Thank you Mr. Moderator, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Assalamualaikum, good afternoon and ta jia how.

 

I would like first to thank the organizers for inviting me to speak at this 5th Belt  and  Road  Women’s  Forum  in  beautiful  Sanya  and  the  kind  hospitalities extended. I am particularly honoured to be speaking together with such a distinguished panel this afternoon.

 

As the representative of Malaysia at this forum, it would be remiss of me not to  recount  Malaysia’s  long  and  close  relations  with  China.  Next  year,  we  will celebrate half a decade of diplomatic relations; and Malaysia is among the earliest supporters  of  China’s  Belt  and  Road  Initiative  with  two  major  on-going  projects which are the East Coast Rail Link and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Twin Industrial Parks. However on this topic today, I would like to speak a little about ASEAN. The regional grouping of ten unique and diverse countries. Malaysia as a founding father of ASEAN is proud of the work of this regional organization and how far and how much it has achieved, despite its challenges.

ASEAN,  like  Malaysia,  has  always  been  outward  looking,  engaging  and inclusive. On that sense, it has many similarities to the Belt and Road Initiative. ASEAN   now   has   11  dialogue   partners  and   maintains  cooperation  with countless other countries and regional groupings. China is among ASEAN’s closest and most active dialogue partners; and our cooperation is across a wide array of fields and sectors.

 

As  a  regional  organization, you  can  see that the  work  of ASEAN  and  BRI complement each other. These two  platforms are also consistent  in their efforts, taking a long term view to their endeavours and cooperative activities.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

ASEAN  itself  was  formed  in  1967.  However,  the  ASEAN  Community  was officially formed in 2015 and is made up of 3 pillars:

i)   the Political-Security pillar;

ii)  the Economic pillar; and

iii) the Socio-Cultural pillar.

 

The political-security pillar and the economic pillar are more well known, but the socio-cultural pillar is the beating heart of ASEAN, the pillar that gives ASEAN its soul and identity. This socio-cultural pillar celebrates and preserves and immortalizes ASEAN’s social and cultural identity and cooperation. This is how we learn about one another and foster deeper understanding and friendship. ASEAN has a rich cultural diversity and heritage we recognize as our strength. We are ten different countries, each with its own unique language, culture and way of life. We  also  recognize  that  culture  and  its  cooperation  can  also  serve  as  an engine of growth and sustainable development, a building block for social cohesion, stability and prosperity. We have made longstanding efforts to mainstream the role of culture and arts  in  achieving  peace  and  progress  in  the  region,  with  policy  and  initiatives implemented consistently. Flagship initiatives include the ASEAN City of Culture and the Best of ASEAN Performing Arts.

 

Other activities include cultural showcases, preservation and conservation of tangible  and  intangible  heritage,  support  and  promotion  of  creative  and  cultural industry,   art   exhibitions,   capacity   building   for   museum   professionals,   music, literature, performing arts, contemporary arts, food and culture festival and cultural policy dialogue.

We also have continued close cooperation with our close dialogue partners, including China. There are well established platforms such as the ASEAN-China Plan of Action on Cultural Collaboration. In 2014, we even designated it as the Year of

 

ASEAN-China Cultural Exchange. Our collaboration is aimed at raising awareness and celebrate the rich histories, cultures, arts, traditions and values of the ASEAN region.

In  2025,  Malaysia  will take  over the  Chairmanship  of ASEAN.  During that time, we will also be drafting the ASEAN Vision of the next ten years.

Identity and culture remains an integral part of the vision document.

 

On that final note, I also want to share with you something more personal and suited for this topic.

Speaking of culture and learning, I myself am a mother of 3 girls. Two are already teenagers. They are at a stage where they are still learning about themselves and the world, and how they fit into it, and understand it all. As a career diplomat,  my  best advise to them is that your identity is very important and must not be taken for granted. You must really know who you are and have pride in your own history, your own language, your own culture and where you are from. And once you are firm in this in this identity and this conviction, only then would it be easier for you to embrace and respect other cultures, as well as learn and cooperate with others. Not to oversimplify matters - but it is a popular opinion that with pretty much everything; it usually all starts from the home particularly with women and mothers.

 

So with those final remarks, I thank you.

Xie xie ni.