An 02 Welcome Remarks

ANNEX 2

The Chairman of the ACCSQ WBPWG
WELCOME REMARKS
BY

Honoured Guests
Distinguished Delegates

MDM. FADILAH BAHARIN
DIRECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF
STANDARDS MALAYSIA

Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good Morning.

AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF
THE 6th MEETING OF ACCSQ PRODUCT
WORKING GROUP ON WOOD BASED
PRODUCT (WBPWG)
21-22 November 2007

9.00 am
PARK ROYAL, KUALA LUMPUR

1.

First of all, please allow me to begin, by

warmly welcoming all delegates and observers to
this 6th Meeting of the ACCSQ Wood Based
Product WG. Your presence here signals your
concurrence on the importance of this meeting
and I am glad to note that this meeting is
realised. To the foreign participants, let me bid

Y. Bhg. Dato' Mohd Nazuri Hashim Shah
The Director General of MTIB cum the co-chair
of the ACCSQ WBPWG
Dr Hadi Daryanto

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you “Welcome to Malaysia” or “Selamat Datang
ke Malaysia”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

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assessment procedures of the individual ASEAN
2.

It is good to meet our ASEAN timber

countries, and or course the need to meet the

experts here this morning, please allow me to

needs of individual regulators for regulated

say a few words about the works done in ASEAN

products.

on

standards,

conformance

and

technical

regulations.

4.

In view of this non-tariff barriers issue,

hence, in 1992, the ASEAN Economic Ministers
3.

Sometime in the early 1990s, ASEAN

(AEM) established the ASEAN Consultative

leaders were active in focusing and preparing

Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ)

ASEAN

the

with the aim of harmonizing national standards,

Trade

technical regulations and conformity assessment

member

implementation

of

bodies
ASEAN

towards
Free

Agreement (AFTA) where tariff of goods are

procedures, wherever possible.

being reduced to zero. Concurrently, the ASEAN
Economic Ministers (AEM) saw that one of the

5.

issues to be addressed when tariffs for products

ASEAN to be a single market, or towards

are zero is the non-tariff barriers still being

becoming the ASEAN Economic Community

imposed by ASEAN countries; such as the need

(AEC) by 2020, the role and functions of ACCSQ

for products to meet their national standards,

has been enhanced further by the ASEAN

need for products to meet the conformity

Economic Ministers.

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Now with the ASEAN leaders’ Vision for

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Groups were established during the 24th ACCSQ
Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in August 2004. The 5

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Working Groups were established in order to
6.

The

Consultative
Quality

of

Committee

for

(ACCSQ)

Standards
ASEAN

membership

the

ASEAN

Standards

comprised

of

National

Institutions/Organisations
member

countries.

and

Thus,

from
the

Department of Standards Malaysia, or briefly
known as STANDARDS MALAYSIA, being the
national standards institution of Malaysia, is
Malaysia’s representative to the ACCSQ as a

member. Chairmanship of the ACCSQ is done
on a rotation basis annually and currently,
Myanmar is the Chair of the ACCSQ, and
Malaysia, i.e. the Department of Standards
Malaysia, was the past Chair.
7.

As of now, there are 12 working groups

support and accelerate regional integration in 11
priority sectors as agreed at the 10th ASEAN
Summit in November 2004 in Vientiane, Lao
PDR through an “ASEAN Framework Agreement
for the Integration of Priority Sectors”. The 11
priority sectors are rubber based product,
electrical & electronics, cosmetics, automotives,
wood based product, agro-based, e-ASEAN,
fisheries,

healthcare

pharmaceuticals

or

(medical
medicinal

devices,
products),

traditional medicines & health supplements. The
Wood Based Product Working Group (WBPWG)
is one of the new working groups established in
year 2004.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

under the ACCSQ, and five of these Working

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8.

The ACCSQ meets twice a year and

attendance

to

the

meeting

is

usually

to congratulate and to express my appreciation

by

to the organizing committee and secretariat staffs

STANDARDS MALAYSIA and all chairs from the

for their hard and untiring efforts in making this

12 working groups under the ACCSQ. For the

meeting a success.

information of all delegates and observers,
currently, Malaysia chairs four out of 12 working
groups

namely

Accreditation

and

the

Working

Conformity

Group

Ladies and Gentlemen,

on

Assessment,

9.

In conclusion, may I wish you all a fruitful

Pharmaceutical PWG, Rubber Based PWG and

and productive meeting. I hope that everyone of

Medical Devices PWG. Malaysia also is the Co-

you

Chair of three Working Groups namely the

beneficial networking among the experts in this

Working Group on Legal Metrology, Traditional

industry. For your information, this year is Visit

Medicine & Health Supplement PWG and this

Malaysia Year. So, don’t forget to visit our new

Product Working Group.

attraction in Kuala Lumpur, ‘The Eye of Malaysia’

will

have

the

opportunity to

develop

or the ferris wheel located near the Titiwangsa
I am confident that with active participation

Lake. Once again, may I wish you welcome to

from all ASEAN delegates, this meeting of

Malaysia and have a pleasant stay in Kuala

ACCSQ WBPWG will be successful and fruitful.

Lumpur.

9.

Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity

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Thank you and “Terima kasih”.

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