Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 18, 1994

First, we went to the Prime Minister for official and serious negotiations. It is in a large area, including buildings and centers under the administration of the Prime Minister, such as the program organization and the Ministry of Interior, the research center, etc., which are too many. We discussed cooperation in transportation and their investment in Iran, buying palm oil and the issues of the Islamic world.

Then we went to their program organization. They explained the economic policies and programs implemented in the past twenty years and the future program, including relying on privatization and eliminating subsidies and paying attention to the relative advantages of action within the framework of the program. then

We asked questions that they could not answer well. For example, the reason for the small number of students, by admitting the lack of quality human resources and the existence of subsidies in the treatment sector and the like.

From there, we went to the Islamic center, where the exhibition of the works of Islamic civilization was established. At the same time as we arrived, the "model mother" selection program near the center was over. There were many colorful ladies and we got off in front of them. Both they were surprised and so were we. School children also arrived and took pictures with me.

At the end of visiting the works of Islamic civilization, we came to a free man named Mr. [Mohammed Reza] Shayeq, from Yazd, who wrote the Quran from memory in a good handwriting in a few months. He had kept a line to finish in my presence. I stood up, he wrote the last line from Surah Nas, and I also wrote a few lines below it, using the same pen as his practice. I praised his work. He memorized the Qur'an during his 75-year captivity in Iraq.

We returned to the residence. In the afternoon, the CEO of the Palm Oil Research Organization came. A good report of the investigation. He explained the process of cultivation and palm oil extraction with a slide. They have more than two million hectares of palm trees with 7.5 million tons of oil. He demanded that Iran cancel the restriction on the import of palm oil. Due to the high fat content, we only extract up to 20% edible oil from the palm.

Then we went to Selangor province, south of Kuala Lumpur. My companion minister, Dr. Yusuf, is the minister of state-owned enterprises and knows Arabic well. He is a graduate of Al-Azhar, Egypt. I got a lot of information from him. We crossed a very good highway that was built by a private sector and continues from the north to the south of Malaysia, from the border of Thailand to the border of Singapore. We reached the "Shah Alam" region; An interpretation in Persian.

We went to see the [Burton] car factory. The CEO explained. They produce 150,000 units annually. We visited the production lines. Twenty percent of it is imported. The government has given half of the shares to the public. It is a good factory.

Then we visited the TV factory. They also make one and a half million TV sets every year. They also sell to Iran; It is semi-automatic. We canceled the appointment to visit the air conditioner factory. We went to visit Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Azizshah Mosque. It is a huge and new mosque built by the local government of Selangor province. The effect is eternal; In two floors, more than ten thousand square meters, the building can accommodate thirty thousand worshipers. The mosque has four minarets.

At night, a group of Malaysian capitalists came and expressed their readiness to cooperate with Iran. I gave them explanations about the possibilities and fields of work in Iran. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs came to the residence for dinner. During the dinner, they talked about the work and cooperation issues of [Economic Cooperation Organization] ECO and [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] Asean and cooperation in the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Morocco.