President Ferdinand R. Marcos’ visit to Malaysia last week reaffirmed the strong ties that bind the country to one of Philippines’ long-time allies. Before the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1965 in which the Philippines and Malaysia were co-founders, both countries — together with Thailand — formed the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) in 1961. In 1963, the two countries — together with Indonesia — formed MAPHILINDO. Filipinos and Malaysians share a common Malayan ethnic heritage. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail are avowedly friends of the Philippines. Premier Ibrahim is a scholar who propagates the libertarian and democratic ideals espoused by Dr. Jose Rizal. At the National Palace reception, the King of Malaysia, Al-Sultan Abdullah, underlined the long-standing friendship between Malaysian and Philippine leaders, citing the annual Pahang Cup event at the Manila Polo Club. He pointed out that through spirited matches and shared passion, both countries have fostered greater camaraderie and understanding. President Marcos commended representatives of the Filipino community for excelling in their fields while supporting their families at home. According to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the top in-demand jobs for Filipinos in Malaysia are data scientists and statisticians, financial control and compliance specialists, human relations (HR) and customer care staff, test automation managers, marketing design executives, engineers, and customer care representatives. Meanwhile, there are also thousands of domestic helpers and manual workers whose welfare is being closely monitored by the government. Speaker Martin Romualdez observed that the reception extended by the Filipino community was truly heartwarming and inspiring. A highly productive business forum provided the capstone. According to President Marcos, the government received around $285 million or around ₱15.5 billion in investment pledges from Malaysia-based corporations. He said it is imperative for the Philippines to upgrade and transform its product and service investment portfolio to attract more substantial investments. He was also able to secure the commitment of the Malaysian government in exploring new pacts on the Halal industry and Islamic banking. Another key facet was the promotion of investment linkages between big business and the micro-, small, and medium-scale enterprise (MSME) sector that are geared toward supporting regional economic integration. President Marcos also disclosed that he and the Malaysian leaders were able to touch on issues such as the repatriation of Filipinos serving sentence in the foreign country, a mention of the Sabah issue, and interest in the establishment of the Maharlika Investment Fund. The Malaysian side also reaffirmed their commitment to capacity-building in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).  Recall that Malaysia played a vital role in facilitating the talks that led to the forging of a peace agreement that set the stage for the establishment of BARMM. President Marcos summed up his assessment of the visit thus: "I'm happy to be able to say that we have actually done more than we expected…we undertake these trips to try and foster those new expanding relationships."