Kuala Lumpur: The Filipino community in the Peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah hailed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr and wife Liza Araneta-Marcos for a fruitful three-day state visit to Malaysia.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and other countrymen residing in the country thanked the Chief Executive for making the trip to promote trade opportunities and strengthen bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries.
They also expressed appreciation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the warm welcome extended to Marcos’ entourage upon arrival at the Kula Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), last Tuesday, and the scheduled activities for the Philippine delegation.
Among the most common praises posted on social media include “Mabuhay PBBM… God Bless The Philippines”, “Long Live Philippines and Malaysia”, “Thank You Malaysia”, and “Welcome To The New Philippines”, among others.
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At a joint press conference with Anwar, Wednesday, fondly called by his countrymen as Bongbong, he said the Philippine and Malaysian governments are committed to closely coordinate efforts to build capacity in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in southern Philippines, in Muslim Mindanao, especially on the halal industry, Islamic banking and food security.
Bongbong said Malaysia offered its expertise to train Philippine personnel and officials to strengthen capabilities in these increasingly important sectors.
“I made an expression of gratitude to the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and to the King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) earlier today (Wednesday) for all the help that we have received from Malaysia in southern Philippines.
“It has been an important part of whatever success that we might enjoy today. And that has been a foothold for us to use to continue to develop and promote our relations between our two countries,” he said.
Earlier, Marcos held bilateral talks with Anwar to discuss steps to revitalise bilateral ties. Bongbong was also accorded a state welcome at the Istana Negara Wednesday morning.
From 2001 to 2012, Malaysia served as a mediator in the negotiations between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The talks eventually culminated in the formation of the Bangsamoro autonomous region in 2019.
Anwar, during his working visit to the Philippines in March this year, vowed to continue efforts to help facilitate the peace process in the Muslim-dominated Philippine island of Mindanao.
Anwar was reported as saying Malaysia will continue aiding the people of the self-ruled Bangsamoro region through various capacity-building projects.
These include the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme, which allows the country to share its development experiences and expertise with developing nations like the Philippines.
The Chief Executive is optimistic that the Philippines-Malaysia cooperation in the halal sector would mutually benefit the growth of the respective countries’ halal ecosystems.
Bongbong also said the Philippines-Malaysia joint commission meeting will be an avenue to discuss issues such as transnational crime, agriculture, halal industry, Islamic banking, and digital economy in detail.
He said both countries agreed to explore more synergies in future partnerships in the next joint commission meeting, which is expected to take place in October 2023.
On his part, Anwar also said Malaysia and Philippines should take measures for halal industries to more effectively penetrate the Middle East market.
At the same tine, the Prime Minister stressed that Malaysia and the Philippines should take effective measures for halal industries to penetrate Middle East market.
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