“We have successfully removed all the barriers that prevent women from taking part in nation-building efforts.”

Ambassador Abdul Samad Othman has experience as a diplomat for over 26 years in the United Nations, Latin America, Southeast and East Asia and now the Middle East. He has expertise on security, economics, trade, financial and international issues; he graduated in Mass Communication before doing higher studies in Public Administration. In addition to his formal duties he is interested in social work and in Yemen he is the patron of Malaysian Students Association. He is married with three children.

What are some of the aspects of Yemen’s relationship with Malaysia?

Malaysia enjoys truly very close, constructive, dynamic and active bilateral relations with the Republic of Yemen for a long time. Our relations have started hundreds of years ago when many Hadramis made voyage to the east not only for trading but also to spread the faith of Islam to Southeast of Asia. Therefore you can find so many Southeast Asians of Hadramout origin live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and in other countries in the region. For that, we must thank our great-great grand parents from Yemen who brought the light of Islam and introduced it to all of us in Southeast Asia.

In recent decades, Malaysia and Yemen have doubled efforts to build up even greater relations. We could see active exchanges of visits by both by leaders of governments and privates sectors.

Education is one of the most important sectors that see tremendous achievement of cooperation between our two countries. We are very happy to see the increase in number of Yemeni students studying in Malaysia, and also Malaysians studying in Yemen. We have built up many partnerships between higher learning institutions of both countries and the number is growing.

We have even brought two Malaysian university programs one in the International College at University of Science and Technology and a branch Campus of International Twintech University. The same goes to other sectors such as trade, industry, culture and other fields.

As the Ambassador of Malaysia in Yemen, I am pleased to witness these dynamic, strong and warm relations that we have built over the years. I am optimistic that this relationship will flourish further in the year ahead. More and more Malaysian companies are eager to come to trade and invest in Yemen. And, inshallah, God willing, we will see the first Malaysian-made car on Yemeni roads very soon. In general, I am happy to see these greater integrations between our two countries and the future is promising.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, what does this really mean?

It means that His Majesty the Yang Di Pertuan Agong, the King of Malaysia is not only our Supreme Head of State, but also a symbol of unity among all Malaysians. The Malaysian Federal Constitution clearly defines the separation of powers between the legislative, judicial and executive authorities. The separation of power occurs both at federal and state levels in keeping with the concept of federalism which forms the basis of our government.

His Majesty the King is elected by the Conference of Rulers for a term of five years. He acts upon the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. He appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court. As the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces, he exercises the prerogative of mercy in respect of court martial offences. His Majesty is also responsible for safeguarding the special position of the Malays and Islam as the official religion, and the legitimate interests of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

“Malaysia truly Asia” is the slogan used to promote Malaysia around the world, why have you chosen this line?

It simply means that Malaysia represents a truly Asian culture and people. We are proud of having a multiracial society that could live together in harmony. All major Asian races, w
hich are Chinese, Indian and Malay as well as numerous other indigenous tribes are living side by side and work together in building a harmonious, prosperous and successful nation of Malaysia.

Differences of culture among its citizens are the strength and beauty that color our beautiful country. While differences of culture could create problems and hinder unity, Malaysia has, however, able to turned it into strong, attractive aspect of the society.

Once can easily see and enjoy the diversity of different cultures of multiple Asian races in one peaceful country of Malaysia. Very few countries in this world could preserve the origin of each ethnic culture in the way that we have preserved them in Malaysia. Each race maintains their own culture, language, religion, food and so on and yet, we are all Malaysians that speak our national language of Bahasa Malaysia. Therefore we could proudly claim that Malaysia represents the true Asian society thus: Malaysia Truly Asia.

Malaysia describes itself as a united country, despite the fact that it is divided into three main ethnicities: Malay, Chinese and Indian. But the Malaysian laws strongly discriminate in favor of Malays over others. Doesn’t this contradict the true sense of unity and equal citizenship?

Yes, all the citizens of Malaysia, regardless of their ethnicity are equal under the Malaysian constitution. However, due to certain sensitivities and peculiarities, especially when we look from historical perspective, all the three main races agreed that there was a need for special treatment for the Malay indigenous ethnic group when they negotiated for independence from the British 52 years ago.

During the colonial rule, the British separated the three races into different economic activities. The Chinese were in business sector, the Indians worked in plantation, while the indigenous Malay remains in villages. These economic differences remained after we got our independence in 1957. While the Chinese and the Indian who were brought by the British to the then Malaya were given citizenship, the indigenous Malay has been economically marginalized ever since.

Thus, there is a need for a special approach to address this unbalanced economic condition among different communities in the country. Despite so-called “discriminating” laws in favor of the Malays, the fact remains that they constitute the biggest group of poor society in Malaysia and the so-called “discriminated against” ethnicities are enjoying bigger slice of the economic cake of the nation.

Is ethnic tension a concern for the government? Especially since the last elections, in February 2008, indicated a soured national mood, with voters in opinion polls saying their greatest concerns were ethnic tensions, income inequality, rising prices of fuel and food and a surge in crime.

Yes, the Malaysian Government has always been concern about this issue that is very sensitive in nature. We need to handle this issue with extra care since it could easily cause disunity among all Malaysians. Leaders of all different political parties in Malaysia are united not to take advantage of racial issues to pursue their political goals.

What are the strong industries in Malaysia, what are the challenges?

Malaysia has successfully been transformed from an agro-based into an industrial-based economy. We have been working very hard to achieve what we have now and it is a truly tremendous achievement. Malaysian economy is currently based on export of manufacturing products. We are currently the 19th biggest export nation in the world and therefore need to keep improving quality of our products in order to be accepted by the world market. Our industrialization process has achieved quite a mature level, and therefo
re, we have moved towards expanding our quality high tech-based industry.

There are many challenges that need serious attention both from our government and the private sector. As we are competing in the global market, we have no choice but to produce cheap but quality products so that we can export them to all parts of the world. Maintaining our competitiveness is very hard to do, as all other countries are doing their best to sell their products too. If we get carried away with reducing the quality of products in order to keep prices low, tomorrow might not be as bright as today. In short, we have no choice but to produce world class products to be accepted by global community.

Between the 1980s and 1990s there was a shift from an agriculture-based economy to one based on manufacturing and industry in areas such as computers and consumer electronics, how did this happen?

As I said earlier, Malaysia has been able to transform its economy from an agriculture based to an industrial based economy with hard work and tremendous sacrifices. It is not an easy journey. Once could easily give up half way and return to status quo. But we were fortunate to have strong leadership at a crucial time. Yes, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed was no doubt the architecture of modern Malaysia that showed to the world that a small and young country such as us could also achieve progress and prosperity built according to our own model.

He has a strong character that believes Asian countries could also succeed if we work hard toward the right direction. He has led the country with energy and vision while providing good leadership for others to follow.

Mahathir does not believe in supremacy of certain group of people because to him, all human being are born equal, except for those who do not believe in themselves. He pushed all Malaysians to believe that we all benefit from the same country and its fortunes and therefore we have to work hard to achieve our goals.

Mahathir believed that to bring prosperity to a country, we must start with efforts to create jobs opportunities for our people. Only with jobs, can we change the standard of living for the people, and the fastest way of creating jobs is by developing the manufacturing sector. It was all started from there where we have successfully developed a good investment climate that has attracted foreign direct investments from developed world. And from there, we have never looked back and this is Malaysia that you see today.

To me that is the only secret of our success in transforming our economy. And all his good policies and approaches continue to be implemented even after he handed over leadership to his successor six years ago.

Do you see Malaysia become an economic or political world power in the next ten years? What about its position in Asia?

Malaysia does not have ambitious plan to become a world power. We are quite happy with what we are doing now and of course we would continue to play our constructive roles toward creating a just, peace and fair world within our limited capacity. After all we are just a small developing country with modest achievements.

Malaysian women are proud to have obtained their rights and still practice their religion in a modest culture. How did this balance happen, and how can other Muslim countries learn from this when it comes to women’s rights?

Again, we believe that all Malaysians, regardless of their gender, have roles to play in moving the country forward. We have successfully removed all the barriers that prevent women from taking part in nation-building efforts. All our communities have reached the consensus that women have vital role to play in ensuring the country achieves progress and prosperity.

Our Vision 2020 stated that Malaysia will achieve a developed nation status while maintaining our religious and culture values. This has always been our faith where pro
gress and values must move forward together hand in hand. By doing so, we make sure that all the people without prejudice of their gender, are able to achieve prosperity while maintaining our religion and values. And again, this has been a unique achievement that we are always proud of. If you think that Malaysia has something to offer, we are more than happy to share our experiences with anyone who believes so.

Kuala Lumpur is a favored destination for many Arabs, especially from gulf countries. Why do you think this is the case? And is Malaysia also a favored destination for westerners? Can you give some numbers?

Tourism is our second most important sector in term of contribution towards national income of Malaysia. Thank God that our tourism sector has become yet another success story of the robust Malaysian economy that we have built over the past three decades. We have introduced and implemented good and successful tourism promotional strategies that have increased the number of foreign tourists coming to Malaysia. Strategies such “Malaysia Truly Asia” have proven effective in attracting the world to visit our beautiful country.

But strategy alone will not guarantee foreign tourists will come to visit us. Our own people have to be educated and disciplined so that government efforts can easily be implemented and supported by our citizens. We believe that each and every one of us has our own role to play.

With consistence and effective promotional strategies, numbers of foreign tourists have steadily increased every year. In 2008 we hosted around 22 million foreign tourists, compared to 20.9 million in 2007. For the first half of 2009, tourists’ arrival in Malaysia has reached to 13.3 million despite of the financial crisis that the world is experiencing now. In terms of financial return, we are happy to see the increased revenue from tourism sector. In 2007, tourism contributed USD 13.14 billion towards the national economy, and this has increased to USD 14.2 billion in 2008.

Yes, tourists' arrivals from the Gulf States have increased significantly, due to the fact that Malaysia is a Muslim country with rapid development that could cater their needs. Malaysia is a moderate Islamic country that blends spiritual practices with modernity, and this is a real strength attracts foreign tourists.

As you celebrate the Independence Day today, what do you want to say to the Malaysian people in Yemen and around the world?

I simply wish to greet all Malaysians who are living in Yemen “SELAMAT HARI KEBANGSAAN!” or Happy National Day. As we are celebrating our 52nd anniversary of our independence today, we have to be proud of being a citizen of Malaysia, our beloved country that has achieved tremendous progress and prosperity.

While living in foreign land, we have to maintain our undivided love and loyalty towards our mother land, our King and our leaders.

Our experiences in Yemen should be a good lesson to all of us. Explore this vast and interesting Land of Sheba so that we can learn positive things to bring home to Malaysia when we finish our tour of duty in this beautiful country. Mean while, all Malaysians are also an unofficial representative of Malaysia, and therefore we must show positive example of Malaysia to all our Yemeni brothers and friends. By doing so, each and every one of us is playing our individual role in promoting beautiful values of Malaysia in this country.