More than RM230 billion will be spent as part of economic reform over the next five years, the Malaysian government recently confirmed, with the aim of doubling per capita income by 2020.

The New Economic Model (NEM), which covers areas such as accelerating investment and rural transformation, was reiterated by the Malaysian Prime Minister, the Honourable Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak at the 2012 Budget Speech in Kuala Lumpur.

The NEM will aim to address issues that are currently inhibiting economic growth in Malaysia, with initiatives targeting key economic areas, including making a transition towards a manufacturing and services-orientated economy.

Many of these growth areas however will not be lead by the public sector, leaving room for upwards of 92 percent of investment to be sourced from the private sector. The importance of initiatives such as the joint Australia Malaysia Business Council and the Malaysia Australian Business Council becomes all the more evident to support the growth of these economic policies.

Topics to be covered by the business meeting include human capital development, business and professional services, science technology and sustainability and Australia/Malaysia forging ahead.

Registrations for the launch events in Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur are still being taken, and can be made through Sandra Johnasson at Roxby Media on 02 8246 7400.

Gillard visited the South East Asian nation last year but was unable to meet with Najib due to the Malaysian leader falling ill with chicken pox. His predecessor Abdullah Badawi visited Australia in 2005. He was the first Malaysian leader to visit Australia in 21 years.

Diplomatic relations between Australia and Malaysia have improved since that visit, in line with a traditionally strong trading relationship. Trade with Malaysia was worth US $10.6 billion last year, a 16 percent increase on 2009. Australian investments in Malaysia are worth almost US$9 billion, while Malaysian investments in Australia total US$4.3 billion. Australia is also a popular education destination for Malaysian students, with more than 20,000 students currently enrolled in Australian universities.

Australia already has free trade agreements with New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. Australia is still seeking a free trade agreement with Malaysia, China and Japan.

The industry and the Australian Government invested almost $1 million in three projects with Australia’s key livestock export partners in the Middle East and South East Asia, aimed at achieving better animal welfare outcomes in the handling, transport and processing of live animals in importing countries.

The infrastructure of abattoirs in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Indonesia was improved and animal handlers underwent training to help reduce stress on animals. Point of arrival discharge ramps were constructed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, abattoir facilities for the slaughter of Australian goats upgraded and training provided.

“The reports showed there had been improvements to animal welfare in these countries as a result of government and industry investment in the partnership,” Executive Manager, Trade and Market Access Jo Evans said. “[They] also show that further work can be done to improve animal welfare practices in these markets.”

The LTAWP is investing $3.2 million over three years to further improve animal welfare in overseas markets, with the livestock export industry, which was valued at more than $1 billion in 2009-10, matching the government’s contribution to funding.

Sponsored by PIKOM, the National ICT Association of Malaysia, and supported by Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation, the delegates aim to engage in partnerships with local shared services and outsourcing counterparts in the two cities.

“The marketplace of the future is global and the key ingredient for success will be mutually beneficial, cross border commercial partnerships,” said Dr Ongkili.

“The delegation of Malaysian ICT and PIKOM solution providers is ready to do business and keen to develop links with Australian clients and partners. The business mission & program will provide the platform & opportunity for companies from both countries to discuss and engage further, as well as to share information and ideas in the area of expertise from each country.”

Gould said he is honoured to serve the council in this capacity, and intends to grow the organisation during his tenure: “Over the next year I plan to extensively expand member services, marketing and promotional activities, but most importantly, build on AMBC’s leadership role through more progressive partnerships and relationships.”

He nominated focusing on greater engagement with government departments as a priority and said he hopes to continue regular trade missions to Malaysia and information exchange events.

“AMBC has an outstanding reputation in Australia and our influence in supporting bilateral commercial and investment growth has been the foundation for the council’s longevity,” he said.

“Promoting a stronger Australia Malaysia commercial and cultural relationship will be of immense benefit to our two nations and I am confident that AMBC’s efforts at both national and state chapter level will continue to strengthen and foster increased mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities.”

The availability of these new currencies will allow Australian exporters to sell their goods online to more customers in the Asia-Pacific region in their own money.

“The addition of these new currencies makes it even easier to use PayPal around the world,” said Scott Thompson, PayPal’s president.

PayPal also announced that it has opened its PayPal X global payments platform to third-party developers, for the purposes of developing currency conversion applications using live exchange rates.

Thompson said the new currencies, together with PayPal X, allows users greater flexibility: “Consumers have more choice in how they pay, merchants can conduct business in more markets around the world, and developers can now create multi-currency applications built on PayPal X.”

Razak said he hoped the FTA would make Malaysia an attractive investment hub for New Zealanders, as well as acting as a gateway to the South East Asian region.

Key called the agreement an important milestone. “For New Zealand, it is our eighth-largest trading partner and we see tremendous opportunities for New Zealand companies in Malaysia and vice versa. We are looking forward to expanding the relationship,” he said.

The deal will mean scrapping import duties on more than 10,000 Malaysian tariff lines by 2016, while New Zealand will look to eliminate duties on all of its 7,238 tariff lines in the same period.

The FTA is expected to come into force next year.

Victorian Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation Jacinta Allan opened the office and said it would help drive exports and build international partnerships in the region: “This new Malaysian-based office will allow Victorian businesses to leverage opportunities across South East Asia.”

She mentioned that about a third of Australia’s Malaysian-born residents reside in Victoria, evidence of “longstanding cultural ties”.

Of particular interest will be the synergies from common industries such as advanced manufacturing, but there will also be opportunities in agriculture and information technology. “By any measure there are huge opportunities for us to work together and further our business relationship,” said Allan.

Gould will be keynote speaker at Austrade’s ‘Blue Ocean for High Performing Leaders in Turbulent Times’ seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia later this month, speaking on the benefits of the global economic downturn.

“I am confident that the recent economic downturn will prove to be the basis of new era of economic growth, stimulation, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial success,” said Gould.

“Regardless of the unemployment rates, demand for competent employees will be the single greatest challenge for businesses in the post-GFC era. This shortage will result in business owners investing significantly in retaining and developing the skills of their existing workforces.”

Globalisation and the increasing number of free trade agreements has led to a more mobile workforce, which means businesses will need to deal with a new generation of workers with different values and needs than those of their predecessors.

New businesses “will constantly challenge and discard outdated established conventions and values” so to compete, established businesses must now look to identify and develop the skills of future company managers and leaders to “provide the crucial link between the internal resources and the external objectives,” he said.

Most Australians gain their knowledge of Islam through the press. Sadly this knowledge is heavily influenced by events like the attack on Jakarta in July. This bombing, the Bali bombings and 9/11 were horrific, and the press has every right to condemn these actions and the people associated with them. But there is another side to Islam and the people that practise the Islamic teachings.

In the 1980s I was privileged to work in Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan: it certainly changed me and has had an enormous influence on my attitude to people of differing religions. My immediate group in Jakarta had four Muslims, one Hindu, three Christians (of differing denominations) and one Buddhist. We all prayed at months end for help in getting the budget and it usually worked; one of us was possibly right.

In Pakistan I was completely surrounded by people who practised Islam. Not only did we all get on really well, the common interest in cricket made it an experience I will never forget.

Never once did religion come between me and any of my colleagues. We were all just people, we all had a sense of humour, we all had families we loved and we all respected each other’s religious beliefs. And interestingly, many of us have remained friends, 20 years down the road.

Islam is not just a religion but also a way of life, so the one thing that was differed was our eating behaviour. Islam encourages its followers to choose Halal foods. Whether it is McDonald’s, or dinner at a fancy restaurant, food in these overseas posts was always prepared to meet the religious teachings of Islam.

The word Halal is an Arabic word that simply means ‘permitted, permissible, lawful, allowed’. The opposite of Halal is Haram, which means ‘strictly forbidden or prohibited, unlawful’.

To determine the Halal/Haram status of foodstuffs, Islam has laid down general guidelines, namely all raw materials and ingredients used must be Halal, Halal animals such as cattle, goats etc must be slaughtered according to Islamic rites and Halal ingredients must not be mixed, or come into contact with Haram materials such as products from pig or dog during storage, transport, cooking or serving.

Not a niche market

To many Australians, Halal is often regarded as a niche market. This is not so. Today, it is estimated that the world’s Halal food trade is upwards of US$60 billion per year and growing. And it’s not confined to Middle Eastern and South East Asian markets. Halal markets exist wherever there are Muslim consumers; worldwide, there are approximately 1.5 billion practising Islam, many of whom reside in Europe, USA, India and of course in Australia and New Zealand.

There is also often a misunderstanding that Halal is simply confined to fresh meat products, but Halal includes processed foods, from salami, through cereal to yoghurt, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, skin care and body care products and many more.

Many Muslim consumers too, whether living in Muslim or western countries, have developed a taste of Western style food, prepared in keeping with their Islamic principles and teachings. With the massive growth in middle classes, these populations and their buying power, particularly in places like Indonesia, Malaysia and parts of the Middle East have and will continue to grow enormously.

Gone too are the days of Halal products being confined to the wet market. This is a sophisticated business with Halal isles in major supermarkets in all parts of the world and Halal accreditation on some of the world’s most recognised brands.

This provides Australian exporters, particularly food exporters, with an opportunity to participate in a large, growing market. Australia is well placed, not only geographically close to Indonesia and Malaysia, but our clean and professional growing and production practices and our access to the various Halal accreditation bodies opens the door to a wide range of potential export destinations.

While many argue that the services sector is the way ahead, agriculture and food processing will always be a strong participant in Australia’s export regime. Opportunities like Halal are natural for Australia and one I encourage our food exporters to look at closely.

And while food may be the core opportunity, Halal goes well beyond this sector into toiletries, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and even into many of raw and production materials that go into the processing of Halal accredited products.

—Ian Murray is the executive director of the Australian Institute of Export