Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : JAKARTA, INDONESIA
Tarikh/Date : 01/09/92
Tajuk/Title : THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT SUMMIT
Mr. Chairman,
May I on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf
congratulate you on your unanimous election as Chairman of
the Tenth Conference of the Heads of State/Government of the
Non-Aligned Movement. As a close friend and neighbour, and
as an ASEAN colleague, I am particularly happy to see Your
Excellency in the Chair. It is fitting that this crucial
meeting of the NAM should be held in your country, where the
first concept of a third world force was concretised. It is
also a tribute to your leadership of this great country,
Indonesia. We are confident that with your vast experience
and wisdom, you will guide this historic meeting to a suc-
cessful conclusion.
2. My delegation wishes also to place on record its deep
appreciation to the Government and people of Indonesia for
the warm and generous hospitality accorded to us and for the
excellent arrangements made to ensure our comfortable stay.
3. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my del-
egation's warm welcome to the delegations of Brunei
Darussalam and the Philippines as full-fledged members. I
also welcome the delegations of Papua New Guinea and
Uzbekistan as new members of the Movement, and the deleg-
ations of China, Thailand, Croatia and Armenia who are here
for the first time as observers. China, a permanent member
of the Security Council, would be able to contribute posi-
tively to the interests of the group. I look forward to
China's full membership of the Movement. I am also de-
lighted to welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia who have
been accorded guest status.
Mr. Chairman,
4. The peace and tranquility in this capital city of
Jakarta belie the violence and conflict that occur in other
parts of the world. In Bosnia - Herzegovina a vicious war,
involving the worst of human rights abuses, is being fought.
Concentration camps with emaciated prisoners have returned
as Serbs implement their version of apartheid, called ethnic
cleansing. Women are being raped and even children are shot
and killed by snipers. The Bosnians have been encouraged to
exercise their rights, and when they are subjected to an
all-out attack as a result, their plight is largely ignored.
Talks in far away places have not deterred the Serbs in any-
way. The killing goes on.
5. The Europeans who have always considered the Balkans
as their special responsibility, and once plunged Europe
into a world war because an Archduke was assassinated in
Sarajevo, now seem quite unwilling to be involved. The
Bosnians do not need just food and medicine. They need to
be saved from Serbian expansionism by force of arms. The
Western attitude towards the daily killings of the Bosnians
stands in stark contrast to the response to the alleged
killings of the Kurds in Iraq. Ships and planes, men and
money have been deployed there even when the evidence is not
clear.
6. Is this the face of the New World order? If it is, it
is a frightening face because it is grotesquely distorted.
While minor human rights infringements will attract retrib-
ution, blatant abuses on a massive scale go unpunished.
What kind of a New World Order is this? What will be the
fate of the many small and weak countries who make up the
majority in our Organisation? If we are subjected to the
same Serbian-type brutality, will the world watch uncaringly
on their TV screens?
Mr Chairman,
7. The ending of the Cold War and East-West confrontation
raise the question as to whether neutrality has any rele-
vance in world affairs. How can we remain non-aligned when
the two ideological adversaries have disappeared? Where be-
fore we had the option to defect to the other side, now we
have none. Our new option is to submit or resist. Both in-
volve a loss of leverage, and weak nations with no leverage
can only become weaker. And the strong will truly inherit
the world.
8. For members of the Non-Aligned Movement, the moment of
truth has come. Unless non-alignment is redefined, it will
become a misnomer.
9. But recent history must surely convince us that a
unipolar world is every bit as threatening as a bipolar
world. Apart from the tragic helplessness of Bosnia, we see
international laws and ethical codes being ground into the
dust by the powerful and the mighty. We see soldiers invad-
ing a weak country to capture the head of Government and
bring him back for trial under the laws of the invader. We
see a citizen being kidnapped in his own country by authori-
ties of another country, sanctioned by the kidnapper's
court. We see the extra-territorial application of the laws
of the strong over the weak. We see decisions by the Inter-
national Court being ignored. We see attempts by democratic
states to bomb-assassinate the leader of another country.
We hear threats to arrest the legitimate leader of a country
because what he did in his own country apparently broke the
laws of another country.
Mr. Chairman,
10. In the economic field, the independence of nation to
decide on their own policies has been effectively curtailed.
New concepts such as intellectual property, local contents,
free trade arrangements and selective discriminatory taxes
restrict world trade and slow down the economic growth in
many countries. The environment, human rights and the demo-
cratic systems have all become instruments of economic domi-
nation.
11. Where before the internal affairs of a country are not
to be interfered with by other countries, now a right is
claimed for such affairs to be scrutinised uninvited. While
the weak are in no position to examine the record of the
strong, there is no limit to the judgement and subsequent
incursions by the powerful. Matters such as the system of
Government, human rights practices, labour relations and
laws, and the environment come under the category of matters
to be subjected to scrutiny by the self-proclaimed champions
and for unilateral action.
12. Internationally, far from moving closer to the rule of
law following upon the end of the Cold War, the trend is to-
wards the arbitrary exercise of judgements and actions by
those in a position to judge and execute.
13. Free speech is one of the freedoms much touted by the
exponents of the so-called Western democracy. Woe betide
those countries which do not respect free speech and freedom
of the press.
14. Yet criticisms of the policies and behaviour of the
powerful are not tolerated by them. Dark hints about dire
consequences are heard. Alternatively such criticisms are
effectively censored. The proponents of freedom of speech
and the press apparently believe that those freedoms are to
be confined to condemning the third world's own Governments
only. The world press is controlled by the powerful and has
become their instruments to undermine the very freedoms they
preach.
Mr. Chairman,
15. The NAM or at least this group of nations needs to pro-
tect itself from the unilateral definitions and impositions
of the ideas which will shape the post Cold War era.
Clearly from the list of violations of basic principles on
human rights and accepted international behaviour by the
rich and the powerful, there is a need for us to go on and
to pool what little strength we have in order to avoid what
amounts to a revival of the old Western colonialism. It is
not a case of confronting anyone. This group is not in a
position to confront. But we need to protect ourselves.
Protection needs some strength.
16. NAM may have to be renamed to reflect its new role in a
unipolar world. NAM must have a new set of principles. NAM
must be given new objectives.
Mr Chairman,
17. Not only must NAM change but the UN must change too.
The victors of World War II cannot be allowed to permanently
affect the relative positions of the nations of the world.
New forces have emerged which must be acknowledged.
18. The composition of the Security Council may be justi-
fied in the immediate post World War II period. It cannot
be justified now. It represents disregard for democracy in
international affairs. It denies the rights of the major-
ity. We do not need more permanent members with veto
rights. We need fair representation, if not on a basis of
population, at least on a basis of a combination of relevant
factors.
19. Any attempt at building a New World Order must also ad-
dress the increasing inequity in the international economic
system which has resulted in a widening gap between the rich
nations of the North and the poor in the South.
Protectionism and subsidies by the developed countries have
resulted in developing countries losing US$500 billion a
year, ten times more the amount of foreign assistance to de-
veloping countries. Still there is more world concern over
the Human Freedom Index than the poverty and starvation in
the South. Democracy and a multiparty system may be the
best political system but by themselves they will not reduce
the inequities prevailing nor automatically alleviate human
sufferings.
Mr. Chairman,
20. A New World Order needs to be more realistic and not be
dazzled by the apparent victory of Western Democracy over
Communist dictatorship; the free market over the centrally
planned economy; absolute freedom over absolute authority.
There is no perfect system that can overcome human
imperfections. What works in one country or region may not
work in another. Imposition should not be the way to spread
the faith. Conversion will only work if there is a basic
understanding on the part of the majority of the people of
the workings of the new creed.
21. A New World Order cannot be determined by the few and
forced on the many. The few should by now have discovered
that their simple scenario of nations submitting meekly to
the will of the powerful is not correct. Determined and
blatant disregard of the powerful can occur, especially when
the powerful is obviously concerned about minimising their
own casualties.
Mr. Chairman,
22. Malaysia has always actively supported the struggle of
the Palestinian people. We view the latest development pos-
itively and hope that peace negotiations be entered into
with sincerity by both sides. No one can get everything
that they want. But the rights of the Palestinians must be
respected.
23. In South Africa, the Government must control their po-
lice and stop the carnage. While there should be negoti-
ations it is important that the Government exhibit palpable
sincerity.
Mr. Chairman,
24. Our meeting here provides an opportunity to chart a new
course and direction to ensure an effective and meaningful
role for our Movement in the changing international environ-
ment. In this context, Malaysia supports the elements on
future steps to be taken identified by the NAM Ministerial
meeting in Accra. NAM needs to establish a code of conduct
and its own confidence-building and conflict resolution
mechanism to reduce the chances of violent conflicts involv-
ing member states.
Mr. Chairman,
25. Malaysia believes that in planning for NAM's future di-
rection, some serious consideration must be given to tangi-
ble cooperation in non-political areas.
26. One important area is economic cooperation and trade
amongst the developing countries. Malaysia is fully commit-
ted to the Non-Aligned Movement's Action Plan for Economic
Cooperation and the appeal made at the last Non-Aligned Sum-
mit for member countries to assist and encourage greater
South-South cooperation. The Group of 15 South countries
has laid the foundation for trade and economic cooperation
within the South which should be of interest and benefit to
the other members of the Movement. Member countries could,
if they wish, avail themselves of the facilities developed
by the Group. On our own or together, we need to get our
houses in order. Our people must gain from the fruits of
progress and stability even if the international economic
environment remains hostile. We cannot blame everything on
outside factors.
Mr. Chairman,
27. We must not subscribe to the view that our Movement is
anachronistic. Our Grouping is relevant but in a way that
is very different from the period of the Cold War. The
Unipolar World is fraught with threats and challenges. To
deal with them we need to cling even more closely to one an-
other. Without the option to defect to the other side, we
can expect less wooing but more threats. Alone we will have
to submit one by one. Together we may yet be able to sus-
tain our independence and integrity. We must decide our-
selves or the decision will be made for us by others. We
cannot expect decisions made by others to favour us.
I thank you Mr Chairman.
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