Bridge Wakes Sleepy Buketa

BUKETA (southern Thailand): This border town across the Golok River is now fast developing with the opening of the RM9.2 million (USD3.0 million) bridge connecting it to Bukit Bunga in Tanah Merah of Kelantan two years ago. Buketa, which once used to be a ghost town, is the third border town fronting Kelantan after Sungai Golok and Takbai. It was previously just a simple village with two rows of shophouses but has since turned into a bustling town catering to cross-border business. Buketas Mayor Hamdan A-Mad said thanks to the foresight of the Malaysian and Thai governments, many tourists have made their way to the town. "We have been in existence for over 50 years but many were not aware as the town is located in a remote area in Narathiwat although it was situated close to Bukit Bunga. "Since the bridge was jointly opened by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Thai counterpart H.E Abhisit Vejjajiva in 2009, many Malaysians crossed over and shop here," he said. Also present were Bukit Bunga Immigration Chief Mohd Redzuan Nawi and Lohjud District Police Chief Lt-Col Somphon Damrad, who oversees the area. Mr. Hamdan said Buketa attracted many shoppers as far as Selangor and Terengganu, especially during the holidays and weekends, as it offerred a variety of goods and household items at low prices. "It is actually similar to other shopping havens like Sungai Golok and Takbai on the Thai side and Bukit Bunga, Rantau Panjang and Pengkalan Kubur on the Kelantan side. The town is less than two minutes drive from the Malaysian CIQ complex." State Immigration Department Director Mahassan Mustapha said more than 10,000 Malaysians and Thais have crossed over into both countries since the CIQ started its operations early this year. Source by the New Strait Times

May and June are usually among the busy months in the IMT-GT annual meetings cycle as the six Working Groups under the IMT-GT cooperation framework will attempt to choose suitable dates so that common participants such as National Secretariats officials, Asian Development Bank and CIMT representatives could also attend the meetings. One important meeting recently held in Pattaya, Thailand, was the CIQ Task Force Meeting the Task th Force being a directive of the 4 Leaders Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand in February 2009, with the objective of harmonizing rules and regulations at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine exits/ entry points at the borders to ensure smoother flow of peoples, goods and vehicles across the IMT-GT borders. At each border exit and entry point, certain countries may have certain rules and regulations for specific reasons and it will be extremely difficult to harmonise all rules and regulations between the member countries. The Task Force will therefore face a monumental task to come up with harmonised sets of rules and regulations. Furthermore, efforts towards these objectives are already going on at the WTO and ASEAN levels. The Task Force, in their Meeting in April, membered by senior officers from relevant agencies in the IMT-GT countries, made a practical resolution by agreeing to focus on improving of best practices, and improving the efficiency of the operations of these exit and entry points. One good example arrived at the CIQ Task Force Meeting is Malaysias consideration of applying the Malaysian Automatic Clearance System (MACS) practiced at the Singapore-Malaysia Border (where about 280,000 clearances are made daily), to the ThailandMalaysia Border. The CIQ Task Force is one example of IMT-GT at work, and a testimony that the various meetings are indeed pertinent and necessary not just to keep going, but the make things going better and faster. By Dr. Hassan Ibrahim

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Malaysia, Indonesia in Jatropha Development

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia which enjoy a bilateral cooperation on commodities such as palm oil, cocoa and pepper - will now extend it to include jatropha. Both countries will cooperate in the development of the crop for renewable energy, in the areas of research and development in the agronomic practices, developing quality seeds as well as processing technologies. The jatropha industry is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as oil from the jatropha curcas plant can be used to produce biodiesel. Both countries, as the top producers of palm oil in the world, are also holding discussions on strategies to address the attacks against the oil palm industry by advanced markets. Last year, both countries were in Europe to address similar concerns raised by European governments as environmentalists continued to address scathing attacks on the sustainability of the palm oil production and the impact on the forests and wildlife. Malaysia and Indonesia have collaborated in producing standard quality cocoa beans and cocoa products to meet the quality and food safety requirements of global consumers. In the area of pepper, there is an exchange of information in the development of organic pepper and product development as well as product quality by addressing issues related to cultivation and processing. Source by the New Strait Times

Design of 3rd Malaysia-Thailand Bridge Ready

NARATHIWAT: Thai authorities have completed the design of a proposed third bridge to link Malaysia and Thailand. They are expected to present it at the coming joint commission meeting with their Malaysian counterparts. Narathiwat governor Tenung Vejkorm Kanon said the bridge would span one kilometre across Sungai Golok, from Tak Bai to Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan. Thai officials had identified a suitable location in Tak Bai for the construction of the bridge, he added. "Both countries have agreed to build another bridge connecting Thailand and Malaysia for the mutual benefit of their citizens. Our Malaysian counterparts had asked us to design it. More discussions will be held on the issue in our upcoming meeting," he said. Tenung said a third bridge was important not only to forge closer ties between the two countries but also to boost tourism and trade. He also said the Thai authorities were planning to add another direct flight from here to Bangkok in June as part of its efforts to attract more tourists, especially Malaysians, to use the service. "With the addition, we will have two flights a day for tourists who prefer to use the service en route to Bangkok. They can also save some money by taking the flight from here," he said. Source by the New Straits Times

Location map of Tak Bai, Thailand The jatropha carcus plant, leaf and fruit.

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Bridging Closer Ties between Penang and Thailand

More than 200 companies were present at the opening of the five-day Dasar Lima Friendship Fest, Penang International Trade and Co-operative Expo 2011, where the objective was on building business networking and exploring new prospects. The event is organised in conjunction with the Second Lima Dasar Summit. The festival ended on Sunday, 4 September 2011, at the Queensbay Malls open-air car park area. It also featured 54 trading firms from Thailand, out of the total of 220 participating companies. Husam Waksa Group Executive Director, Mr. Isa Al Husam, who is the events organising chairman, said that it was an honour to host the largest ever international trade showcase for Penang. The Lima Dasar Deputy Ministerial Meeting also saw chief ministers, federal ministers and business delegates from the five northern states Penang, Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Kelantan meeting up with the governors of the Thailands southernmost provinces of Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, he said. They were discussing investments, cross-border trade, the halal industry, agriculture, tourism and education and logistics areas. The first summit was held in Hatyai, (Thailand) in September, last year, and we are now honoured to hold the second summit in Penang, Mr Husam said. Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman stressed the importance of the networking in Malaysia, as one of the economic generators in the country. He said this exposition provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to foster closer ties while giving them a platform to showcase their capabilities. According to figures obtained from the United Nations, about three billion people in the world are dependent on economic activities relating to cooperatives and cooperation. At the end of last December, there were 8,146 cooperative companies registered in Malaysia which consisted of 6.6 million members who amassed around RM9.5billion (USD3.16 billion) of the countrys commercial revenue, said Mr. Mansor. Penang has 505 cooperatives with 218,842 members. In Malaysia from 2005 to 2009, the number of cooperatives increased an average of 9.4 percent per year with a positive growth of 8.2 percent in share model, 43 percent increase in membership, 20.08 percent increase in purchase of assets and 17 percent increase in revenue, he said. The festival was launched by Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and initiated with the support from the state government and CIMB Islamic as a strategic partner. Source by The Star

Thailand Deemed an Attractive Market for Bank Investments

PETALING JAYA: With so much focus on Indonesia as a vibrant banking market, a presence in Thailand does initially seem like just planting a foothold to complete the regional puzzle. Many who are not keeping tab on the latest economic developments in Thailand, would regard it as among the more stable countries in the region, representing the last frontier'' to be explored. But there are fundamental reasons for Thailand to become a more attractive market for banks. Thailand is the second largest economy in the region after Indonesia and in terms of per capita income, comes in third after Singapore and Malaysia. It is a market of 60 million consumers just too big to ignore,'' said Mr. Subhak Siwaraksa, President and CEO of CIMB Thai Bank. Insurance penetration and mutual fund sales as well as stock market activities indicate that there is still room for investments.'' It is a diversified economy with many growth engines and strong foreign reserves of USD185.4billion.Last year, 14 million tourists visited Thailand which is also a major commodities exporter. It is home to the leading car manufacturers in Asia, producing 1.5 million cars per year as well as leading auto parts manufacturers. Despite the political violence last year, the economy grew 7.8 percent and the forecast this year is 4.5 percent. Following these political troubles, the Thais will usually step back for a while. They do not just charge ahead,'' Subhak observed. Comparatively, Thai banks' earnings growth appeared to be the most resilient among ASEAN banks, with increasing contribution from non-interest income while expenses and provisions gradually tapered down, said Hwang DBS in a recent report. There are two broad categories of banks in Thailand about 15 locally incorporated commercial banks that can have an unlimited number of branches, and two local retail banks and 20 foreign banks that are limited with one or two branches. Source by The Star

The Thai Baht, the currency used in Thailand.

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5 Meeting of the IMT-GT Working Group on Halal Products and Services (WGHAPAS)
The 5th Meeting of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Working Group on Halal Products and Services (WGHAPAS) was held at Halal Industry Development Corporation, Bandar Utama, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 5 May 2011. The Thai Delegation was headed by Honorable Dr. Porametee Vimolsiri, Deputy Secretary General, Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), Thailand. The Indonesian Delegation was led by Honorable Ms. Endang Rusmihaty, Economic Counsellor, Embassy of The Republic Indonesia. The Malaysian Delegation was led by Honorable Dato Abdul Ghafar Musa, Senior Director of Entrepreneurial Development Division, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia. The opening speech was delivered by the Hon. Dato Abdul Ghafar Musa who highlighted on the presence of representatives from the government and stake holders from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand which seriously indicates the real emphasis in positioning Halal matters as an enormous expanding market. Indonesia proposed a list of new initiatives focused on developing a Halal standard. The implementation of this development should be incorporated into every Working Group. Thailand also proposed that the Halal standard should be implemented among three member countries and stressed on the importance of Halal certificate recognition among member countries instead of developing a new IMT-GT Halal standard. It also proposed the establishment of a task force as the best mechanism to further standardize the Halal laboratory procedures. CIMT viewed that initiative towards harmonizing of Halal certification and standards would be an uphill task, and hence WGHAPAS should focus more on best practices and simplification of procedures, which are more doable. Malaysia also added that the three member countries should mutually establish the mechanism on the acceptance of each others certifications first.

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4 Working Group Meeting on Infrastructure and Transportation of the Indonesia MalaysiaThailand Growth-Triangle (IMT-GT)
The 4 Working Group Meeting on Infrastructure and Transportation of the Indonesia Malaysia-Thailand Growth-Triangle (IMT-GT) was convened on 9-10 May 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand. The Indonesian delegation was led by Mr. Amiruddin, Chief of Regional Cooperation, Legal Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry of Transportation Indonesia. The delegation from Malaysia was headed by Mr. Leslie Leon, UnderSecretary, Ministry of Transport Malaysia. The Thai delegation was led by Dr. Chula Sukmanop, InspectorGeneral, Ministry of Transport. The Meeting was also attended by participants from the Joint Business Council (JBC), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Centre for IMT-GT Subregional Cooperation (CIMT). Dr. Chula Sukmanop delivered his Welcoming Address and outlined the ultimate task of this Working Group Meeting as having to expedite the infrastructure and transportation projects slated to be completed by this year, being the final year of the Roadmap 2007 - 2011, while reiterating Thailands intention to continue rendering assistance and full support in carrying all mandates that would result from this Meeting. Indonesia informed that the Ro-Ro port in Dumai had been constructed and this was followed by a Ministerial Decree to serve the route from Dumai to Melaka. It was therefore ready for operation, depending on completion on the Melakas side. Malaysia informed on the progress report of the various projects under the IMT-GT Roadmap particularly the road transport projects linking Southern Thailand and Northern Peninsular Malaysia such as the BetongPenang, Durian Burong-Alor Setar, Wang Kelian-Kangar and Bukit Kayu Hitam-Padang Besar. As for nd infrastructure projects, the 2 Rantau Panjang Sungai Golok Bridge project was currently at the detailed design stage. The Durian Burong Alor Star road project was 73 percent completed and expected to be completed in November 2011. Thailand informed of its Nathawi-Ban Prakob border road construction (34 km) the road was under construction with a 4-lane highway. On the CIQ at border crossing point, Thailand had carried out a CIQ Complex Development Project, with full-scale facilities. As for Tak Bai-Pengkalan Kubur Bridge, the feasibility study had been conducted by the Department of Highways, Thailand and was expected to be completed in June 2011. Thailand would further conduct the detailed design. ADB presented the concept of the Implementation Blueprint (IB) for 2012-1016 and the steps required to build the pipeline of IB projects. The IB would focus on project implementation and reflect the fuller details of a prioritized list of projects, and a two-year rolling pipeline that would reflect the operational plan of projects that are ready to be implemented. Towards the end of the meeting, Indonesia proposed to th host the 5 IMT-GT WGIT Meeting in Batam, Riau Island Province, sometime in April 2012.
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The 5th Working Group Investment (WGTI) Meeting

on

Trade

and

The 5th Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI) Meeting was held in Amari Orchid Pattaya Hotel, Pattaya, Thailand on 31 May 2011. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Gayatri Kumaraveloo, Principal Assistant Director, Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Malaysian Delegation was led by Ms. Siti Sarah Rosli, Assistant Director, Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The Indonesian Delegation was led by Hon. Ms. Fetnayeti, Deputy Director of Sub-Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Trade Indonesia. The Thai Delegation was led by Ms. Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, Deputy DirectorGeneral, Department of Foreign Trade. The Meeting was also attended by delegates from the IMT-GT Joint Business Council (JBC), the Centre for IMT-GT Subregional Cooperation (CIMT), and representatives from Asian Development Bank (ADB). Ms. Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, Deputy Director-General, Department of Foreign Trade,Thailand welcomed delegates to the 5th WGTI Meeting. She reminded that the objective of creating Working Group on Trade and Investment was to bring the reduction of cost and doing business and promotion of goods and services in the IMT-GT sub-region, and she hoped that the 5th Meeting would come up with results and decisions that could make the objective become closer. She was confident that this cooperation will play an important role in facilitating and building a business environment, and providing an opportunity for business sector to expand trade and investment within our countries. Delegates concurred with the decision of the CIQ Task Force that the document defining the scope of cooperation in CIQ would take the form of a Guideline or a Framework of Cooperation instead of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Thailand proposed that the cooperation document be adopted by the SOM/MM/Summit to expedite implementation, as domestic clearance for signing would require Parliamentary approval. The Meeting agreed to seek the guidance of the Special SOM to be held in July 2011 regarding the matter. Delegates endorsed the recommendation of the ITITD Task Force for ADB to draft a Terms of Reference (TOR) for the conduct of an IMT-GT Impact Assessment Study using, as a starting point, the data generated so far under Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project. The Meeting also agreed to request ERIA to provide 1 or 2-day workshop on its Comprehensive Asia Development Plan (CADP), the details of the CADP, and the implementing options of leveraging the IMT-GT economy. ERIA is a regional organization which conducts policy research and provides policy recommendations to promote economic growth and integration in ASEAN & East Asia and has been a Strategic Partner to IMT-GT since the 16th IMT-GT SOM/MM in October 2009.

Announcement
5th Working Group Meeting on Agriculture, Agro-Based Industry and Environment
Date : June/July 2011 Venue : TBA

5th Working Group Meeting on Human Resource Development

Date : June/July 2011 Venue : TBA

5th Working Group Meeting on Tourism

Date : June/July 2011 Venue : TBA

1st IMT-GT Special Meeting 2011

Date : 11 July 2011 Venue : Bandung, Indonesia

Senior

Officials

CIMT Bulletin Editorial Team

ADVISOR Dr Hassan Ibrahim hassan@imtgt.org

TEAM MEMBERS Ritzwan Reza Ibrahim reza@imtgt.org Hamiliana Ali Nurshiela Ismail hamiliana@imtgt.org shiela@imtgt.org

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