1

The Newsletter of the Friends of Malaysia, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that servedin Malaysia 1962-1983 http://FriendsofMalaysia.org Thaine H. Allison, Jr. Editor

SQUEAKS FROM THE CHAIRBy

President Barry Morris

Friends of Malaysia is pleased to announce thatDr. Marjorie Harrison, one of our current boardmembers, has been elected to serve as the Asiaand Pacific Region representative to theNational Peace Corps Association Board ofDirectors. Marjorie is carrying on in thefootsteps of Paul Murphy who also served inthis capacity a few years ago. Paul is now aboard member emeritus to the National PeaceCorps Association in Washington. We are veryproud that we have been able to continue as anactive organization in the NPCA and willcontinue to have a strong voice on thegoverning board.

Marjorie will also be attending the Peace CorpsConnect national conference being held June19-21 in Nashville, Tennessee and would behappy to talk to any of our Friends of Malaysiamembers attending the conference. This is thethird national conference to be held in the pastfew years and we have been fortunate to havebeen represented at each one.

We also have been fortunate to have boardmembers who quite often go back toMalaysia to visit the country. Another ofour board members, Michael Anderson, wasrecently in the country and as part of hisvisit, was able to make a donation in personto the Malaysian Cancer Society from theFriends of Malaysia. A separate articleabout his visit is included in the newsletter.

In other news, we are making progresstowards updating our Friends of Malaysiawebsite. Also, we are looking into thepossibility of partnering with the Malaysian-American Society out of Washingtonregarding future endeavors. Finally, we arealso exploring projects that would assist inefforts to further prevent the loss ofbiocultural diversity that is going on inMalaysia.

If anyone is attended the Peace CorpsConnect national conference in Nashville,please contact me Barry Morris at:conway162@yahoo.com. We would likeyour feed back on the conference.

2014 Sabah Run for the Cure Spring 2014

2

CARRIE HESSLER-RADELETCONFIRMED AS 19TH PEACE CORPS

DIRECTORActing Director and Returned Peace CorpsVolunteer Carrie Hessler-Radelet was confirmedas the new Peace Corps Director today in theSenate by a unanimous, voice vote. Aftermonths of delay, the United States Senatetoday confirmed Carrie Hessler-Radelet tobecome the 19th Director of the Peace Corps.

Nominated by President Obama last July, Hessler-Radelet served as Acting Director of the agency sinceSeptember, 2012. She was confirmed as PeaceCorps’ Deputy Director in June, 2010.

She is the fifth woman to serve as Director, and isalso the fifth Returned Peace Corps Volunteer to leadthe agency. She and her husband Steve served inSamoa from 1981-83. Howard and Ruth Pearsall,joined the Peace Corps after retiring as universityprofessors and served in Malaysia from 1972 to1973.“Today is a very good day for the Peace Corps,”said NPCA President Glenn Blumhorst (Guatemala1988-91). “The Senate vote to confirm CarrieHessler-Radelet now allows her to advance aforward-moving agenda for the 7,000 volunteerscurrently serving and the many who will follow.(Continued)

FRIENDS OF MALAYSIA FUNDSHELP FIGHT BREAST CANCER

ByMichael H. Anderson, Board Member

We believe Carrie will bring her unique set ofskills, sensibility and sensitivity to her newposition, just as she has demonstrated in herlong career as a public servant and leader in thefield of international development.” (One ofHessler-Radelet’s first public appearances asPeace Corps Director will come in two weeks,when she appears at Peace Corps Connect –Nashville on Saturday, June 21, 2014.

The Friends of Malaysia (FOM) has donatedUS$1,100 to help the National Cancer Societyof Malaysia (NCSM) -- Persatuan KebangsaanKanser Malaysia -- improve breast cancerawareness through education, care andsupport. The funds were specifically used bythe NCSM in April, 2014 to help support thenon-governmental organization’s “CurbCancer Campaign.” Twenty-nine low-incomewomen in the Kampong Baru area of KualaLumpur benefitted by receiving free digital 3Dmammogram, breast ultrasound and clinicalbreast examination procedures. (Continuedpage 4)

Sudhaharan Nair accepts a check from Boardmember Michael H. Anderson

Director and Returned Peace Corps VolunteerCarrie Hessler-Radelet

3

MEGA DAMS IN SABAH ANDSARAWAK PROVOKE CONTROVERSY

AND ANGERby

Thaine H. Allison, Jr.

North Borneo/Sarawak I 1962-64

As an Assistant Agricultural Officer, located inBandau (Kota Marudu) Kudat District one of myforst assignments from my new boss, Mr. Duri, wasto move materials up stream to build a smalldiversion dam to irrigate plots of rice and othercrops in area west of the Bandau River. I workedclosely over those two years with a surveyor, MrFernando, who was designing irrigation schemesthrougout the Bandau Plane. This experience ledme to my Masters and PhD work in AgriculturalEconomics and water resource development.Somewhere there is a masters thesis UsingEconomic Base Theory in water ResourceDevelopment and a PhD dissertation The Value ofIrrigation Water to Central Washington Farmers. Imention this because I speak with some authorityabout the developing issues surrounding the largedam construction in Sabah and Sarawak(http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/265791 andhttp://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2456534/borneo_megadams_threaten_indigenous_ethnocide.html ). One of the books that made upmy literature search is by Elmer T. Peterson BigDam Foolishness(http://books.google.com/books/about/Big_dam_foolishness.html?id=5ANSAAAAMAAJ)

As humans we evolve slowly and part of theproblem is we don't learn from others mistakesvery well. Currently there is a Kickstarter campaignunderway by RPCV Ernie Turner who hasconducted leadership training for indigenousleaders in Miri at the request of Dyak leaders.These sessions focused on helping longhousepeople understand the consequences of mega-dams and production of a series of videos on the

various aspects of the changes brought bybuilding these dams. The first BorneoProject video is available in the Kickstarterlink. I personally and professionally thinkthat there are social and economicarguments on both sides of these issues,having said that I also think that theindigenous people of Sabah and Sarawakare not being given a voice or not beingheard in this debate and I therefore supportthe development of educational tools asoutlined by the Borneo Society and thevideos proposed by the Kickstartercampaign(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/borneorivers/borneo-mega-dam-film-series ). Time is short so take a look at thepossibilities and consider making a differenceonce again with your donation.

Bakum Dam provides power to large urbanareas displacing local people from their lands

Twelve mega-dams planned for Sarawak

4

CONTRIBUTIONS BY FRIENDSOF MALAYSIA

By Paul Murphy, FoM Treasurer

The Friends of Malaysia has donated almost$13,000 plus thousands in non-cashdonations to nonprofit organizations overthe years. We have donated funds to a widevariety of Malaysian causes. However,because the former FoM President, SherryZembower, and Karen Bowlsby, a FoMmember, died of breast cancer, we haveconcentrated our donations on breastcancer awareness efforts. The following linkprovides a a summary of our cumulativedonations as of April 30, 2014:http://issuu.com/friends-of-malaysia/docs/fom_contributions-2aa/0

FOM, an association of former Peace CorpsVolunteers who served in Malaysia, established thebreast cancer fund with voluntary memberdonations. The purpose was to give back to Malaysiaand honor two former volunteers who died of breastcancer -- Karen Bowlsby Perez Grayson and SherryZembower, who both loved Malaysia and neverforgot their Peace Corps experiences. Karen servedin Malaysia in 1964-65 and went on to become ateacher in the Los Angeles area. She passed away inApril, 2003. Part of Group 24 in Sarawak from 1969-71, Sherry devoted a great deal of time to the FOM,which she served as co-founder, President and aMember of the Board of Directors. She died inJanuary, 2005 in Colorado Springs after a long careerspent as a social worker and youth counselor.

Over the years, the FOM has used money from thefund to support grass-roots community serviceprojects around Malaysia. The latest gift was turnedover to NCSM General Manager Sudhaharan Nairand several staff members during a March 5, 2014meeting at the NCSM’s headquarters near theGeneral Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. FOM wasrepresented by Board Member Mike Anderson, aGroup 20 volunteer in Sungai Petani, Kedah, andKuala Lumpur from 1968-71 who now lives inArlington, VA.

In presenting the FOM check, Mike told the NCSMrepresentatives about the purpose of FOM and itsbreast cancer fund and gave the organization a U.S.Embassy Kuala Lumpur-produced history of the morethan 4,000 Americans who were privileged to serveas Peace Corps Volunteers in Malaysia between1962-83.

“We learned much from our work and cross-culturalexperiences in Malaysia, and we want to stay intouch with the country and its people,” Mikeexplained. “The FOM actively supports the still-relevant Peace Corps ideals of community serviceand mutual understanding through people-to-peopleties.” In accepting FOM’s donation, Sudhaharanthanked the FOM for its generosity and its(Continued)

members for their service. He explained theNCSM’s goals and services, and warmlyrecalled that he personally benefited from theservices of two Peace Corps teachers when hewas a high school student in Muar, Johore,around 1970-73. He even remembered thevolunteers’ names – Thomas Cronin andBarbara Ray.

Help With Web SiteRedeployment

By

Thaine H. Allison, Jr., Board Member

Seven years ago our webmaster passed awaysuddenly and I was delegated the task ofmaintaining the Friends of Malaysia web site.Over the years I have managed to make someup dates and keep it running, but we all knowit is out of date technically(programmingstuff) aesthetically, and content wise. Overthe last couple of years we, the board, haveworked with an outside contractor trying tobring FoM into the modern digital age.(Continued Page 8)

5

On May 9, at the Singapore Embassy in WashintonD.C., Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirpuri and hiswife Gouri, welcomed over 120 persons to apresentation by Paul Wachtel Sochaczewski(Group 24) titled • “An Inordinate Fondness forBeetles” about Alfred Russel Wallace. • Five FOMboard members, and at least five other returnedvolunteers were in attendance. • Paul has spentmuch of the last forty years working in SE Asia.He often carried Wallace’s book The MalayArchipelago• as he traveled in the area.

Who was Wallace? Why don’t we know moreabout him? • What is the Wallace line? • Why didDarwin get so much credit even though theytraveled and worked at similar time?• Wallace leftschool at age 14 working for his brother in Englandand Scotland where he became passionate aboutcollecting and studying beetles. • He identified1,000 different species. • Nine years later, in 1848he went exploring into the Amazon. • He wrote,collected insect and bird specimens over a fouryear period. • Most of his collection was lost in aship fire as he returned to England. • Regardless,he wrote several papers and books about hisAmazon experiences.

When he went to Southeast Asia in 1854 heexplored on his own, not supported financially andwas taken ‘under wing’ by the Rajah, JamesBrooke. Wallace, over the course of eight yearscollected and identified over 110,000 insects (including 200 species of ants), 7,500 shells,8,050 bird skins, 410 mammal and reptilespecimens which he identified. A ‘line’ , nowcalled the Wallace Line, which was the area of •adeep geologic trench separated the flora andfauna of Asia (Orangutans, monkeys) from

A number of Malaysian RPCVs and friendsattended the May 9th Singapore Embassy event

in Washington, DC. Photo (L to R) shows LynnJuhl, Rod Zwirner, Amanda Graves-Scott, MikeAnderson, Anne Howes, Marjorie Harrison and

Ruth Zwirner swapping memories of theirMalaysian experiences.

After Paul’s presentation we went out for agood makan.

Australia Ocean (marsupials). He also identifieddifferences among the peoples. • Wallace alsowrote a paper called the Sarawak Line aboutevolution and natural selection in 1858.

He wrote over 1,000 papers and 22 books andshared some papers with Darwin. • Darwin, whowas funded by the establishment and theLinnaen society, has become credited with thetheory of natural selection. However, Wallacedeveloped the idea that human consciousnessand moral sense were not random phenomena.Needless to say this is still a topic of interest andPaul has done a good job in providing somehistorical background on Wallace and his ideas.

Paul’s most recent book, An InordinateFondness for Beetles• was available, check itout! Available from Amazon.com

PAUL WACHTEL SOCHACZEWSKI’S”AN INORDINATE FONDNESS FOR

BEETLES”By

Ruth Zwirner

Paul with Ruthand the wife ofour hostSingaporeAmbassadorAshok KumarMirpuri

6

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERSAT BAU GOVERNMENT

SECONDARY SCHOOL THENAND NOW

ByFrancis Johen Adam

It was in early January 1966 when I first enteredBau Government Secondary School (fondly knownthen by its abbreviation BGGS, pronounced the“bee gees") to pursue my secondary education inForm 1. BGSS then was the only secondary schoolin Bau District, and those of us who passed theCommon Entrance Examination for Primary 6 theprevious year while at St. Stephen's PrimarySchool, Bau were all selected to go to this boardingschool.

BGSS was about two miles out from Bau town,linked by a narrow and winding gravel road. Therewas a bus service along this road, but normally, wewould walk on foot from Bau town to this school orfrom school to town as we had little pocket moneyfor bus fare.

BGSS had classes for students from Form 1 to Form5 only. Among my, former classmates at BGSS wereDilol, Godeb, Paul Vincent, Tiki (now Dato Dr TikiLafe), Gines, Ng Nyuk Chin, Chew Wai Ho, Liew SzeChing, Goh 'Chin Jin, Low Nyet Moi, Frankie Anam,Jaol, Mikeng (now deceased, since 1 September2009). Boarding students were housed in fiveschool hostels, each named after a bird in Sarawak:Eagle, Starling, Swift, Kingfisher and Drongo.

We slept on wooden bunks with only a simple matand pillow. The principal of BGSS then was PeterEaton, an Englishman. He lived at the SchoolPrincipal's quarters in the school compound withhis wife, Mavis and two children, Jane and Mark.

During my student days at BGSS from 1966 - July 4,1969, there were several other foreigners teachingat the school, including George Abraham from

India who taught Science; Peace CorpsVolunteer (PCV) teachers John McClay and hiswife Karen, Bruce Felton, Jack Rhodes and hiswife Nancy Koo and Jim McKinley; andvolunteer teachers from Canada such as BillAtkinson (who taught Math) and Ms Edwards(who taught General Science). In 1968 MathewWarrier (an ex-Josephian, now residing inPerth) took over as Principal of BGSS fromEaton. The McClays were in their mid-20swhen they were posted to BGSS for two yearsfrom 1966 to 1967. John was our Englishteacher in Form 1. He was tall and handsome,played the guitar well and taught us folk songslike “Blowing in the Wind”, “100 Miles”, “TomDooley”, “Edelweiss”, among many othersduring music class.

Karen was of medium height and of faircomplexion. She was our Form Teacher forClass 1B, and also our history teacher. Theylived in the teachers' quarters, not far fromour student hostels. Among the pleasantmemories I recalled sharing with them wereborrowing and reading classic comic books(which they brought from the US), andwatching slides of photos they took on theirvisits to villages in Bau area.

On a few lucky occasions, they invited us toshare popcorn in their Peace Corps house.TheMcClays first introduced us to the world ofpen-pals, by encouraging students at BGSS tocorrespond with students from secondaryschools in their home state Minnesota,thereby indirectly promoting internationalfriendship, goodwill and opportunity to shareinformation and personal experiences amongstudents from BGSS and those schools in theUS.

One important event I vividly recall in mid-1966 was when our Class Form IB won theinter-class cleaning competition at BGSS. Theprize was a free study trip to Kuching for 40students in the class, with Karen as teacher in(Continued)

7

charge. We chartered a bus from Bau, then took theferry at Batu Kitang (as there was no bridge then),before proceeding to Kuching. We visited theSarawak Museum, the Green Spot factory at 7th MileBazaar, Fujisan Bakery at Sekama Road and weregiven pocket money for lunch at the Open Air Marketin Kuching.

It was an educational, memorable and enjoyable trip,because that was also the first visit to Kuching townfor some of us. The McClays left Sarawak in 1968 totake up a teaching post in Thailand, and a few yearslater they returned to the US to continue theirstudies and teaching careers. Karen (now known asKaren Flolid after she remarried to Buzz Flolid) is nowretired and living in Minnesota.

Karen kept in touch through letters and emails with afew former teachers (like Mr Mikel) and students ofBGSS. In 2007, Karen was among a group of formerPCVs who were invited by the Malaysian Governmentto join in the Merdeka celebration on Aug. 31, 2007in Kuala Lumpur. The following week, Karen visitedKota Kinabalu, Sabah and then spent a week inKuching and Bau in September 2007. Mikeng andmyself were privileged to assist with her visit inKuching and Bau. Karen was pleased to visit theformer BGSS school (now renamed as SMK Bau),where she met with Paul Abui, the Senior AssistantTeacher, who presented her with the SMK Bau schoolmagazine ' Menara' as a memento.

BGSS had changed a lot with many new buildings andstudent hostels, now connected with a tar-sealedroad to the main school compound. But some olderbuildings that existed in the 1960s like theclassrooms, teachers and principal office, schooldining hall, and school football field are still there.While in Bau, Karen stayed with Mikeng's family atKampung Suba, Bau and visited Mikeng's parents'house at Karnpung Duyoh and Kukut's house atKampo.ng Serasot, Bau. Karen also visited SarawakCheshire Home in Kuching.

In an email to me dated June 5, 2012, Karen wrote: "Iam so lonesome for Malaysia and especiallySarawak/Kuching and Bau areas .... I feel so blessed

to have lived there among such warm,generous, wonderful students, staff andfaculty at BGSS. Please pass this message onto anyone/everyone from my

past who contributed to my feeling this wayand would be pleased to know how I feel.Each of you/them have/has served asmagical gifts in my life and it is important tome that you/they know that." As testimonyof her close attachment to to Sarawak, Karenfirst registered her car in Wisconsin with theword "SARAWAK", but later had to give upthe plate number when she moved toMinnesota. She could not get "Kuching" forher car, but later managed to register it withthe word "BORNEO".

In her latest email to me dated Aug 29, 2012,Karen shared how she became interested to bea PCV, why she chose to go to Malaysia and herexperiences and feelings after having served fortwo years in BGSS and Sarawak, as follows:

"When I was in primary 4, we studied aboutpeople of many different lands. The peoplewho interested me the most were the 'OrangAsli' of the' Malayan Peninsula. I said to myselfthat one day I would meet with them. I wasfortunate enough to do so nearly 20 years later.When Pres. Kennedy started the Peace Corps, Iwas 22 years old. I knew this was myopportunity. I joined at age 25 to follow mydream. I chose Malaysia as the pastor of mychurch said I'd love it there and he was sooooright! It was my good fortune to be assigned toBGGS. The peoples of the Bau area (andMalaysia as a nation) are so diverse and rich inreligions, languages, cuisines, customs, artforms, skills and so on. I was sent to teach you

8

and soon discovered that you would teach me muchmore than I could ever teach you. Your presence inmy life has enriched every single day since I left inearly 1968. (Luckily I returned in 1974 on holidayfrom my teaching assignment in Thailand, again in2000 to

western Malaysia only and most recently at the timeof celebration of Malaysia's independence from GB).I have found you to be kind, generous, thoughtfuland patient people. You are one of the most preciousgifts I have received in my life. You have in so manypositive and wonderfully thought-provoking waysinfluenced my daily view of the world around me.Truly, I cannot say 'Thank you' enough for what youhave given to me. Some of my most cherishedmemories are of makans (especially curries) in thebazaar, weekends in the kampongs (especiallyGawai), celebrations of Chinese New Year in thebazaar, wedding celebrations, Fanta with bazaarshopkeepers, shopping in the market, swimming inTai Parit Lake, cooking lessons/exchanges withfemale faculty at BGSS, Indian (Mrs. Abraham),Dayak (Julia Atkinson-school matron), Chinese (HoSoon Ching who married Mr Ng), school assembliessinging the Malaysian National and Sarawak stateanthems plus 'Edelweiss' from The Sound of Musicand another student favorite at the time, 'PearlyShells' by the ocean. The field trips to Kuching to see'The Sound of Music', the tour of the airplane at theairport, the tour of the Fanta bottling company. Myhome is filled with daily reminders of you all ...framed batiks and photos, beaded hats, wovenfabrics, colorful sarongs, Dayak baskets, hornbill andhantu wood carvings, bells, drums, kites, pewter andpottery flower vases, bed linens and so on...”

Karen may be contacted by email at:karbuz2@boreal.org This article appeared in theBorneo Post 7 April 2012

(Continued from Page 4) We havedeveloped a social media presence, a newlogo and designed a new web site. We arenow at the point of attacking the technicalprogramming. While I had some experiencewith the old programming language the latestweb page soft ware is beyond my pay gradeas they say. We need a programmer andresources to move this along. Individualboard members have helped with thechecking of links etc but now we need anactual web developer. We set aside limitedfunds from our treasury to help get the workdone but have been unable to find a suitableprogrammer to work with.

We need your help in finding a collegestudent or free lancer that will assist us atPeace Corps rates. Perhaps you know someone, have a family member that is pandi oreven skillful yourself. Also money spent onthe web site takes away from our serviceprojects so perhaps you would care to donatespecifically to help with the web siteprograming. Send me your thoughts andideas. Money goes to our treasurer PaulMurphy. I would love to hear from you if youhave ideas or thoughts. Thanks ThaineThaineAllison@gmail.com

Faculty of BGSS School 1974

9

CONFESSIONS OF A MALAYSIAGROUPIE

byBarry Morris, President Friends of Malaysia

Johor Bahru, 1970-73When I was younger, I thought I would grow out ofmy experiences in Malaysia. I thought Malaysiawould slowly fade into the background and I wouldno longer think much about it. I’m afraid that hasn’thappened. There probably are very few days whensomething about Malaysia doesn’t flash into mymind. Of course, being involved with the Friends ofMalaysia group for roughly 20 years hasn’t helped.But have I ever moved on from the experience ofbeing there: not at all. There are some formerMalaysian PCVs that I know that actually do seem tohave moved on with their lives, but not me.

Why is this? I think for me it was my first taste ofreal freedom and a time when there was just so muchto observe and witness that couldn’t have happened inthe United States. Today, I live in a neighborhood ofmostly older homes in a small town of around 2,000.I wouldn’t say my neighbors are unfriendly, butmostly they just seem to concentrate on their ownlives. We exchange pleasantries at times, but that’sabout it. For me, living in Malaysia was constantlymeeting people and having one little mini-adventureafter another. Sometimes someone would just knockon my apartment door because they heard I was fromAmerica and they had a relative living somewhere inAmerica. I’m sure you had that experience also.

The intensity of all the things happening around mewhile living in Johor Bahru was astonishing. It wasjust such a fascinating time to be living in that part ofthe world. In the capital city of Saigon, the closestnational capital to Kuala Lumpur, a war was ragingand you would hardly know it living in Malaysia.The politics of Malaysia were never a very goodmodel for many of us, but life on the streets was fullof sights and sounds and smells we were unlikely toexperience elsewhere. Even though the weather washot and sticky, personally I seemed to get a bit used toit and having a motorcycle helped in getting aroundthe area. I suppose I just learned to do things whenthe day wasn’t quite at its hottest.

I always liked the way the writer Paul Therouxdescribed his service in the Peace Corps:

“ We stayed a while, and then weleft them. And yet I think I woulddo it again. At an uncertain time inmy life I joined. And up to a point– they gave me a lot of rope – thePeace Corps allowed me to bemyself. I realized that it was muchbetter to be neglected thanmanipulated, and I had learnedthat you make your own life.”

Perhaps someday, I will think less often aboutthis place where I was fortunate enough to livefor a while, but at this point, it seems unlikely.Who needs a tattoo when the experiences youhave had are always there not lurking very farbeneath the surface.

PRESIDENT OBAMA VISITSMALAYSIA APRIL 26-28, 2014

Local Press Reaction

10

JOINT STATEMENT by PRESIDENTOBAMA and PRIME MINISTER NAJIB

of MALAYSIAThe Honorable Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak,Prime Minister of Malaysia and The Honorable BarackObama, President of the United States of Americaheld a bilateral meeting on 27 April 2014 in Putrajaya,Malaysia.

The two leaders reflected on the historic nature ofPresident Obama’s State Visit to Malaysia, the firstPresidential visit in 48 years, and the resilience ofbilateral relations between Malaysia and the UnitedStates. Both leaders reaffirmed their mutualcommitment to further enhance Malaysia – U.S.engagement on issues of bilateral, regional andinternational importance.

Reflecting on the search for missing flight MH370which carried passengers and crew from 14 nations,including Malaysia and the United States, the PrimeMinister expressed Malaysia’s gratitude to PresidentObama for the United States' unwavering support.Malaysia is heartened by the presence of the UnitedStates from day one in the ongoing operations tolocate flight MH370. The support receivedexemplifies the strong ties of friendship andcooperation between the two countries.

Recognizing the growing cooperation between thetwo countries in a wide range of areas, Prime MinisterNajib and President Obama decided to elevate theMalaysia – U.S. relationship to a ComprehensivePartnership with the aim of advancing the twocountries’ common interests and the shared values ofthe people of the United States and Malaysia. Underthe Comprehensive Partnership, both countriescommit to further strengthening dialoguemechanisms in key areas including political anddiplomatic cooperation, trade and investment,education and people-to-people ties, security anddefense cooperation, as well as collaboration on theenvironment, science and technology, and energy.

Political and Diplomatic Cooperation

The Prime Minister and the Presidentwelcomed the increasing high-level interactionbetween the two countries in recent years,including the numerous Cabinet-levelexchanges of visits, and encouraged continueddialogue at various levels. Both sides alsocommitted to reinvigorate the Malaysia – U.S.Senior Officials Dialogue as a key forum topursue the implementation of theComprehensive Partnership through regularconsultations.

The Prime Minister appreciated the UnitedStates’ presence in Asia which contributes topeace, stability and prosperity in the region.President Obama reiterated the United States’strong support for the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the importanceof East Asian regional institutions. PresidentObama also welcomed Malaysia’s upcomingchairmanship of ASEAN in 2015 and expressedconfidence that under Malaysia’s stewardship,ASEAN would further its regional ambition ofeconomic integration.

The Prime Minister and the Presidentacknowledged the importance of peace andstability for the security and economicprosperity of nations. The leaders exchangedviews on recent developments in the SouthChina Sea and affirmed the importance ofsafeguarding maritime security and ensuringfreedom of navigation and over flightthroughout the region, including criticalwaterways in the South China Sea. The twoleaders underscored the importance of allparties concerned resolving their territorial andmaritime disputes through peaceful means,including international arbitration, aswarranted, and in accordance with universallyrecognized principles of international law,including the United Nations Convention on theLaw of the Sea. The two leaders highlighted theimportance of all parties concerned avoidingthe use of force, intimidation, or coercion, andexercising self-restraint in the conduct ofactivities. (Continued)

11

The Prime Minister and the President reaffirmed theimportance of the full and effective implementationof the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in theSouth China Sea (DOC) in enhancing mutual trust andconfidence amongst all parties concerned andrecognized the need for ASEAN and China to workexpeditiously towards the establishment of aneffective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea(COC).

The two leaders underscored their commitment topromoting respect for human rights, as well as theimportance of a vibrant and independent civil societyconsistent with the Charter of the United Nationsand international human rights law. Respect fordiversity, respect for the freedom to expressdifferent views and practice different faiths, respectfor all religions and respect for the rights of all in thepopulations are essential to healthy and prosperousdemocracies.

Both leaders welcomed efforts to promote toleranceand inter-faith understanding and counter violenceand extremism. In relation to this, the two leadersalso appreciated the goals of the Global Movementof Moderates to promote greater understanding andmoderation among people of all faiths by expandinggovernment-to-government and people-to-peopleengagement.

President Obama commended Malaysia’s leadingrole in facilitating the Southern PhilippinesBangsamoro peace process that led to the recentsigning of the Comprehensive Agreement on theBangsamoro.

Both leaders welcomed the bilateral work agreementon the gainful employment of spouses of embassyand consulate officials which provides benefits fordiplomatic families of both sides as well as the hostcountry.

Economic and Trade Cooperation

Prime Minister Najib and President Obamacelebrated the strong economic links betweenMalaysia and the United States, including bilateraltrade amounting to U.S. $40 billion annually. Prime

Minister Najib and President Obamaapplauded the progress made so far in theTrans-Pacific Partnership Agreementnegotiations. They reaffirmed theircommitment to work together to resolve theremaining issues and conclude the high-standard agreement as soon as possible sothat both countries’ businesses, workers,farmers, and consumers could beginbenefitting. Both leaders also discussed theimportance of enhancing multilateralcooperation to promote trade, investmentand inclusive growth in fora such as ASEAN,the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Noting that the United States was the largestsource of foreign investment in Malaysia in2013, the Prime Minister acknowledged thebeneficial and significant role of U.S. investorsin the development of Malaysia’s economy.This close cooperation has resulted in supportfor Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises(SME) through linkages between U.S.companies and Malaysian SMEs, sharingtechnology, promoting innovation andcontributing to Malaysia’s economictransformation agenda.

The President similarly highlighted the UnitedStates’ openness to foreign investment, andnoted the mutually beneficial nature ofMalaysian investment in the United States.The President encouraged Malaysianparticipation in SelectUSA, a U.S. Governmentinitiative to promote and facilitate inboundbusiness investment and a key partner andsupport system for potential Malaysianinvestors, including SMEs, seeking investmentopportunities in the United States.

Both leaders emphasized the importance of astrong intellectual property rights regime, topromote innovation and for the mutualbenefit of innovators and consumers. Such aregime has already helped supportinvestments in new growth areas (Continued)

12

including in emerging and high technology sectors aswell as high value-added, knowledge-based andskills-intensive industries which should generatemore high income job opportunities in both countriesand support Malaysia’s aspiration to become adeveloped nation by the year 2020. The two leadersexpressed confidence that the ongoing economicreforms in Malaysia and the economic recovery ofthe United States would accelerate economic growth,opening greater opportunities for trade and creatingemployment in both countries.

Education and People-to-People

Recognizing people-to-people relations as thefoundation of strong bilateral ties, the two leadersaffirmed their shared intention to foster betterunderstanding, goodwill and friendship between thepeoples of both countries.

Reflecting the Prime Minister and President Obama’sshared aspiration to enhance people-to-peopleinteraction first discussed in 2010, the two leaderscelebrated the success of the Fulbright EnglishTeaching Assistant (ETA) Program. Likening the spiritof the Fulbright ETA program to the Peace Corpsprogram, which ran for two decades in Malaysia,Prime Minister Najib and President Obamaannounced that the governments of Malaysia and theUnited States have extended the Fulbright ETAProgram for another three years.

The two leaders applauded the network of eightLincoln Corners in six different Malaysian states andKuala Lumpur that host hundreds of educationalprograms and promote connections betweenMalaysia and the United States. Both leaders alsorecognized the value of sharing the rich culturalheritages of our two countries through exchanges ofdisplays in art galleries and museums in bothcountries.

The Prime Minister and President Obama welcomedthe establishment of the Malaysia-AmericaFoundation and the exploring of opportunities toestablish sister city relationships between the twosides.

Prime Minister Najib and President Obamaacknowledged that university level linkagesbetween the United States and Malaysiacontinue to grow. Both sides encouraged theexpansion of research and study partnershipsbetween U.S. and Malaysian institutions ofhigher education.

Both leaders emphasized the importance ofyouth empowerment, particularly inpromoting entrepreneurship, environmentalprotection, education, and civic participationin Malaysia and across the region, includingthrough such programs as the MalaysianGlobal Innovation and Creativity Centre(MaGIC) and activities under the YoungSoutheast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI).

Defense and Security

President Obama welcomed Malaysia’scommitment to counter the proliferation ofweapons of mass destruction with theendorsement of the Proliferation SecurityInitiative (PSI) Statement of InterdictionPrinciples.

The two leaders reaffirmed the longstandingmilitary-to-military cooperation betweenMalaysia and the United States which providesa solid foundation for enhancements across abroad front. Both leaders acknowledged thevalue of continuous dialogue on regional andglobal security challenges as well ascoordination on military matters through theMalaysia – U.S. Strategic Talks (MUSST) andthe Bilateral Training and Consultative Group(BiTACG).

Prime Minister Najib and President Obamadecided to continue discussions on(Continued)

13

opportunities for practical future cooperation in themaritime domain, including ways the United Statescould support the development of Malaysia’smaritime enforcement capacity through theprovision of training, equipment and expertise.President Obama applauded Malaysia’s troopcontributions to peacekeeping in United Nationsmissions, including in Afghanistan and Lebanon andthanked Malaysia for its successful deployment of amilitary medical team in Afghanistan. Both sidescommitted to strengthen cooperation inpeacekeeping training under the Global PeaceOperations Initiative (GPOI) and welcomed U.S.support for the Malaysian Peacekeeping TrainingCentre.

The two leaders welcomed the expansion of tiesbetween the defense industries of Malaysia and theUnited States, which contribute to Malaysia’seconomic development. Both sides committed towork further to nurture and deepen defence bilateralengagements, including promoting theinteroperability between the two armed forces.

Malaysia and the United States noted withsatisfaction the progress in various ongoing scientificsectors, including cooperation to raise awarenessand capacity in biosecurity laboratories and researchfacilities in Malaysia dealing with biological threats.These activities reflect a shared commitment to theGlobal Health Security Agenda, which seeks toaccelerate progress toward a world safe and securefrom threats posed by infectious disease.

Prime Minister Najib and President Obama expresseda firm commitment towards enhancing cooperationbetween their two countries in trade andinvestment. Among the areas of interest arecustoms administrative matters and to this endwould therefore encourage officials engaged in thenegotiations to expedite the early conclusion of theCustoms Mutual Assistance Agreement. The twoleaders are also committed to work toward finalizingthe memorandum of understanding on immigrationinformation exchange.

Prime Minister Najib and President Obama alsodecided to consult on Malaysia’s interest in

meeting the statutory requirements forparticipation in the Visa Waiver Program. Asa first step, the United States has committedto provide technical briefings on securityrequirements and information sharingagreements this year.

Recalling the Memorandum of Understandingon Transnational Crime signed by both sidesin 2012, the two leaders look forward toconvening the inaugural Joint Working GroupMeeting to review the efficiency andeffectiveness of our law enforcementcooperation.

The two leaders decided that Malaysia andthe United States would strengthencooperation in humanitarian assistance,disaster relief and management, includingexploring capacity building initiatives toincrease preparedness in handling naturaland man-made disasters.

Environment, Science and Technology, andEnergy Cooperation

The Prime Minister and President Obamawelcomed the active cooperation betweenMalaysia and the United States in science andtechnology following the signing of theMemorandum of Understanding on Scienceand Technology Cooperation in 2010.Pursuant to the MOU, the leaders noted theestablishment of focus areas onbiotechnology, marine science, climatestudies, conservation science andmanagement under the Joint Committee ofScience and Technology.

The Prime Minister highlighted to PresidentObama the initiatives under the GlobalScience and innovation Advisory Council(GSIAC), a joint New York Academy ofSciences and Malaysian Industry-GovernmentGroup for High Technology (MIGHT) forumwith a mandate to develop science,technology and innovation strategies toachieve Malaysia’s vision 2020. (Continued)

14

Malaysia recognized the U.S. Government’stremendous role as an important partner of the CoralTriangle Initiative (CTI). The Prime Minister conveyedhis appreciation to President Obama for UnitedStates’ contributions of more than U.S $60 million intechnical and financial assistance and capacitybuilding programs to CTI member countries.

Noting the shared visions of the two countries todevelop a stronger bio-based economy to ensuresustainable growth, both leaders recognizedexpanded private sector research collaboration andcooperation in biotechnology.

The Prime Minister sought the United States’ supportto build Malaysian knowledge and expertise todevelop green technology and thanked PresidentObama for U.S. assistance in creating Malaysia’snewly announced green technology developmentstrategy and clean energy cooperation to date underthe U.S. Asia Pacific Comprehensive EnergyPartnership.

The Prime Minister and President Obama reiterated acommon commitment to the conservation ofbiodiversity and agreed to strengthen cooperation inaddressing illegal wildlife trade.

Conclusion

Looking ahead, both leaders pledged theircommitment to elevate the Malaysia – U.S. bilateralIcooperation to a Comprehensive Partnership thatwould cover wide-ranging areas for the expansion oftrade and investment, security and defense,education, science and technology, energy, andpeople-to-people relations, for the collective benefitof both countries.

President Barack Obama speaks with studentslearning about computer code at theMalaysian Global Innovation and CreativityCenter (MaGIC) in Kuala Lumpur, April 27,2014.

President Barack Obama talks with Malaysiancivil society leaders at the Ritz-Carlton inKuala Lumpur, April 27, 2014.

President Barack Obama greeted by PrimeMinister Najib Razak April 27, 2014

15

LOOKING FOR RPCV JOANROMINSKI PAPARIGIAN

Fragile Middle: Malaysians Feel Pinch as Subsidies AareCut

By Jeremy Grant in Singapore 4/16/2014 Financial Times

Lee Ee May, a 27-year-old working in the Kuala Lumpuroffices of an international management consultancy,appears comfortably well-off by Malaysian standards.

She earns Rm3,100 ($956) a month after pensioncontributions, drives a Rm78,000 car and describesherself as “in the upper bracket” of what she considersmiddle class.

But Ms Lee quickly sketches the story behind herapparently comfortable lifestyle. She bought the car usinga bank loan requiring Rm600 a month to service the debtand lives in the city centre in an apartment bought by herfather rather than commute from her parents’ home 45minutes from central Kuala Lumpur.

That not only means she avoids the daily gridlock thatchokes the Malaysian capital, but she also saves Rm400 amonth on petrol – fuel that until a few months ago wasone-third subsidised by the government. “I am quiteprivileged and yet I feel so squeezed. A lot of us arefeeling squeezed,” Ms Lee says.

Malaysia is one of the few countries in Asiaattempting to tackle structural reforms such asreducing state subsidies on basic provisions, in aneffort to cut public debt. At 54.8 per cent of grossdomestic product, the country’s public debt is oneof the highest in Asia.

Najib Razak, prime minister, said last month thatthe government’s subsidy bill had risen too fastand warned that failure to cut governmentspending could lead to a loss of investorconfidence “and subsequent hardship for thepeople”. A cut in fuel subsidies was implementedin September and a 6 per cent sales tax will comeinto force next year.

Many Malaysians like Ms Lee are feeling thepinch as subsidies are peeled away. Petrol is now10 per cent more expensive following the firstround of cuts in fuel subsidies. Analysts expectanother price increase in June or July when thesecond round kicks in. Electricity tariffs also rose15 per cent in January.

FT Series -Millions in emerging markets have inthe past 30 years moved from poverty into theconsuming middle classes. But with growthslowing, their fates are now one of the biggestchallenges confronting governments. Anothereffect of this has been to drive up inflation, whichhas risen sharply since the measures took effectand predicted to rise further.

Charles Santiago, an opposition MP, says:“People are left hanging because they have thelifestyle of a middle class [person], but theirearnings capacity has fallen because of theincrease in the cost of living.” Worse, manyMalaysians have ridden a wave of cheap credit tobuild up significant household debt. Malaysiansare among the most highly leveraged in Asia:household debt reached 86.8 per cent of GDP atthe end of last year, up from 80.5 per cent a yearago, according to data published by the centralbank last month.

Carmelo Ferlito, fellow at the Institute forDemocracy and Economic Affairs in KualaLumpur, warned that Malaysia’s middle class arenow in a dangerous position, particularly ifeconomic growth slows. “The risk is that if theydo not change their spending habits and return tobeing savings-oriented, when a crisis comes themiddle class will disappear.”

As your webmaster about once a month I get emails fromsomeone looking for their favorite PCV teacher. This montha note from Maria Sho looking for Joan who served in SMKSemporna in 1970. If you have any information please passit along and I will make the connection. I never discloseemails or phone numbers of the found volunteer. I alwayspass on the contact of the person looking to protect theprivacy of the volunteer. Thanks Thaine.thaineallison@gmail.com

16

FRIENDS OF MALAYSIABOARD OF DIRECTORS

Barry Morris, PresidentThaine Allison, Jr., V.P. of Programs/NewsletterEditor/Web Master Paul Murphy, Treasurer/ MembershipDirector o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e b o a r d :Lynn Juhl, Rod & Ruth Zwirner,Secretary, Michael H. Anderson, Marjorie HarrisonKaren McClay and Bob Cricenti. Learn more about theFriends of Malaysia at our web site:http://FriendsofMalaysia.org Want to contribute toApa Khabar or join FoM? Contact us atwebmastser@FriendsofMalaysia.orgOther news on the web: Sabah Peace CorpsReunion:https://www.facebook.com/groups/261219670658500/ Peace Corps Malaysia:https://www.facebook.com/groups/201309356552602/?ref=ts&fref=ts Peace Corpshttps://www.facebook.com/peacecorpsPeace Corps Malaysia XII www.facebook.com/groups/169875577148/?ref=ts&fref=ts

LAST ISSUE’S CONTESTWhat does this series of maps portray and how arethey relevant to Malaysia? Mary Michael McTeagueMalaysia XX had the right answer. It is a series of maps

WANT TO JOINFRIENDS OF MALAYSIA?

Name_________________________________Maiden Name (if applicable_______________)Address____________________Address____________________City_______________________State & Zip _________________email address _______________Dates of PC Service_____________________Home Phone___________________________Membership Category: _____ $50.00Individual (Includes Friends of Malaysia andNational Peace Corps Association)_____Friends of Malaysia only $15.00 Printthis application, fill in the blanks and Mailthe application, with a check payable toFriends of Malaysia, to: Paul Murphy,Treasurer, FoM, 510 Little John Hill,Sherwood Forest, MD 21405. Or justgo on line and do it! NPCA:http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/membership/

THIS ISSUES’S CONTESTRecently President Obama visited Malaysia. Who was thelast sitting president to visit Malaysia and were you there?Send your answers and tell us your story towebmaster@friendsofmalaysia.org

US President Barack Obama (back, C) and MalaysianPrime Minister Najib Razak (back, R) pose with a group ofstudents during a visit to the Malaysian Global Innovationand Creativity Centre (MaGIC) in Cyberjaya, outside KualaLumpur.