Malaysia supports Bangladesh’s bid for Asean SDP

Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim today said her country is “truly supportive” of Bangladesh’s bid to become a sectoral dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Next year, Malaysia will assume the [ASEAN] chairmanship. We, as a nation, already have a national position on this [Bangladesh’s bid]… We are truly supportive of Bangladesh,” she said.
Haznah made the remarks in response to a question during a lecture on “Bangladesh-Malaysia Relations: Moving towards Prosperity” organised by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its auditorium in the capital.
She said the issue of Bangladesh’s inclusion within the ASEAN framework was recently raised by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.
“He [Prof Yunus] asked how Bangladesh could be placed anywhere within the framework of ASEAN. Then I highlighted to him that Bangladesh already made a proposal to be a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN,” she said.
“But, ASEAN works based on consensus. All 10 [member] countries have equal status. All are equally important and nobody could rule out any idea or reservation,” she added.
“Having stated that we, Malaysia, as your friend, hope that the door will one day open up for you on this,” she further said.
In her keynote speech, Haznah said a free trade agreement could eventually materialise between Malaysia and Bangladesh.
She further said Malasia is fully supportive to Bangladesh’s bid to find a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis.
Responding to a question on the treatment of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia, she said they “sincerely value” the contributions made by Bangladeshi workers there and that her government was trying its best to uphold workers’ rights by enforcing laws and regulations.
Also, the Malaysian government was working to end visa fraudulence to address trafficking in persons, she said.