Envoy: Indigenous cooperation to reaffirm NZ-Sarawak ties
KUCHING: New Zealand looks forward to welcoming a group of 15 delegates from the Sarawak government to the Oceania nation in April for a meeting to share and discuss common indigenous interests and cooperation.
According to New Zealand High Commissioner- Designate to Malaysia, Hunter Nottage, this upcoming programme signifies his country’s close historic links with Sarawak.
“We do hope that your Deputy Chief Minister ( Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas) could come (to New Zealand) together with the other 15 eminent members of the Sarawak government, which I believe would be an impressive and engaged delegation,” he told The Borneo Post when met at a special reception hosted by him at a hotel here Thursday night, where former deputy chief minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu and his wife Tan Sri Empiang Jabu were among the distinguished guests.
Elaborating on the indigenous cooperation, Nottage pointed out the interest shown by Malaysia in New Zealand’s treaty settlement process and also the ‘ Te Tiriti o Waitaingi’ – the country’s founding document signed between the Maori Chiefs and the Queen.
He also said about two months ago, New Zealand’s Deputy Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court, Caren Fox, visited Sarawak where she met a wide group of people and share with them points about the founding document.
“There is a real potential in building our indigenous cooperation further. We can listen to each other, we can share experiences and we can grow together,” he said.
The emphasis, said Nottage, would be on promoting indigenous culture, language and also the economic, political and land rights and interests.
“Both countries understand how important this is, and we are building on it already – we
We do hope that your Deputy Chief Minister (Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas) could come (to New Zealand) together with the other 15 eminent members of the Sarawak government, which I believe would be an impressive and engaged delegation.
are working on MoUs (memoranda of understanding) on indigenous cooperation.
“These are important as they will provide a platform for more cooperation — governmental and non-governmental.”
Nottage also said Sarawak could expect to welcome an indigenous business delegation from his country later this year, as announced by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last month.
“The New Zealand Maori economy is significant – just as the indigenous economy here is large, competitive and growing,” he observed.
In his opening remarks earlier, Nottage revisited the close historic link between New Zealand and Sarawak – and also with Sabah, where he would be heading next week.
“New Zealand soldiers were deployed to Sarawak during the Confrontation, from 1963 to 1965. There’s a memorial to our troops in Kuching. Till this day, our defence and security links endure.
“Education links have also endured. We have over 600 Colombo Plan students from Malaysia who studied in New Zealand. Today, New Zealand welcomes over 2,000 students a year from Malaysia, many of whom are from Sarawak and Sabah. This next young and vibrant generation is very important for the Malaysia-New Zealand relations as eventually, they’ll be our greatest ambassadors, just like Datuk Patinggi Datuk Amar Alfred Jabu and Tan Sri Empiang have been over the past 40 years.
“Now, I’m proud to be playing a small part in that history, as the next New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia,” he said.
Nottage also highlighted the potential in building tourism and trade, both ways.
“We value, enormously, hosting over 56,000 Malaysian visitors to New Zealand each year. This number grows by five per cent each year.
“But we, the Kiwis, also like to visit you – 24,000 New Zealanders visited Malaysia last year, eight per cent more than the year before. The highlights for many of them are the wonders and also the people of Sarawak and Sabah,” he added.
Hunter Nottage, New Zealand High Commissioner-Designate to Malaysia