Relations
between Indonesia and Malaysia often make it into the headlines for all the
wrong reasons. In recent times, media focus has been on border disputes between
the two neighbors or the fate of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.
But away from the headlines, Malaysian Trade
Minister Mustapa Mohamed has been working to bring the two countries closer
together. Rather than only visiting Jakarta on each trip to Indonesia, he has
instead spent a considerable amount of time and energy visiting the country’s
vast regions to gain a better understanding of the nation’s landscape and to
build ties directly with members of the public.
He knows, for example, the challenges faced by
Indonesian manufacturers who want to export to Malaysia. He has visited
Malaysian students studying at Indonesian universities and understands the deep
ties that connect the two peoples.
What is little known is that there are 10,000
Indonesians pursuing master’s degrees in Malaysia and 5,000 Malaysians studying
dentistry, medicine and pharmacy in Indonesian universities.
“There is a lot of people-to-people exchange
between Malaysia and Indonesia, especially in the education field, but this is
not often reported,” he said at the World Economic Forum meeting in
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, late last month. “Tourism is another sector where
there is great potential for the two countries to work together.”
Medical tourism, for example is on the rise
and Indonesia is one of the biggest markets for Malaysia in this sector.
Mustapa said that many of the Indonesians who visit Malaysia came from outside
the capital.
This is why he has focused his attention and
energy on getting to know the country outside Jakarta more intimately.
“I have started to go to Manado [in North
Sulawesi], Balikpapan [in East Kalimantan] and Solo because its no longer
enough to just visit Jakarta,” he said. Conversely, he continued, Indonesians
who visit Malaysia must go beyond Kuala Lumpur.
“Some of these provinces are doing very well,
so we want to engage more deeply with them,” he said. “Secondly, we want to
improve connectivity with these regions and Malaysia.”
Mustapa is now discussing establishing air links
between with Balikpapan and Malaysian cities.
Third, he hopes to boost investment in both
directions. Many Indonesia companies in East Kalimantan are interested in
investing in Sabah, the east Malaysian state that shares a border with
Indonesia.
“There are a lot of things happening in the
provinces and you can feel the excitement,” he said.
His efforts are starting to bear fruit; trade
between the two countries has grown over the past year. Trade between January
and November last year reached $16.7 billion, up from $13.4 billion over the
same period the previous year.
The latest numbers, however, only tell part of
the story. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown more than
threefold during the past decade from $4 billion in 2000 to $14.8 billion in
2010.
“Frankly, we only began seriously mounting
aggressive efforts toward Indonesia 18 months ago,” Mustapa said. “Indonesia is
such a big country and many Indonesian companies in the past did not want to go
out, but that is now changing.”
He said companies such as Sinar Mas had made
huge investments in China in recent years and asked, why not in Malaysia? To
woo more companies to invest in Malaysia, Mustapa hosted a delegation from the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) last year.
In the other direction, more Malaysian small
and medium-sized companies are exploring investment opportunities in Indonesia.
Companies such as AirAsia also see that Indonesia is a huge market.
“My priority is to get the business community
from both sides better connected,” Mustapa said. “Intra-Asean trade and
investments need a boost and the best way to achieve this is by getting
businesses to talk and do business with each other.”
Shoeb K. Zainuddin
Jakarta Globe
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment