London Stint Rounds Up M'sian High Commissioner's Exciting Foreign Service Career

By Manik Mehta LONDON, Dec 24 (Bernama) -- As his term came to an end on Dec 22, 2013 as Malaysia's high commissioner to the Court of St. James, Zakaria Sulong said, with a touch of nostalgia, that the London posting rounded up his exciting 38-year-old career in Malaysia's foreign service. Zakaria, Malaysia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom since July 2010, described his London posting as a good finale to his diplomatic career. This was his second posting to London, the first being as a counsellor from 1993 to 1996 at the Malaysian High Commission. "Besides London, which is a charming place, I consider myself fortunate to be a witness to some historical events. Take, For instance, the ceremony for the handing-over of Hong Kong to China on June 30, 1997 when it ceased to be a British colony. "I was posted in Hong Kong from 1996 to 1998. That was quite a unique and touching experience … it also heralded the end of the British Empire," Zakaria said in a recent interview with Bernama. Then came another "exciting posting" from 2000-2004 in Bosnia-Herzegovina where Malaysia was active in post-war Bosnia's reconstruction. "Bosnia was still reeling from the effects of the armed conflict that had battered the country's economy. I had to travel across the entire length and breadth of Bosnia. "Our job was also to help resuscitate Bosnia's economy. There was mass unemployment in the country at that time. We tried to put people back to earning a livelihood. We also helped build the infrastructure and encouraged Malaysian companies to invest," he recalled. Zakaria also spoke of his "highly satisfying" posting as Malaysia's ambassador in Berlin for three years until 2010 before he was transferred to London as high commissioner. "Germany is known as the land of ideas. The Germans appreciate and encourage innovations and new ideas. Indeed, we should have more Malaysian students attend German institutions of learning and acquire knowledge in technology and engineering subjects. "But Malaysian students feel discouraged, apparently, because of the German language but they should see this as an asset for them because many German companies are setting up subsidiaries and other operations in Malaysia. "Let's not forget that Germany has become Malaysia's biggest trading partner and also its biggest investor in Europe," said the envoy who recently visited Berlin to attend an award ceremony organised by the German Malaysian Society in honour of Malaysia's honorary consul-general in Hamburg, Edgar Nordmann. The two-way trade volume between Malaysia and the UK is smaller than between Malaysia and Germany. Malaysia's two-way trade with the UK for the entire 2012 was roughly US$4.13 billion (RM13.637 billion), but it had touched US$13.35 billion (RM44 billion) with Germany. Zakaria recalled that at their meeting, prime ministers David Cameron and Najib Razak agreed to double trade by the year 2016. Trade with the UK is growing at almost three per cent a year. British companies were taking advantage of the highly skilled human resources in hi-tech areas available in Malaysia, he said. Zakaria also observed that the UK’s collective trade with the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) was much higher than UK's trade with China or India. With the upcoming creation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, Malaysia is perceived as a great entry point by British companies trying to penetrate the lucrative AEC markets. Asked to comment on how he saw Malaysia's position in global affairs, he said that "Malaysia's voice is heard worldwide". Of course, there are many challenges facing not only Malaysia but many other countries in the region. "Malaysia is a leading founding member of Asean which global investors are now closely looking at more than before, and Malaysia is strongly positioned in this regard because of its developed infrastructure, a large well-trained pool of skilled workers and a strategic location within the Asean markets," Zakaria said. The envoy has not yet decided what he intends to do after retirement but said that he would first spend some time with his family and attend to some of his personal matters. "However, I am open to considering any opportunity that comes my way and that commensurates with my background and interest in trade, investment, business, etc," he said. -- BERNAMA