The Consulate General of Malaysia for Southern India is one of the three missions of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

focusing on Malaysian interests in the region. It is located in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and its jurisdiction includes the states of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and the union territory of

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

. The other two are the Malaysian High Commission in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

and the Consulate General of Malaysia in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, in addition to an honorary office in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. The current Consul General of the Chennai Consulate is Saravanan Karathihayan. He is the fifth Consul General of the Chennai Consulate succeeding Ahmad Fajarazam bin Abdul Jalil and is the 21st head of mission since the establishment of the Mission in 1961.

Location of agencies

The Office of the Consulate General of Malaysia is located at No.7 (Old 3) Cenotaph Road 1st Street,

Teynampet Teynampet, also Teynampettai, is one of the busiest commercial localities in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Part of the city's central business district, it is surrounded by Gopalapuram in the north, Mylapore in the east, Alwarpet in t ...

. Other offices operating under the Consulate General are Immigration agency, the Education and Training section (Public Services Department) and the Ministry of Human Resources. The Tourism Malaysia agency functions at 4 Kodambakkam High Road,

Nungambakkam Nungambakkam is a locality in downtown Chennai, India. The neighborhood abounds with multi-national commercial establishments, important government offices, foreign consulates, educational institutions, shopping malls, sporting facilities, to ...

. The MATRADE office—the office of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, the national trade promotion agency of Malaysia—operates from 554 and 555,

Anna Salai Anna Salai (), formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towards St. Thomas Mount, and e ...

, Teynampet. The Malaysian Airlines functions from Temple Tower No.672, Anna Salai,

Nandanam Nandanam is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is a busy location and is home to many commercial institutions. This locality also offers a calm residential location. Nandanam Arts College was established in 1901. Nandanam Junction, on the a ...

History

The Consulate General of Malaysia for Southern India in Chennai was established in 1961 as the Office of the Assistant High Commissioner for Malaysia in Chennai. The mission in Chennai is considered one of the first few Malaysian diplomatic missions established abroad following the establishment of Indian diplomatic relations with the Federation of Malaya (predecessor state of Malaysia) in 1957. and the Independence of Malaysia in the same year. In November 2004, the Chennai mission was upgraded as the Consulate General of Malaysia for Southern India in Chennai by the Government of Malaysia through the notification issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on 8 November 2004 in order to cater to the greater interests of Malaysia in the region by optimizing the role of the mission.

List of Assistant High Commissioners/Consul Generals

Until the upgradation in 2004 as the Consulate General, the mission had Assistant High Commissioners heading it. Since 2004, the mission is being led by consul generals. Below is the list of Assistant High Commissioners/Consul Generals of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Chennai: ;Assistant high commissioners # T. H. Yogaratnam (1961–1964) # Razali Ismail (1964–1966) # Anaitullah B. Karim (1966–1969) # Alfred Kumarasari (1970–1972) # Kon Song Chee (1973 (6 months)) # Dominic Mathews (1973–1974) # Low Tiam Kit (1974–1976) # Tuan Hj. Gulam Haniff (1976–1979) # Marzuki Mohd Noor (1980–1982) # Fauzi Yon (1982–1985) # Abdul Latif Awang (1985–1988) # Mahalil Hj. Baharam (1988–1992) # Shafie Abu Samah (1992–1996) # Ismail Ahmad (1997) # Mazlan Muhammad (1997–2001) # Y. M. Raja Ahmad Raja Daud (2001–2004) ;Consul generals # Rosli B. Ismail (2004–2007) # Anuar Kasman (22 April 2008 – 2012) # Chitra Devi Ramiah (2012 – January 2016) # Ahmad Fajarazam bin Abdul Jalil (January 2016 – August 2017) # Saravanan Karathihayan (January 2018–present)

Mission statement

The stated mission of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Chennai is as follows: * Uphold the country's sovereignty and promote universal peace * Foster friendly relations with foreign countries * Develop and protect Malaysia's interests in the regional and international arena * Ensure the safety and interests of Malaysians abroad * Extend excellent and efficient services to the Ministry's stakeholders both locally and abroad

Functions

The mission is headed by 18 diplomatic officers assigned by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With the expansion to include various core areas, the office of the Consulate General is assisted by several agencies under the umbrella of the Consulate General to execute specific duties: Along with the Malaysian High Commission in

, the Consulate General in Chennai processes visa applications from Indian visitors. As of 2009, the Consulate General in Chennai issues more than 350 visas a day, including employment and tourist visas. The visa application centre in Chennai was established in 2011. Other visa applications centres are in

, New Delhi,

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

PERWAKILAN Chennai

The Ladies Association of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Chennai is known as PERWAKILAN Chennai. PERWAKILAN is an acronym of "Persatuan Wanita Kementerian Luar Negeri" meaning the "Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ladies Association". It is a voluntary non-profit organization and was established following the establishment of the Consulate General. It is currently chaired by Mrs Anetha Butpanathan, wife of the Consul General. Membership is automatically opened to wives of home-based staff of the Malaysian Consulate General Office and Malaysian Governmental Agencies in Chennai.

References

External links

Official website of the Malaysian Consulate General Chennai

Homepage of PERWAKILAN Chennai

Homepage of Matrade
{{Foreign relations of Malaysia Diplomatic missions in India

Organisations based in Chennai

India–Malaysia relations 1961 establishments in Madras State