Page 370 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

362 MALAYSIA MEANS BUSINESS
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, attending the 15th Langkawi International Aerospace and Maritime Exhibition 2019 (LIMA’19) at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Center (MIEC). His Majesty was accompanied by the then Commander of the Armed Forces, General Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin (left).
for the speedy clearance of cargo.
Liberalisation in services is also being pursued with numerous sectors and sub-sectors having been opened up for foreign participation.
Thus far, Malaysia has implemented seven bilateral FTAs and seven regional FTAs. A further two FTAs have been signed but await ratification, and one FTA is under negotiation.
Language
The official language
in Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, which is very similar to Bahasa Indonesia, facilitating business communications with
an important trading partner. English, however,
is very widely spoken and remains a compulsory school subject and is the principal language of international trade and finance. A large percentage of the population is also proficient in Mandarin, as well as a variety of other Chinese dialects and
Indian languages, enabling excellent communications with the world's two most populous business markets.
Internal & External Security
Malaysia has an effective security apparatus with professional armed forces who have distinguished themselves in several UN
peacekeeping scenarios. The country has defence pacts and agreements in place with major global partners and is widely regarded as a bastion
of peace and stability in Southeast Asia. Malaysia also possesses some of the best intelligence apparatus in the region and hosts the Regional Centre for Anti- Terrorism.
Internal security is provided by a professional police force and supported by a variety of specialist agencies targeting corruption, intellectual property crime, border security and traffic regulation. Nevertheless, the Government continues