CLINTON HEAPS PRAISES ON MALAYSIA, SAYS COUNTRY IS HOPE FOR FUTURE

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Former US president Bill Clinton Friday heaped praises on Malaysia, saying that the world would be a better place if it emulated the country's harmony and social tolerance.

"Malaysia is the model that there is hope for the future. The people
here
who are from varied races, religions and all sorts of background have learned to
work together and stay together. This is what the world should be like," he
said, adding that memories of this "remarkable nation will forever be in my
mind".

The 42nd US president, who governed from 1992-2000, said this at the first
BC Sekhar Memorial Lecture entitled, "Embracing our Common Humanity".

The BC Sekhar Memorial Lecture series is the brainchild of Vinod
Sekhar, the youngest son of BC Sekhar. One of the aims of the Sekhar Foundation,
the philanthropic organisation set up by Vinod, is to foster greater mutual
understanding among the peoples of the world.

The late BC Sekhar, fondly known as Mr Natural Rubber, dedicated his life
to rubber research and development in the country. He also strongly advocated
the rights of rubber plantation smallholders and workers and was actively
involved in the international price-stabilisation scheme for rubber. He received
the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service in 1973.


Clinton said Malaysia had made a remarkable beginning and although there
were some political conflicts in the country, it knew how to keep this in check
for the good of the nation.

"Political conflicts are good. Nobody is right all the time. It is healthy
when you disagree. Hillary (Rodham Clinton) and I have arguments now and then.
But there is a proper line between order and disagreement," Clinton, who is on
his first visit to Malaysia, told a packed audience at the KL Convention Centre.

Citing an example, Clinton said during his visit to the Bird Park here
this morning, Muslim women in headscarves came up to him and shook hands,
asking him how he was and telling him that he was welcome to Malaysia.

"It was a good feeling. If only every country could have this atmosphere.
Economy, religion and even science tell us that we human beings do not have a
choice but to live together and if we could do just that, we would have a better
world to live in," he said.

Touching on the current global economic crisis, he said it only showed that
countries of the world were very much interdependent and even a superpower like
the US could not "get away from other nations".

"The world now has to change the way it thinks. The definition of success
must be changed from a win-lose situation to a win-win situation. We must be
prepared to embrace others," he added.

He said Malaysia should look at the things it did right during the
1997-1998 global economic crisis and although there was nothing wrong in the
nation's economy then, it was still affected by the crisis and this reflected
how much the world was interdependent.

Touching on the election of Barack Obama as the 44th US president, Clinton
said the election of America's first African American president reflected the
diversity of the nation.

"Life is more interesting. The election of Obama is a statement on its
own. The US would be on the right side of history. It would be good for all, not
only Americans but also the world at large," he added.

Clinton said he hoped that the new administration would undertake its
global
obligations in all fields and see that "wealthy nations reach out to
the poorer nations of the world".

-- BERNAMA