Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : DEWAN RAKYAT, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 26/01/88
Tajuk/Title : THE OPENING OF THE 9TH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE ASEAN INTER
PARLIAMENTARY ORGANISATION (AIPO)
Honourable President of AIPO;
Honourable Speakers and Heads of AIPO
Delegations;
Excellencies;
Honourable Delegates;
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is indeed an honour for me to be here this morning
to welcome the ASEAN Speakers and the Members of Parliament
as well as observers from a number of countries. I bid you
all a warm 'Selamat Datang' or Welcome to Malaysia.
2. I hope that your brief stay in Malaysia would enable
you, to gain a greater insight and understanding of the
people and the country. I am informed that apart from formal
meetings there are also excursions planned for you. I hope
the excursions will enable you to have a better appreciation
of Malaysia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
3. The 3rd Meeting of the ASEAN Heads of Government took
place in Manila in December 1987. The Meeting was a clear
manifestation of the depth of regional solidarity and unity
that has emerged within ASEAN. A new impetus was given to
the ASEAN cooperative endeavours to see it through the next
decade and beyond. The ASEAN Heads of Government agreed on
a comprehensive Programme of Action aimed at enhancing and
upgrading every sector of ASEAN's multifarious development
activities. The Programme of Action is therefore ASEAN's
strategy to meet future challenges in a comprehensive,
coordinated and pragmatic way.
4. The political, economic and social interests of ASEAN
member countries, though diverse, are inextricably
intertwined. The increasing strategic and economic
importance of ASEAN and Southeast Asia in general, and the
continuing uncertainty in Indochina makes it more imperative
for the Southeast Asian region to accelerate development and
progress and to maintain durable peace and stability.
5. The problems of occupied Kampuchea continue to be a
source of great concern to us. We in ASEAN must, however,
persevere in the search for a comprehensive political
solution without sacrificing the principles of national
sovereignty and the right of self-determination of the
Kampuchean people. The unsettled situation in Kampuchea
indeed represents an impediment to the realisation of the
Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality or ZOPFAN in the
region.
6. ASEAN's reaffirmation of its commitment to the early
realisation of the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality
should be translated into positive action, now that the
superpowers themselves have come to a new and positive phase
in their relationship. The concept of a Southeast Asian
Nuclear Weapon Free Zone is therefore ASEAN's contribution
to the international efforts to keep this region free of
nuclear weapons and hence help create a more stable
political environment conducive to world peace.
7. Southeast Asia remains an area of strategic importance
in the emerging era of the Pacific in which the major powers
would no doubt continue to have a significant role in
determining the region's future directions. However, it is
the primary responsibility of the nations of the region to
ensure a conflict-free Southeast Asia through closer
cooperation in the political, economic, social and cultural
fields among themselves, as well as with other interested
parties.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
8. Significant changes have taken place in the economies
of the ASEAN countries. ASEAN countries are dependent on
external markets for the export of their commodities and
increasingly on their manufactured goods. However, the
unfavourable global trading conditions, compounded by the
protectionist trends in the developed countries have created
difficulties for all developing countries, including ASEAN.
With this unhealthy environment it is even more necessary
that ASEAN achieve greater intra-ASEAN cooperation in
industry and trade so as to be less dependent on markets
outside our control.
9. In this scheme of things therefore, where do
Parliamentarians stand and how do they contribute towards
achieving these goals? While it is the Executive's
responsibility to come up with suggestions on policies and
their modus operandi, the Parliamentarians are equally
responsible to find ways to overcome our national and
regional problems. Parliamentarians are particularly well-
placed to reject legislative measures which will reduce
intra-regional and world trade.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
10. While the Third ASEAN Summit was taking place,
President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail
Gorbachev, had their summit in Washington. The Treaty they
signed to eliminate intermediate and short range nuclear
missiles marks an important step in the reduction of nuclear
arms and disarmament. It could pave the way for a general
multilateral disarmament and usher a new era of
understanding among countries of varying shades of political
conviction. If this is achieved then developing countries
can divert scarce funds from the purchase of arms to the
improvement of the living standards of the people.
11. In recent weeks the problem of the Palestinian refugees
has taken new dimensions. In defiance of world opinion and
United Nations resolutions, the Tel Aviv regime is
continuing its relentless policies of systematic and brutal
repression against innocent and unarmed Palestinians in the
occupied territories. The increasing atrocities, bloodshed
and injustice being inflicted by Israel are against human
decency and all that it stands for. Malaysia strongly and
emphatically condemns the Tel Aviv regime for its cruelties
against Palestinians in the occupied territories, and calls
on it to immediately abide by international norms and
practice. Israel must respect the inalienable right of
Palestinians to a national homeland so that permanent peace
and stability could be achieved in West Asia. I would like
to suggest that you deliberate on this issue and make
appropriate recommendations.
12. This Assembly is the right forum to discuss the fate of
suffering humanity, particularly that of the blacks in South
Africa. Malaysia has been unequivocal in the abhorrence and
condemnation of the racist white regime in South Africa. We
in Malaysia feel strongly that South Africa should be
completely ostracised. The excuse that this would hurt the
blacks more than the whites have been disproved by the
realities we see today. Even without sanctions the blacks
are still being oppressed, ill-treated and murdered. The
only answer would be for total sanctions and isolation of
the racist regime of South Africa.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
13. I would also like to touch on a matter of great
importance which has become a serious problem affecting
many countries in the world. I refer of course to the
scourge of drug addiction which has debilitating effects on
the economic and social development of our countries. The
International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking (ICDAIT) has recommended a comprehensive
programme for all countries which can go a long way towards
ridding ourselves of this scourge. It remains for the
countries to implement them. Malaysia is totally committed
to the fight. As you know the penalty for trafficking in
drugs in Malaysia is death. Since we have demonstrated that
we discriminate in favour of no one where Malaysian laws
are concerned, Malaysia has become less of a transit
country.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
14. We have come a long way in ASEAN. The forging of a
common stand and collective will on matters of vital concern
to ASEAN, both within our region and at the international
level, are only the outward signs of the quiet progress we
have made in building cohesion and cooperation among our
countries. The going has not been entirely smooth. The
challenges that have emerged from time to time have tested
our collective will as well as the resilience within our
countries and in the region as a whole. The success we have
had reflects the high priority that each one country has
placed on ASEAN and its viability. As Parliamentarians you
have a high duty to entrench this priority and progress.
15. ASEAN's solidarity and achievements have had the
continuing attention and efforts of our Foreign and Economic
Ministers, but we also owe a great deal to the roots of
understanding, goodwill and cooperation that have been put
down by other governmental, non-governmental and people's
institutions across ASEAN. AIPO, as the forum of ASEAN
Parliamentarians, has also played its part in developing
common framework of approaches and actions on matters of
deep concern to all of us. AIPO's contacts with
Parliamentarians in Europe, Asia, Australia and elsewhere
have been valuable assets.
16. Indeed, AIPO has provided a unique opportunity for the
people of ASEAN, and our friends from elsewhere, an
opportunity to see parliamentary institutions and
legislative processes at work in ASEAN. These reflect our
people's will and the diversity of historical and cultural
backgrounds that we are heirs to. Democratic and
parliamentary institutions and processes have been nurtured
and have grown in a meaningful way in the countries of
ASEAN, but they have not escaped the pressures and the
tensions created by our cultural, ethnic and religious
diversity within each of our countries. They have not yet
become totally immunized against the sporadic attacks of
adventurous dreamers, of tunnel-visioned proponents of
alien concepts and of plain anti-social forces. They will
in time become immune, but in the meantime we must manage to
hold the fundamentals of our nationhood intact. In the end,
democratic and parliamentary processes have to ensure our
people the peace and security that they are entitled to.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
17. We in ASEAN can be proud that we have in fact been able
to manage these processes, considering that we have been
independent, with the exception of Thailand, only since the
end of the Second World War. Before that we were colonies
of Western nations, whose imperial interests preclude
training in the art and science of Government, particularly
the democratic form of government. The colonial governments
we were exposed to were, if not totalitarian, at least
authoritarian. Except for a few tame nominees, the people of
our countries were never represented in these colonial
governments.
18. If these colonial governments had problems, they
resolved these problems without any regard for the feelings
or interests of the indigenous people. Thus when faced with
a shortage of manpower to exploit the resources of their
colonies, they did not hesitate to import culturally and
ethnically alien people. No effort was made to integrate
these people. Indeed, they were deliberately separated in
keeping with the dictum 'divide and rule'.
19. Consequently when independence was gained and democracy
was adopted the peoples of these new nations found democracy
very difficult to manage. A system does not work merely
because it is a good system. What makes it tick is the
people who manage or participate in it. Not having had any
democratic experience under colonial rule, the peoples of
the newly independent countries could not appreciate the
restraints and the responsibilities in the exercise of
democratic rights.
20. That the ASEAN countries have succeeded in mastering
the intricacies of democracy and to develop rapidly at the
same time is a matter for much satisfaction. We should not
gloat over our successes, nor should we rest satisfied with
them. There is much to be done still to develop our
countries. For this we need stability. Members of
Parliament must know this and they must contribute towards
stability. Those who undermine stability in the pursuit of
dubious democratic rights; those who ignore the well-being
of the majority cannot be considered as having the interest
of their country or even of democracy at heart. It is for
these reasons that communists and extremists are not
allowed to use democratic processes in order to destroy
democracy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
21. The ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Organisation has a role
to play in promoting better understanding of the limitations
and responsibilities of democracy as much as it must promote
the benefits to be derived from the system.
22. I hope that this Assembly will contribute towards the
betterment of ASEAN countries in particular and developing
countries in general.
23. Now I have much pleasure in declaring open this 9th.
General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary
Organisation.
Thank you.
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