Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : MANDARIN ORIENTAL, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 09/08/2003
Tajuk/Title : KUALA LUMPUR WORLD PEACE CONFERENCE
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai :
It is with optimism for a better future that I
welcome the inauguration of the Kuala Lumpur World
Peace Conference. I congratulate the Malaysian World
Peace Foundation for organising this very important
conference at this critical juncture. I would also
like to thank the Foundation for the invitation and
honour of declaring open this conference.
2. In recent times we have seen some of the worst
international violence in the history of mankind.
While frustrated and angry young people crashed their
aircrafts into buildings, killing a few thousand
innocent people, the retalition that this triggered is
no less brutal, killing innumerable innocent people,
unconnected with Sept 11. It is therefore timely that
we make some effort to return to sanity, to the
peaceful settlement of disputes between nations and
religions.
3. But some would question why Malaysia should take
this initiative. Malaysia had known wars, conventional
and guerrilla. But Malaysia had striven to settle
conflicts within it and between it and other countries
in a peaceful way, through negotiations rather than
confrontations and wars. And Malaysia has largely
succeeded. We regard no one as an enemy against whom
we should war. And domestically we have avoided
violent confrontations between the peoples of different
races.
4. If I may I would like to say that the world should
take note of the way Malaysia achieves these things. I
do not suggest our way is the best for everyone, but I
do suggest that we are a relevant example of how the
differences between people can be settled without
violence.
5. I hope our foreign guests will experience this for
themselves as they meet and mix with ordinary
Malaysians. There is some tension, some disagreement
but by and large Malaysians of every race and strata
get along quite well with each other. They live
together, work together and play together. Inter-
racial marriage is not common. No one seeks to
assimilate anyone else. But we do seek to integrate
and we have done this quite well.
6. There are very many differences within our
multiracial society but we focus more on what is common
than on what is different. We have learnt to tolerate
each other. I apologise if I seem to be holding up
Malaysia as an example of peaceful coexistence. But I
have to do this because almost every report by the
foreign media would begin with the famous "Although"
i.e. "Although Malaysia appears to be peaceful,
actually it is not." They suggest that Malaysia is
about to burst in flames as the races go at each
other's throats. That it has not done so for years and
years does not stop them from predicting violent racial
conflicts in Malaysia.
7. As I said, this conference is timely. It has
brought together several of the world's prominent
statesmen and thinkers to share their views on peace
and lend their support to our endeavour.
8. The Malaysia World Peace Foundation has created
the Kuala Lumpur World Peace Award. Malaysia is a
Muslim country and we think it is appropriate that a
Muslim country should initiate this Peace Award. Many
may not believe it but Islam, the religion of the
Muslims, means peace. When we greet each other we say
"Peace be upon you". Incidentally the Jews also greet
in the same way. "Shalom" means peace. If there seems
to be no peace in the Islamic world, especially between
Muslims and Jews it is not because of religion. It is
simply because of human cussedness, contrariness.
9. You will recall the violence of Christendom as it
expanded. The Jews were subjected to periodical
pogroms because they were supposed to slaughter
Christian children in order to use their blood for
religious ceremonies. The Christian were also very
intolerant of their own heretics. The Spanish
Inquisition saw the fake trials and burnings at the
stakes of the Christian heretics. And when Christians
discovered new land, they forced the conversion of the
natives on pain of death. They claim that it was their
Manifest Destiny to bring Christianity and civilisation
to the natives, failing which they should exterminate
the heathens.
10. But we all know that there was nothing Christian
in all these things that they had done. Christianity
was a convenient excuse for doing un-Christian things.
Similarly many Muslims invoke Islam when they commit
unIslamic things. The Al-Quran is very clear. Muslims
can only fight in self-defense. And when the enemy
sues for peace Muslims must respond positively.
11. It is therefore right for a Muslim country, a
peaceful Muslim country, to campaign for peace and to
create a World Peace Award. We have made our first
award to the most deserving person in our times.
President Jacques Chirac of France, the first recipient
has courted unpopularity in his rejection of war as an
instrument of policy. He is the only First World
leader who remained in close contact with the condemned
leaders of the third World and tried to reason with
them. No sabre rattling. Only friendly ears. And
when it came to the crunch, to be with or to be
against, he chose to stand firm on his principles. It
is therefore only right that he should get this first
Kuala Lumpur World Peace Award.
12. If all the world leaders are like President
Chirac, peace would have a better chance. But
unfortunately leaders, even popular leaders, differ
greatly. And so war as an instrument of national
policy is still with us. It is a truism that the
people who want war most are those who believe they can
win the war. The least warlike are those who know they
would lose.
13. Peace has to be fought for, not on the battle
fields but in the conference rooms. There is no such
thing as a war to end all wars, a war for permanent
peace. The first and second world wars were billed as
the wars to end all wars. But war is still very much
with us, as we have seen recently.
14. Unfortunately to neglect defence because we
believe in peace is likely to invite attacks and war.
That is because we still have warlike predators in this
world. The whole world must fully believe in peace
before we can stop wasting money on defense.
15. The destruction wrought by the nuclear bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki frightened the world. A nuclear
war can really completely destroy this world. A
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was crafted for all to
subscribe to. But the powerful countries capable of
producing nuclear weapons refused to sign. They went
ahead to develop and produce nuclear weapons and store
enough of them to destroy all the living creatures
together with this world. Today one bloc has given up.
There really is no credible enemy for the winning bloc.
Yet the preparation for war goes on and never and more
lethal nuclear weapons are being produced and stored in
readiness for war.
16. But now even the poor can produce lethal nuclear
devices thanks to the warlike rich and their ingenuity.
Unable to use nuclear explosives, the diabolical
scientists of the rich have coated their ordinary
bullets with nuclear waste material. If the bullet does
not kill immediately, the wounds would be contaminated
with radio-active material to cause lethal diseases
later. Obviously if the radio-active material coats
even simple explosives, the effect would be more lethal
than normal. And so we must now fear dirty bombs.
17. In today's war everyone is on the frontline.
Ordinary non-combatants are as much the targets as are
the soldiers. Their death is not even honoured. They
are called collaterals. To the devastating effect of
shrapnels carried by bombs and missiles, there are now
the cluster-bombs dispersing bomblets over a wide area,
bomblets which explode on contact, killing innocent
children who picked them up.
18. To make sure that bunkers and shelters deep down
in the ground are destroyed, bombs are being invented
with nuclear warheads to penetrate deep into the ground
before exploding. Incendiary bombs are invented so as
to explode in front of caves sucking and burning all
the oxygen and asphyxiating those hiding in the caves.
19. Heat seeking and laser guided missiles are
supposed to be smart. But too often they hit the wrong
targets. And so hospitals and schools are hit.
20. Rockets can now be fired from hundreds of miles
away or indeed from more than a thousand miles away.
Borders and frontline; mean nothing anymore. Everyone
in a country at war is in the frontline, is the target.
Still the search for more efficient so-called
conventional weapons goes on. Eliminating nuclear
weapons will not end wars, for conventional weapons are
as much weapons of mass destruction as are nuclear
weapons. And now we have gas and germs to spread death
with equal efficiency.
21. The strange thing is that as soon as a new weapon
is invented a defense against it would follow. Then
there would be a weapon which can overcome the defense.
And then a new defense system would be invented to
counter the weapons which can penetrate the defense.
And so it goes on, consuming huge sums of money as they
are researched, tested, produced and stored or provided
to the armed forces.
22. If there is no war then all these very expensive
weapons would be a waste. There is therefore an itch
to test these weapons in real war conditions. And so
little wars are encouraged so these weapons can be
tested. Off and on a fairly major war would be
launched deliberately for no very good reason. And the
weapons are gleefully used in these real life tests.
And their effectiveness are evaluated so that they can
be improved and made even more lethal.
23. To recover some of the cost of developing these
weapons, the rich countries hawk their weapons all over
the world. Poor countries are advised by high pressure
arms salesmen to buy and equip their armed forces with
these weapons. To encourage them, it was pointed out
that their neighbours have already bought or are about
to buy these weapons. If attacked by their neighbours
they would suffer huge losses and damage. So they must
buy even if their neighbours are friendly. And when
they buy, their neighbours far and near would be
persuaded to buy the weapons so as not to be considered
behind the times. And so the small countries expend
huge sums of money, money which they can ill afford on
arms, which in most instances they would never use and
which would become out of date and would need to be
replaced by new state of the art murder weapons.
24. The media belonging to the countries selling the
arms condemn these small countries for entering into an
arms race and wasting money. They never condemn the
high pressure salesman or the vast sums expended in the
research and production of these weapons by the rich.
25. The cost escalates all the time. A fighter
aircraft used to cost a few million dollars a piece.
Now they cost well over a hundred million, and more for
the ground support necessary to keep them flying.
Weapons may represent an investment for the security of
a nation but otherwise they have no return on
investment. If there is no research into newer weapons
and everyone is equipped with old fashioned rifles, the
winners would still win and the losers would still
lose. The number of casualties would be less, and the
money saved can be expended on human welfare. Whether
rifles or rockets the result would be the same, one
side will win, the other will lose.
26. In the old days wars were fought by armies led
into battle by their generals. The chances of the
generals getting killed during the battles were as good
as those of their soldiers. Generals were therefore
wary of wars and battles.
27. But today the generals operate from command and
control centres hundreds of miles away from the killing
fields. Civilian leaders actually stay at home, with
armies of security guards to protect them. For the
leaders making war is easy, especially war against weak
and easily defeated enemies. Thus the desire to wage
wars at the slightest excuse.
28. Just as no one dares to criticise an oppressive
leader, no one dares to say anything against the
powerful countries. The risk of being invaded and
occupied is real. Or at the very least there would be
sanctions, the modern equivalent of the historical
siege, when everyone, guilty or innocent would be made
to suffer until they surrender.
29. Unable to win a conventional war, the weak has
resorted to terror attacks. Governments may not
approve of this but there is no way the governments can
discipline their angry and frustrated people. If the
governments try to stop their people, they, the
government leaders would be killed by these people.
The quandary the governments are in is obvious. It is
a case of being damned if you do and being damned if
you don't.
30. But is peace for the world, for the countries and
the peoples of the world possible? Of course it is.
It would be a sad commentary on our 21st Century
civilisation if we accept that peace is impossible,
that the world must always live in fear of war, must
always arm to the teeth at tremendous cost and still be
in fear. It is even sadder when our 21st Century
civilisation accepts that the weak must continue to be
bullied and hegemonised by the strong.
31. Peace is possible if we make exceptions for no one
in terms of submission to the only International
authority that we have, the United Nations. It is
presently not a democratic organisation, prevented from
being so by the very people who preach democracy. But
it is still the only international authority that we
have. We have to make it work. And it can work if the
powerful countries restore its credibility by
respecting it and the decisions made by it.
32. Secondly, peace can be had if the avaricious and
the greedy are curbed. Having exploited their own
countries to the maximum they are now bent on
exploiting the whole world. They invent all kinds of
spurious reasons to legitimise their exploitation.
Despite frothing at the mouth promoting democracy, the
rule of law and human rights, these same people deny
democracy by insisting that the market must discipline
governments, even elected governments. The market, or
rather the very rich business and money manipulators
are elected by no one. They may be rich and powerful
but they represent no one but themselves. If we allow
these greedy people to rule the world, we might as well
forget about democracy.
33. Their selfish exploitation of the world has
impoverished countries and people so much that a
backlash by the very poor is inevitable. Unfortunately
instead of dealing with this social ill, the powerful
can only see democratisation and the free market as the
solution. Yet these very solutions are the causes of
the extreme disparities which make peace impossible.
34. Aggression by democratic forces and the free
market is no different from aggression by authoritarian
and closed markets which the Communist countries once
represented. Yet if the democrats are truly
democratic, they can do so much to curb aggression, to
be sensitive to the problems of the poor majority and
to help remove the extreme disparities between rich and
poor which are the causes of unrest, violence and
terrorism, i.e. the absence of peace.
35. Modern nations tax the rich in order to provide
for the poor, thereby reducing the disparities and the
possibility of violent confrontations between rich and
poor. Society becomes more stable and peaceful where
there is more equitability all round.
36. Similarly in a globalised world the rich countries
and the rich people must be taxed in order to alleviate
the poverty of poor countries and poor people. They
need not be made dependent on the rich forever but they
should be helped through the provision of the necessary
basic amenities for them to exploit the wealth of their
countries themselves.
37. Only when wealth is fairly and evenly distributed
in the globalised world community will we be free from
the tensions, the bitterness and the anger which make
the deprived resort to violence and terrorism, breaking
the peace.
38. The disparities in the world today was once
reflected in Malaysia. Wealth used to belong only to
one community while the other communities remained
extremely poor. The tension caused by this situation
lead to racial riots, destruction of property and death
of many in 1969. To avoid a recurrence the government
launched an affirmative action plan designed to reduce
the disparities between the races and eradicate poverty
among all.
39. Over a period of time with the reduction in the
disparities the tension eased. And so when the
economic crisis of 1997-1998 brought great hardship to
the people, there were no race riots as there were in
other similarly affected countries.
40. The World needs affirmative action between
countries so that the disparities between rich and poor
countries worldwide are reduced and tension minimised.
With this peace would be possible.
41. For the countries and peoples of the world valuing
peace must be cultivated deliberately, must be made a
part of the national cultures beginning in the schools
and throughout life. This culture must be adopted
fully and seriously especially by the powerful
countries of the world, by their people. We need a
culture of Peace particularly among those who are
arming themselves to the teeth, who constantly develop
arms and who sell them to confronting pairs of
countries.
42. This conference is timely. It is a small step but
it is the correct step. The powerful are not
interested in peace. Only the weak are. And the weak
must together initiate and promote peace.
43. Fortunately there are many from the powerful
countries who believe in peace. We should welcome
their cooperation. They can help to spread the word
among the people who matter, the people who are rich
and powerful. In the final analysis unless the
powerful reject war as an instrument of national policy
peace would be impossible.
44. I welcome you to peaceful Malaysia. Many have
tried to destablise this country. But they have
failed. They failed because the vast majority of
Malaysians believe in peace. God willing they will
always be steadfast in the struggle for peace. This
conference holds a lot of meaning and hope for
Malaysia, and for the weak in the world.
45. We therefore await the results of this conference
and the steps that you propose to take. I wish you
success in your deliberations.
46. With that I take great pleasure in declaring the
Kuala Lumpur Peace Conference open.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
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