OPENING ADDRESS OF THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT MALAYSIA DELIVERED BY DATO' HAJI ZAKARIA BIN HJ BAHARI SECRETARY GENERAL, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT MALAYSIA

H.E. Prof. S. Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for
National Security and Minister for Law, Singapore

H.E. Mr. Raymond Lim Siang Keat, Minister for Transport & Second Minister for

Foreign Affairs, Singapore

H.E. Mr. Jusman Syafii Djal11al, Minister of Transportation, Indonesia

H.E. Mr. Efthimios Mitropolous, Secretary General of the International
Maritime Organization

Excellencies, Distinguished Heads of Delegation, Fellow Delegates, Ladies

and Gentlemen

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabaraktuh and a very good morning.

Firstly allow me to convey the apology of the Minister of Transport Malaysia,

Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, for not being able to attend this auspicious meeting

this morning. He has asked me to send his best wishes to all participants and

hope that the Singapore Meeting will be a great success. He has also asked

me to deliver this opening address on his behalf.

His Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. On behalf of the Malaysian delegation, I would like to take this opportunity

to thank our host, the Government of Republic of Singapore for their warm

welcome and kind hospitality extended to my delegation since we arrived

 here in Singapore. I would also like to express my gratitude to the host

for inviting me to be part of this very important international meeting

 on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on enhancing safety, security

 and environmental protection; and giving me the opportunity to

address this auspicious meeting and among such eminent people.

2. This meeting is the third and possibly the last in the series of

 meetings on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore that is organized

 by the International Maritime Organization (or IMO) in cooperation

with the littoral States. I am pleased that since the first meeting

in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2005 followed by the second meeting in

 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2006 and now in Singapore, there

has been significant progress made in achieving the original

objectives. I am also most gratified that the three littoral

States have been able to cooperate in the most efficient manner

 with IMO in organizing this series of meetings for the third time

running. I am certain that such cooperation can be sustained in

the future to ensure that the Straits are safe, secure and

the marine environment well protected.

His Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

3. Let me take this opportunity to reassure all of you that Malaysia

 always believe that the Straits of Malacca and Singapore should

 remain safe and open for navigation. Events in the past decades

 have amply demonstrated that Malaysia has never obstructed

 transit passage in the Straits, although at the same time we

have to explain how important the Straits are to Malaysia as

 they surely are for the many users. We have no doubt

that the Straits are indeed a strategically important shipping

route between the East and West. We realize how many of

the world's economies are dependent on the continued ability for

 ships to use the Straits.

4. It is this profound understanding of the many important uses of

 the Straits that Malaysia has for so many years been committed to

 ensure that the Straits are well maintained to provide a safe passage

 to ships. Suffice to state at this point that the Government of

 Malaysia has spent large sums of money to provide the necessary

 aids to navigation for the safe passage of ships through the

 Straits. Malaysia has demonstrated that it has always been

 willing to cooperate with responsible user States and other

users in maintaining safety, security and environmental

protection of the Straits. Nevertheless, we believe that the

time is now appropriate that users of the Straits play a bigger

role in cooperating with the littoral States to share the burden

of maintaining the safety and protecting the marine environment

of the Straits.

5. It is for this reason that Malaysia has been an active

promoter of the Cooperative Mechanism that was first presented

by the three littoral States at the Kuala Lumpur Meeting in

 2006 last September. The Cooperative Mechanism provides a

 useful platform for the littoral States to forge close

cooperation with users with the common aim of enhancing

 safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment

 in the Straits. I understand that the details of the Cooperative

 Mechanism will be presented during this meeting. It is

 my fervent hope that the Cooperative Mechanism is supported

 by all. I personally believe that the Cooperative Mechanism will

 provide a very good way forward in forging cooperation between

 the littoral States and the many users of the Straits along

the lines provided under international law and in particular the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

6. I take this opportunity to commend and express Malaysia's

appreciation for those States that have contributed towards

maintaining safety of 'navigation' in the Straits, and to those

States that have provided sponsorship and expertise to

projects proposed by the three littoral States. I hope

that such strong support and cooperation will continue within

the Cooperative Mechanism.

His Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

7. I am sure the officials of the three littoral States: Indonesia

, Malaysia and Singapore together with the IMO have worked

 very hard over the last few months since the Kuala Lumpur

Meeting of September 2006, for which I must thank and congratulate

 them for making this meeting a success. It is this spirit of

 cooperation that I trust will enable all of us to move forward

 and ensure that this important waterway that links many economies

 and populations of the world will remain safe and open to

 shipping and at the same time continue to provide for the

 lifeline of many in the littoral States.

His Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

8. Let me to take this opportunity to once again express my

appreciation to the host, the Government of Singapore.

9. I must also thank the Secretary General of IMO and all his

officers for the tireless support, encouragement and valuable

advice that they have provided us. I for one look forward to the

 continued support of IMO in cooperating with the three littoral States.

10. Last but not least I must also thank all of you who are present

here today for continuing to support the efforts of the three littoral States.

11. On that note, I wish all of you to have a good and fruitful meeting.

Thank you.