Australia-Malaysia Youth Forum 2015

I had the privilege of giving some introductory remarks recently on 14 May 2015 at the Australian High Commission, with whom IDEAS jointly organised an Australia-Malaysia Youth Forum 2015. 

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Good morning to HE Rod Smith, PSM, Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Participants at the Australia-Malaysia Youth Forum 2015, Friends and Colleagues. IDEAS is very pleased and honoured to be jointly organising today’s forum to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Australia’s diplomatic presence in Malaysia.

We are also honoured to have in our presence today some of the brightest young leaders in various different fields, some students, working professionals, activists, academics and intellectuals.

When I asked around the office what was the first thing people thought of when it comes to Malaysia-Australia relations, the 3 things they immediately said were: Education, Migration and Trade. And how true this is.

If you were to throw a stone anywhere in the Klang Valley, chances are you would hit an Australian graduate. In 2012, an estimated 22,000 Malaysians were enrolled in Australian education institutions onshore, with approximately 21,000 Malaysian and international students studying for Australian qualifications in Malaysia. I, too, happen to be an alumni of Monash University myself (and continue to be involved through the Monash Business School’s Advisory Council).

And of course in the area of Migration: The reality is many of us have relatives and friends who now live in Australia. As at 2011, 116,196 Malaysian-born people live in Australia, an increase of 25.8% from 2006. Family visits, gatherings, reunions, and therefore our shared stories and histories now extend far beyond the borders of Malaysia and into Australian land.

And in trade: Malaysia and Australia signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2012, which came into effect in 2013, which has and will facilitate even greater trade between our two countries, especially in the areas of agriculture, tourism, education, telecommunication and finances. Australia and Malaysia are each other’s 9th largest trading partners, having traded RM31.57 billion worth of goods and services in 2014. 

There are things that we share in common, and just to name a few:

We are both Commonwealth countries with a system of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. We both have extremely young populations, where more than 40% of our populations are under the age of 25. We are both negotiating a highly controversial multi-nation trade agreement, the TPPA, with 10 other countries. And finally, our countries are heterogeneous in our ethnicity, religion and cultures, sharing similar challenges

All of these provide us the opportunity to explore how we have each dealt with issues like extremism and intolerance, human rights, freedom of expression, social cohesion, economic empowerment, minority rights and learn lessons from the other.  Some interesting questions I personally would have when thinking of these issues in the context of Malaysia-Australia bilateral relationship are as follows: First, to what extent can Malaysia and Australia together counter regional challenges (trade, security, migration, human rights)? Does each country have respective national interests that may affect the impact of this? Second, how can a deeper relationship be explored between both countries on a range of fronts at varying levels and tracks i.e. not just diplomatic, but on civil society, business and other fronts? Third, what lessons can be learnt from each other, which can be applied in our respective countries? Are there xenophobic realities within each country’s communities that would make it difficult for this to happen?

Today we will be exploring all of these issues in three high-level panels, which I look forward to.

  1. First, on rising extremism: Challenges for Australia and Malaysia where we will discuss how each country approaches the threat of terrorism and how we counter the narrative of extremist groups.
  2. Second, on economic integration and liberalisation. Both Australia and Malaysia are in the final stages of negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (the controversial TPPA). We will discuss the benefits and costs of opening up our trade barriers even further, as a result of the TPPA and other economic integration activities.
  3. Finally, we will talk about how to balance social cohesion with free speech. With Malaysia’s recent controversial amendments to the Sedition Act, how does this bode for freedom of expression? What are the implications of this on national unity?

Thank you once again to the Australian High Commission, participants and friends for being here this morning. I wish us all a stimulating morning, learning from each other towards greater things. Thank you.

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