Fruitful discussion between Sarawak-Australia Business Chamber Council, Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia

KUCHING (July 17): The Sarawak-Australia Business Chamber (SABC) Council had a fruitful discussion with the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Danielle Heinecke today.

The council was led by its vice-patron Datu Len Talif Salleh and its president Rodger Chan.

Heinecke, who is the SABC Council patron, is in Kuching for the first time, following the courtesy call by the SABC Council on her in Kuala Lumpur last May.

“SABC is pleased that the High Commissioner has accepted the invitation and visited Sarawak on July 16 and 17,” Chan said in a statement.

During the discussion, Len said that he himself is a beneficiary of the Commonwealth Colombo Plan and studied at the Australian National University (ANU), and that there exists a long-standing relationship between Sarawak and Australia particularly in the 1950s with the Colombo Plan.

Via SABC, Len said he hoped that this relationship could be extended into enhanced trade and strengthened relations between Sarawak and Australia.

Chan meanwhile said he shared with Heinecke that when he was president of the Sarawak Australian Graduates Association, it was estimated that there were some 40,000 Sarawakian who are Australian graduates.

There could be some 50,000 Sarawakians now who have studied in Australia, he said.

Chan also shared with the High Commissioner on Australian enterprises that have invested or operated in Sarawak.

He stressed that there are some Australian companies which are keen on investing in Sarawak due to the availability of green energy here.

He cited an Australian company that is interested in investing in a green Magnesium plant in Sarawak with investment worth RM4.5 billion.

Heinecke was keen to introduce more Australian companies to invest or collaborate in Sarawak, particularly in the green energy sector, said Chan.

She was looking forward to the Australian High Commission working with SABC to encourage more Australian businesses to invest and collaborate in, particularly on the green energy sectors, he added.

She noted Sarawak could have the highest number of Australian graduates in Malaysia on a per capita basis.

She also noted that all SABC Council members are Australian graduates and have business linkages with Australia.

Chan further iterated that the long-standing relationship between Sarawak and Australia extended further back from the Colombo Plan to some 80 years ago when the Australian Z force first landed in Sarawak to help Sarawak during the Second World War.

The Colombo Plan extended beyond education into other areas, including infrastructure.

The Satok Bridge of Kuching was designed and constructed with the help of Australian engineers, he pointed out.