Malaysian Community A "Vital Link" In Country's Foreign Relations - CG

By Manik Mehta NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian diaspora overseas forms a vital link in Malaysia’s foreign relations, said the country's new consul-general in New York, Syed Mohamed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman. "I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the Malaysian community in our jurisdiction. It's a vital link in Malaysia’s overall foreign relations," the diplomat, who arrived here nearly five months ago, told Bernama in an interview at his office. He noted that nurturing contacts and building up on relations "not just with Malaysians but also with our American friends and supporters whose numbers are growing" would continue to be of crucial importance for Malaysia. The New York consul-general has a large consular jurisdiction encompassing 17 states in the United States, which spells challenges because of its sheer geographical size as well as opportunities to interact and garner support from Malaysians in the US. According to Syed Bakri, the number of Malaysians in the 17-state consular jurisdiction was estimated to be around 100,000, including spouses and children, with New York and New Jersey accounting for about 70 per cent of the figure. "We don't have the exact figures because many Malaysians, including illegals, don't register themselves with the consulate," Syed Bakri said, adding that he would like to reach out to Malaysians rather than expecting Malaysians to come to him. He is keen to meet Malaysian professionals, business people and others to find out how the consulate can help them. "The idea is to flank the efforts of government agencies such as Mida (Malaysian Investment Development Authority), Matrade (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation), Tourism Malaysia and other agencies so that I can add value to their efforts in enhancing investment, trade, tourism, for example," he said. The US is not a new terrain for Syed Bakri who obtained his first degree, a Bachelor in Business Administration, from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Noting that he planned to use his knowledge of local cultural and business customs to further promote Malaysia's interests, Syed Bakri said his office had "tools" at its disposal to engage with the Malaysian diaspora, which included the outreach programme to forge closer relations with Malaysians. Syed Bakri also alluded to Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd's (Talent Corp) programme which aims to lure back Malaysian professionals to render service towards Malaysia's further development. "I'll try to pitch for Talent Corp's initiatives among Malaysians here. Our approach will be to inform the diaspora of the opportunities available to them back home but, in the end, they'll have to decide for themselves whether they want to go back or not," he said. -- BERNAMA