire. The visit gave the delegation an unprecedented insight into Sri Lanka’s current political, economic and social situation and the challenges of reconciliation and a achieving sustainable peace. 1.5 The delegation was warmly received in each country and had significant access to senior decision makers, local officials and community 1 See Parliament of Australia, 2009, Report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia, September 2009; Parliament of Australia, Report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Malaysia and Japan, August 2006. 2 Parliament of Australia, 2003, Report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Sri Lanka and to the 49th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, Bangladesh. 2 representatives. The parliaments of both nations were generous with their time and hospitality. 1.6 This is a report of the delegation’s activities in both countries. Chapter 2 reports on Malaysia, and Chapter 3 reports on Sri Lanka. Details of the program in Malaysia are at Appendix A; the program for Sri Lanka is at Appendix B. The text of a media release issued in Sri Lanka is at Appendix C. Aims and objectives