From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Malaysian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gloria Tiwet, has said that government leadership at all levels, socio-economic development and inclusion are strategies that Nigeria can learn from Malaysia in tackling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery in the country.
In this interview in Abuja, Tiwet also said cooperation and partnerships between government ministries and authorities, civil society organisations, the business sector and private citizens are required to tackle the menace.
She also listed sustainability and accountability and knowledge-based strategies, policies and programmes as part of the strategies to reduce crime in the country.
As the first Sarawakian woman from the Dayak ethnic group in Malaysia to be appointed High Commissioner, how has this impacted on your relationship with women in your local community and here in Nigeria?
It is a great honour for me to serve my country, Malaysia, as the first female ethnic Bidayuh high commissioner to Nigeria, since 2018. The Dayak community in the state of Sarawak comprises ethnic Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu, representing approximately 50 per cent of the Sarawak population of 2.4 million people.
I have been an active member of the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) and Bidayuh Graduates Association (BGA) and my appointment impacted much on women in the local community and especially the younger generation in emulating my achievement for their own success. I delivered motivational talks to the local community, schools, higher learning institutions and other training institutions, focusing on the younger generation in general, and not only women and girls.
In Nigeria, the High Commission organised activities within the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) such as in 2020 and 2021 in contributing food items and basic needs to those in need at the local community, and two orphanages managed by Nigerian women. I joined other lady ambassadors in supporting the UN Women activity such as the programme “Orange the World” in 2021. We do the best we can during these challenging times of COVID-19 pandemic in having impactful relationships with women in the local community in Nigeria.
Being a diplomat and after serving my country for more than 26 years, which saw me posted in Chile, Argentina and Sweden, I believe that I can be a good role model for other women who wish to contribute to the betterment of the nation.
I hope the younger generation of Dayak, especially women, will follow my footsteps as a career diplomat. There is nothing more enriching and fulfilling than one’s “service to the nation.”
Apart from being accredited to Nigeria, you also have concurrent accreditation to countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. How have you been able to maintain smooth diplomatic ties between these countries and Malaysia?
As the High Commissioner of Malaysia, it is my primary task to ensure the continuation of good bilateral relations between Malaysia and the respective accredited countries. During my tenure here in Nigeria, the high commission continuously maintained active engagements with the embassies and high commissions of six accredited diplomatic missions here in Abuja.
Various activities, meetings, working lunches are some of the engagements that we have organised with the embassies and high commissions through these years. These include providing training, especially on human capital development under the MTCP programme. Maintaining close and friendly working relations between ambassadors and our diplomatic missions are key to maintaining the good and smooth bilateral relations.
Even though there have been limited number of visits between Malaysia and the accredited countries, we continue to enjoy good trade relations and anticipate room for growth in further strengthening bilateral relations between Malaysia and the six accredited countries.
Nigeria and Malaysia have been diplomatic friends since 1965 when the late Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, became a good friend of one of Malaysia’s post-independence leaders, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Looking back, is Malaysia satisfied with the extent of the diplomatic ties between both countries?
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1965, bilateral relations between Malaysia and Nigeria have continued to be close and cordial.
Malaysia and Nigeria extended their relations in multinational fora through global organisations such as the United Nations (UN), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Developing-8 (D-8) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The historical linkages and socio-cultural similarities between the two nations are beneficial to both our countries. Malaysia remains a strategic and popular destination for Nigerians and businesses. Malaysia is also a popular destination for pursuing high-quality tertiary education among Nigerians.
In 2020, similar to other countries in the world, we were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Movement of people between our two countries has been limited, with the restrictions and movement control measures imposed by both the Malaysian and Nigerian governments. In 2022, during this endemic phase of COVID-19, we look forward for a rebound in our relations at the levels of government to government, people to people and business to business.
Malaysia and Nigeria bilateral relations continue to be strengthened through the years. We continue to explore opportunities in new areas for cooperation and collaboration with our Nigerian partners such as in nuclear technology, halal products and services, Islamic finance and ICT-related sectors.
Additionally, with the lifting of travel restrictions by both governments, we anticipate a rise in visits and engagements between the people of Malaysia and Nigeria. We will continue to encourage more Malaysians to visit Nigeria and vice versa.
There are much rooms for growth in both our countries’ bilateral relations as we converge on the new age of technology and the post pandemic era.
Nigeria and Malaysia are focusing on the economic and trade sectors. What is the volume of trade between both countries?
Malaysia and Nigeria continue to record continuous increase in bilateral total trade, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The trade cooperation between Malaysia and Nigeria is one of the main pillars of the bilateral relations between both countries.
In 2021, trade volume continues to remained strong with palm oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and chemical products, being actively traded between the two countries. Nigeria remained one of the major export destinations in Africa for Malaysia’s products.
The total trade value between Malaysia and Nigeria for the year 2021 was $1.26 billion (RM 5.28 billion), compared to $844.69 million (RM 3.55 billion) in 2020, representing an increase of 32.8 per cent. Total bilateral trade was of $699 million in 2019 and $712.7 million in 2018.
For the period of January until December 2021, Malaysia’s exports to Nigeria registered an increase of 28.7 per cent, valued at $896.9 million (RM 3.77 billion), compared to $639.5 million (RM 2.69 billion) during the same period in 2020. Malaysia’s main exports to Nigeria in 2021 were palm oil and palm oil-based products, petroleum products, machinery, equipment and parts, processed food and metal products.
Import products from Nigeria, for the same period in 2021, totaled at $360.0 million (RM 1.51 billion), an increase of 43.0 per cent from $205.2 million (RM 861.9 million) in 2020. Metalliferous ores and metal scraps, other agriculture products, crude petroleum and LNG were major import products to Malaysia.
The continuous increase in total trade between Malaysia and Nigeria since 2018, from $712.7 million to $1.26 billion in 2021 is proof of the strong and rigorous relationships between Malaysian and Nigerian businesses. The close cooperation between Malaysia-Nigeria Business Council (MNBC) and Nigeria-Malaysia Business Council (NMBC) with the Malaysian High Commission, including Malaysia’s Trade Office, Lagos, further strengthened and sustained the close cooperation between Malaysia and Nigeria.
Nigeria was Malaysia’s second trading partner in Africa after South Africa. Is Nigeria still maintaining this position or has it overtaken South Africa?
Nigeria continues to be the main trading partner of Malaysia in the continent, specifically in the West African region.
Since 2018, there have been fluctuations with regard to the total value of trade between Malaysia and many African countries. Based on the trade data available to us, Nigeria remains as the top three trading partner country in the African region for the period between 2019 until 2021.
Nevertheless, it is important to stress that the value of trade between Malaysia and Nigeria has risen from $712.7 million in 2018 to $1.26 billion in 2021, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which affected much of the economic sectors.
Malaysia values its relations with Nigeria similar to other countries in the African region; most important is the continuous increase in total trade and the close and cordial relations we enjoy at all levels of government, business and people relations. Nigeria remains as an important trading partner and we continue to explore new areas for cooperation.
How many Nigerians visit Malaysia annually?
Before the pandemic, Malaysia has been the main choice for Nigerians to visit in Southeast Asia, either for social visits (tourism), business purposes and for education.
However, due to the offset of the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, and due to the various travel restrictions, there was limited number of Nigerians visiting Malaysia.
In 2022, the transition to the endemic phase of COVID-19 witnessed countries re-opening its international borders and easing on the COVID-19 travel restrictions for international travelers. There has been steadily increase of Nigerians traveling to Malaysia for education and business purpose.
Malaysia welcomes students from Nigeria to pursue undergraduate and post graduate courses, as Malaysia aspires to be the centre for educational excellence in the region with quality education at affordable and comparatively low cost of study compared to other countries.
Malaysia remained among the top destination for Nigerian students to pursue their tertiary education. There are currently 4,127 Nigerian students undergoing their studies in Malaysia’s public universities and in private universities.
Malaysia is ranked as the 4th destination for tertiary education chosen by Nigerian students after the US, UK and Canada as per UNESCO 2021 Student Mobility statistics.
Malaysia’s affordable postgraduate degrees with world-class facilities, English-speaking populace and the friendly environment contributed to Malaysia as the preferred choice by Nigerian students.
How many Malaysian nationals are in Nigeria? Are they largely concentrated in Abuja or Lagos?
Based on the high commission’s records currently, there are 41 Malaysians in Nigeria. These are registered Malaysians with the high commission. They are concentrated in Lagos due to it being the business hub in Nigeria, at Abuja and other states of Delta and Rivers.
A total of 52 Malaysians returned to Malaysia during the height of COVID-19 pandemic using the two repatriation flights organized by the Malaysia High Commission in June and July 2020.
Malaysia has had its share of terrorism. How has it been able to assist Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram in the country?
I need to underline the fact that Malaysia has not had issues relating to terrorism for a significant number of years.
Malaysia is a peace-loving, moderate and progressive country where acts of terror are generally in nil-existence to our culture. Terrorism initially took shape during the post-independence, communist era in the 1960s.
Since the end of the Communist insurgency, only very few incidents were based locally in Malaysia, while the majority were linked to international groups or organizations abroad, including the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
Malaysia condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, which have brought nothing but loss of innocent lives and damages to public property and infrastructure. The actions of terrorists are unacceptable.
Malaysia remains committed to tackle the threats of terrorism and believes that combating terrorism requires the ‘whole-of-nation’ approach to which Malaysia has taken the necessary steps to strengthen national legal frameworks and mobilise the relevant authorities to intensify enforcement efforts.
Countering the narratives of the terrorists and extremists, deradicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for repentant terrorists, as well as advocating mainstream religious views to the public, especially to the youths are among measures taken in our efforts to eliminate the threats of terrorism.
On top of our domestic measures, Malaysia believes that combating terrorism requires strengthened bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation, enhancing exchange of information, sharing of expertise and improving counter messaging mechanisms, which are necessary for us to counter this threat that does not recognise borders and nationalities.
Malaysia’s Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism(SEARCCT), officially launched on July 1, 2003, under the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia serves as a regional counter-terrorism centre focusing primarily on training, capacity-building, research, digital counter messaging and public awareness programmes. In collaboration with other governments and international organisations, the centre also promotes Malaysia’s perspective on the most effective means of countering the threat posed by terrorism.
Since its inception, SEARCCT strived to become a regional centre of excellence for counter-terrorism research and programmes, and to serve as a credible reference point for various actors and practitioners working tirelessly to address the interweaving factors that can cause radicalisation leading to terrorism. Nigeria and its agencies may continue to collaborate with SEARCCT and other agencies, specifically in areas such as counter-messaging and countering the narrative of the terrorist groups.
Malaysia continues to offer courses related to security and defence through the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), cooperation between Malaysia-Nigeria defence colleges and look forward to other areas of cooperation with Nigeria.
Relying on the experience of Malaysia in tackling crimes in the country, what measures can Nigeria employ to end terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery?
Reducing crime is a vital part of Malaysia’s plan to become a fully developed country. Crime and the fear of crime impact people’s quality of life, sometimes with devastating effect. Crime also has a substantial economic cost on the country.
Crime impacts all sections of the society, irrespective of age, education level, gender, race, religion or wealth.
In light of the instance of crime and the importance to the people of reducing crime, the Malaysian Government selected this as one of the six National Key Results Area (NKRA).
Reducing crime and the fear of crime requires us to address some polarities in the country. Crime per capita varies considerably across the country and so too does the impact crime has on the people’s quality of life. Given the limited financial resources, we cannot rely on traditional response to crime, where the police are solely responsible for crime reduction. While the police have a vital role, a new approach is needed.
In order to reduce and tackle the issues related to crime, there must be active involvements of multiple agencies across the criminal justice system and other parts of national and local government, as well as the private sector. Critically, this new approach must also be centred on increasing community participation in crime reduction.
The aspiration of the government of Malaysia has always been to improve public safety across Malaysia and achieve visible results. Malaysia has implemented targeted actions focused on delivering three outcomes:
• Achieving sustained reductions in reported index crimes, with a focus on street crimes, i.e., snatch theft, robberies without firearms and gang robberies without firearms.
• Improving public perception of safety by promoting public participation and shared responsibility through volunteerism, especially amongst the youth and across races.
• Driving operational excellence in the criminal justice system to build public confidence and strengthen professional pride across the system.
The strategies that Nigeria can learn from Malaysia are:
• Government leadership at all levels is required to create and maintain an institutional framework for effective crime prevention.
• Socio-economic development and inclusion refer to the need to integrate crime prevention into relevant social and economic policies, and to focus on the social integration of at-risk communities, children, families, and especially youth.
• Cooperation and partnerships between government ministries and authorities, civil society organizations, the business sector, and private citizens are required, given the wide-ranging nature of the causes of crime and the skills and responsibilities required to address them.
• Sustainability and accountability can only be achieved if adequate resources to establish and sustain programmes and evaluation are made available, and clear accountability for funding, implementation, evaluation and achievement of planned results is established.
Knowledge-based strategies, policies and programmes need to be based on a broad multidisciplinary foundation of knowledge, together with evidence regarding specific crime problems, their causes, and proven practices.
The conclusion is that economic prosperity, inclusive development and quality education are known to be key areas that affect the level of crimes in a country. By providing equal opportunities for the people to participate in economic activities, providing basic necessities such as roads, health facilities and schools, as well as encouraging participation in basic quality education, these are the measures that Nigeria can consider in reducing crimes in the country.
Nigeria is a country with vast potential in all areas and sectors. To mutually care and prosper the population is important. “Prosper thy neighbour” is Malaysia’s view on shared prosperity within the country and among the people, and Malaysia with other countries. We believe that when other countries are prosperous too, we can mutually reap the benefit for a win-win situation.