Malaysia will celebrate its 61st National Day on August 31. Ambassador Dato Mohd Zamruni Khalid shares a message with Việt Nam News readers on the occasion.

This year’s national day celebration, themed Sayangi Malaysiaku, which translates to “Love My Malaysia”, will be held in Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia.

This year’s National Day logo depicts three people raising their hands with a heart connecting the three together. The logo aptly symbolises unity and harmony amongst the multi-ethnic communities living in Malaysia.

Over the past 60 years, Malaysia has seen tremendous economic growth. The transformation of the economy from one based primarily on commodities to a dynamic and vibrant industrialising nation is attributed to a variety of factors. Malaysia’s political and economic stability, prudent and pragmatic investments, friendly business policies, cost-productive workforce, developed infrastructure and other attributes make the country an attractive place for investors. Far-sighted policies carried out over the decades have resulted in a highly open and diversified economy with multiple sources of growth.

In 2017, amidst global uncertainty, Malaysia retained its standing as a key competitive nation. The economy recorded robust growth of 5.9 per cent, supported by faster expansion in both private and public sector spending. Trade recorded outstanding performance, growing at the highest rate in 13 years. Malaysia was ranked as the 25th largest exporter, 26th largest importer and 25th largest overall trading nation in 2017, based on a ranking by the World Trade Organisation.

In terms of investment, Malaysia recorded approved investments of RM197.1 billion (US$48 billion) in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors in 2017. The investment performance demonstrates investors’ continued confidence in the country. This is also a testimony to Malaysia’s economic fundamentals, which underscore the resilience of the country’s economy. Malaysia is capable of offering investors access to a steady stream of talent, modern business ecosystem, world-class infrastructure and connectivity, and competitive cost advantages and incentive packages.

Malaysia is currently positioning itself in the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution through the adoption of smart manufacturing processes and technologies to enhance production flexibility and efficiency.

Malaysia has also transformed itself into a major tourist hub in the Southeast Asian region. With the success of the ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ branding programme in 1999, tourist arrivals and receipts have increased significantly, pushing Malaysia into one of the world’s premier tourism destinations. 

Besides that, Malaysia is also fast becoming a strong contender in the global health and medical tourism sector. The government has taken measures to make Malaysia the preferred health tourism destination, offering high quality yet affordable health and medical services. Modern medical facilities and competitive medical fees are two factors that make Malaysia a popular destination for health travellers.

Malaysia and Việt Nam are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations this year. Both countries have had long-standing friendship with excellent cooperation in many areas since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973. Over the years our relations have been strengthened, and with the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2015, these relations were elevated to a strategic level. The strategic partnership will further enhance cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, agriculture, education, defence, maritime issues and tourism.

Việt Nam has emerged as the fourth-largest trading partner of Malaysia within ASEAN. This is significant considering how small our bilateral trade was more than a decade ago. 

At the same time, Malaysia has also emerged as the seventh-largest FDI contributor to Việt Nam.  Malaysian investment is particularly strong in real estate, manufacturing and banking sectors. Malaysian tourists are becoming more important to Việt Nam’s tourism sector. Malaysia has emerged as a top-10 source for tourists into Việt Nam. At the same time, a bigger number of Vietnamese tourists have visited Malaysia recently.

On May 9, Malaysia had a change of government for the first time since its independence. While the new government has promised many institutional reforms, the foreign policy direction of the country will remain more or less the same. For that matter, Malaysia and Việt Nam can expect the continuation of close and strong relations. As we look forward to working closely together, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Malaysians and friends of Malaysia in Việt Nam ‘Happy National Day’. — VNS