I am delighted to have a chance to meet with your organization today. The Malaysian American Society has a long and rich history of working together with the U.S. Embassy to promote better relations between our two countries. I know this is something you have been doing since M.A.S. was founded in 1954 – even before Malaysia itself became an independent nation.

And since so many of you are alumni of U.S. colleges and universities, I trust you are still applying the experience you gained in America and the understanding of our society and culture that you acquired along with your degrees.

According to the Institute for International Education, as of last year there were 7,795 Malaysians studying at 596 different U.S. universities. 68 percent were undergraduates, 26 percent were working on post-graduate studies and 6 percent were studying short courses in English and other non-degree topics. And the most popular state for Malaysians studying in the U.S. is one that some of you know well – Oklahoma, with 588 students at 9 different colleges and universities.

Let me assure you that, despite what you might have been reading in newspapers or worrying about after the September 11 terrorist attacks, our doors remain open in America. We welcome students from Malaysia and from all other countries who want to enjoy the great diversity and rich education offered by U.S. scholarly institutions.

Yes, the Embassy is still granting hundreds of visas, although you might have to apply a bit earlier now than before all the current security rules went into place. It’s also true that all of us – Americans and foreigners alike – are having to undergo stricter security procedures at our airports, but that is the price we pay to maintain our ability to travel into and around the U.S. in this age of terrorism. It’s worth it, no doubt about it.

So I hope you will continue to visit the U.S. whenever you can, and that you’ll encourage your friends and children and your friends’ children to consider an American educational experience.

In fact, we need your help to inform Malaysians who have never had the opportunity to visit America what our nation is all about, just as I am sure you helped many Americans learn more about Malaysia while you studied in the U.S.

Almost all of you have already experienced the rewards and the challenges of living in different cultures. You know that America is not the monstrous country sometimes portrayed on TV and in the movies. It is a diverse nation of big cities, small towns, friendly neighbors, dedicated volunteers and people of all colors, shapes and sizes. You can help explain this to your friends in Malaysia, especially those who have never been abroad.

Of course the situation in American has changed since the terrible attacks of September 11. In many ways, now that we are over the initial shock, Americans have responded in ways that have brought out our best qualities – generosity and concern for others, tolerance of diversity, patriotism, and – most striking – a new interest in learning about Islam. Believe it or not, Islamic studies are the hot new rage on American campuses and many bookstores cannot keep copies of the Koran in stock.

Our Government took a determined stand against the use of violence against innocent people to promote a political agenda of hatred. Together with our coalition partners, the United States responded forcibly to the threat facing us from the al-Qaeda organization and the Taliban regime that had given Osama bin Laden a secure base of operations in Afghanistan. That threat is still present, and will be until al Qaeda is completely eliminated around the world. The United States and other countries, including Malaysia, are today working together effectively to eliminate terrorist cells and to prevent future terrorist attacks, but much remains to be done.

The world also faces a serious threat from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We must work together to ensure that Iraq and other countries comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and give up their efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction of their own. This is a global issue, because autocratic regimes willing to use such weapons and terrorist organizations that target civilians do not only threaten the United States. They threaten us all.

The tragedy of September 11 struck the families and friends of the thousands of victims, from 79 nations. It also had a global impact when those planes struck one of the major centers of world trade. We all felt the economic shock waves, even here in Asia.

By late summer 2001, the world was already feeling the squeeze of a global economic downturn. The terrorist attacks exacerbated its effects, especially in the tourism and transportation sectors. Those economic disruptions are still being felt everywhere. In the United States the economy grew by just one-tenth of a percent in 2001. Particularly worrying was the 0.4 percent drop in Gross Domestic Product in the third quarter. This was the first decline since the beginning of 1993, and the largest contraction since a 2.0 percent drop in the first quarter of 1991, ten years ago.

U.S. Consumer confidence tumbled 17 points last September and another 11.5 points in October to hit its lowest point in seven and a half years. The U.S. unemployment rate was at 5.6 percent in January, and some analysts expect it could increase as high as 6 percent. In October 415,000 jobs were slashed from American non-farm payrolls, the biggest cut since 1980.

On this side of the Pacific, Malaysia's exports fell 10.4 percent in 2001, while its imports, primarily of intermediate and capital goods, dropped 9.9 percent.

So 2001 was not a year that brought good economic news to either Malaysia or America, and I am sure many of you in this room also suffered through a year of great stress and challenges. But there are some signs that 2002 will be a brighter year. I certainly hope that we can get our two economies galloping again in the Year of the Horse!

Already there are indications that the U.S. recession hit bottom in 2001 and that broader growth will resume by the second or third quarter of 2002. The Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan, announced yesterday that the Fed expects the economy to grow between 2.5 and 3 percent over this year. This is lower than the Fed's previous prediction. AS the Fed Chairman puts it, "Despite the disruptions engendered by the terrorist attacks of September 11, the typical dynamics of the business cycle have re-emerged and are prompting a firming in economic activity." He cautions, however, that there are a number of influences that will probably moderate the speed of the recovery. Positive signs include falling inventories, higher home sales and consumer spending stimulated by lower housing and car loan rates, and falling energy prices. A potential negative is the unemployment rate, which could continue to go up and put a damper on consumer spending.

One particularly positive sign that affects Malaysia is that many U.S. companies have deferred major investments in systems, hardware and software in the past few years, and inventories have been depleted over the past few months. Therefore, some economic experts predict early growth in the IT sector, which should boost overall spending as the economic rebounds. That will certainly bring new opportunities to many companies based in Malaysia.

Today we are also seeing a new resolve around the world to bring down the barriers that keep our economies from reaching their full potential. One of the most potent ways to foster rapid growth is through freer trade.

In October last year, the leaders of all Asian and Pacific economies gathered in Shanghai for the annual APEC meetings. It was a strong sign of their commitment to dialogue and progress that the meetings took place at such a troubled time. The leaders’ call for increased urgency to work together to open markets for free trade was particularly important at a time of global tension and economic recession.

The following month, in November 2001, Trade Ministers from 140 countries met in Doha, Qatar, for the fourth World Trade Organization Ministerial. At that important gathering, they agreed to embark on a comprehensive three-year negotiation to be completed by 2005 that will bring down trade barriers and open up freer trade in such key areas as agriculture and services. The talks will also address such issues as market access, intellectual property, governance and capacity building, investment, and dispute settlement.

It will not be easy to reach all of those goals by 2005, but with more international cooperation and a strong commitment to resolve differences, it can be done. And this is an agenda that, if achieved, will provide significant new opportunities for Malaysian industry, spurring growth both here and in your target markets.

However, as trade becomes freer and more open, there will also be increased global competition for investment. All countries need to position themselves in the modern competitive world in a way that reassures investors and overseas markets that they are stable, strong and possessed of good corporate governance.

The issues of transparency and investment were given a higher profile recently by the decision announced last week by the California Public Employee’s Retirement System (CalPERS) to liquidate its stock portfolio holdings in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. This decision was the result of a lengthy review by CalPERS of its funds invested worldwide.

CalPERS is a leader, both within the U.S. and overseas, in demanding greater corporate transparency in all of the companies in which it invests. This decision shows that investors take many factors into account before risking their money. Some of them now see transparency and high labor standards as among the factors that reduce that risk, and companies here need to be aware of that fact.

We have seen our own share of scandals in the United States – the Enron case is the latest example, and it’s a very serious one – but what has allowed our economy to weather these storms and keep growing has been the willingness of American institutions to investigate such scandals thoroughly and then, when necessary, to pass new regulations to prevent them from occurring again. No country can completely eliminate corruption, but governments that are willing to tackle it aggressively help create a climate where investors and consumers can be confident that they are getting a level playing field and value for money.

Your country’s economic success over the past 30 years serves as an international example of how partnership and hard work can lead to breakthroughs in production, consumption and development. Malaysian and American companies working together in this country have helped build an IT industry that barely existed 20 years ago.

I believe that with a continuation of your government’s recent initiatives to increase trade access and transparency and to promote good corporate governance, Malaysia can soon lead the way here, as it has led the region in so many other areas of economic development, and can earn a deserved reputation as one of the world’s best places to do business.

Globalization has made our world seem much smaller in recent years. We must now learn how to bridge our differences so it becomes as easy to engage in two-way dialogue between the East and the West, between the developed and the developing world, and among all religious faiths, as it is to bridge the great distances we span today when we use the Internet or teleconferencing to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world.

If we can all learn to work together, we can banish misunderstandings and hatred from our daily lives and clear the way for working together in a constructive, mutually respectful way to build the sort of economic and social harmony to which we all aspire.

And that would make 2002 a good year indeed.

Thank you very much for your attention today.