Oleh/By  	:	DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue	:	NEW YORK
Tarikh/Date	:	25/09/2003
Tajuk/Title 	:	THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Versi 		:	ENGLISH
Penyampai	:  	PM 
	    

   May I as Prime Minister of Malaysia and Chairman of the
   Non-Aligned  Movement, offer my sincere congratulations
   to  you  on your election as the President of the  58th
   Session  of the General Assembly.  I am confident  that
   given your wisdom, experience and diplomatic skill, you
   will  be able to steer the proceedings of this Assembly
   to  a  successful conclusion.  I wish to assure you  of
   the fullest cooperation of the Malaysian delegation.  I
   strongly  believe that the members of  the  Non-Aligned
   Movement  would similarly render all their support  and
   cooperation to you.
   
   2.    Allow me also to pay tribute to your predecessor,
   His  Excellency  Mr. Jan Kavan, for his dedication  and
   the effective manner in which he had conducted the work
   of the 57th Session of the General Assembly.
   
   3.    I  also  commend  the Secretary-General  for  his
   efforts  and perseverance and I salute to the  men  and
   women  who have dedicated and given their lives in  the
   service of the United Nations.
   
   4.    This  Assembly has been conceived as a forum  for
   the  nations of the world, big and small, to air  their
   views and grievances freely as the stakeholders in  the
   governance  of  the  international  community.   It  is
   unfortunately   subservient  to  the   United   Nations
   Security Council, which in turn is subservient  to  any
   single  one  of the five victors of a war  fought  more
   than  half  a  century ago.  It is hardly a  democratic
   forum but it is all that the great civilisation of  the
   late  20th and early 21st centuries has; a civilisation
   that is supposed to uphold freedom.
   
   5.    Still  we,  the small nations  have  much  to  be
   grateful for.  From being the colonies of the Europeans
   we  are  now independent, and we are granted membership
   of  the  United Nations with the right to speak, albeit
   with  proper  restraint  and  decorum  at  this  august
   assembly.   And  as independent nations we  believe  we
   have  a  right to manage our internal affairs ourselves
   without foreign interference.
   
   6.    We  admit that there are abuses in the management
   of  our countries by some of our governments.  But  our
   detractors  should remember that they had  also  abused
   their   government's  power  when  they   seized   land
   belonging  to  the  indigenous people and  exterminated
   them, claiming that it was their "Manifest Destiny" the
   "White  Man's Burden," to bring civilisation by setting
   up their own countries in these lands and confining the
   indigenous people to barren reserves, with no  role  in
   the  government of the new nations.  What they had done
   to the indigenous people is not out of character for in
   their  own  countries  they  had  carried  out  pogroms
   against the Jews, inquisitions and mock trials, torture
   and killing by burning at the stakes.
   
   7.   We all carry the baggage of history.  But we would
   willingly leave them behind if it is not for  the  fact
   that  history  has  a nasty habit of repeating  itself.
   Today   we   are  seeing  the  resurgence  of  European
   Imperialism.   At  first  we thought  the  colonisation
   would be virtual.  Merely by economic strangulation and
   financial emasculation, the newly independent countries
   could  be  brought  to  their  knees,  begging  to   be
   recolonised in other forms.  But today we are  actually
   faced by the old physical occupation by foreign forces.
   Puppet regimes are installed dancing as puppets do.
   
   8.   And this august institution, the United Nations in
   which   we  had  pinned  so  much  hope,  despite   the
   safeguards  supposed to be provided  by  the  Permanent
   Five, this Organisation is today collapsing on its clay
   feet, helpless to protect the weak and the poor.   This
   United  Nations  can  just be  ignored,  pushed  aside,
   gesticulating feebly as it struggles to be relevant.
   
   9.    Its  organs  have  been cut  out,  dissected  and
   reshaped so they may perform the way the puppet masters
   want.  The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund,
   the  World Trade Organisation have now been turned into
   instruments  of hegemony, to impoverish  the  poor,  to
   enrich  the rich.  It is not surprising that today  the
   disparities between rich and poor are far greater.
   
   10.   With  an impotent United Nations and its agencies
   turned into national organs of the powerful, the  small
   nations  are  now naked and hapless.  Even  if  we  are
   totally  innocent, there is nothing to prevent  trumped
   up charges to be made against us.
   
   11.   We  feel  a  great  need for  the  integrity  and
   credibility  of the U.N. to be restored.   Fortunately,
   the breach of international norms has been by countries
   which  are  reputedly tolerant of free speech  and  the
   rights of others.    When criticisms are forbidden then
   the  abuses will increase until they become intolerable
   and  revolt  takes place with all the destruction  that
   accompanies  it.   That was what happened  with  Saddam
   Hussein  on a national scale.  That also can happen  on
   an  international  scale.   Free  speech  provides  the
   safety  valve,  the absence of which must  lead  to  an
   explosion eventually.
   
   12.  Since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Malaysia
   has  not  been able to recover fully.  This crisis  has
   been   followed  by  the  collapse  of   the   Dot.Com.
   companies,   the   massive   cheating   by   the   huge
   multinational corporations of the rich.  Then came  the
   11th Sept. attack by terrorists, which precipitated  an
   unprecedented tightening up of security worldwide,  the
   invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.  The world now lives
   in  fear - the rich from terror attacks and the  others
   from  being  made targets of suspicions and pre-emptive
   aggression.
   
   13.   Then  came the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,
   which almost bankrupted many airlines, and the tour and
   travel business.  SARS disappeared almost as quickly as
   it  appeared.  But there is no guarantee  that  it,  or
   similar new infectious diseases, will not come back.
   
   14.  The world has lost its way.  The hopes of the post
   World  War II period and the United Nations were dashed
   by  the  Cold  War.  Now the Cold War is over  but  the
   resultant   unipolar  world  and  the   ascendancy   of
   capitalism have brought about new threats.  No  country
   is  safe from marauding currency traders who in  a  few
   short   days   can  demolish  the  patiently   nurtured
   economies  of  the developing world.  Far from  curbing
   these  highway  brigands, they  are  lauded  for  their
   philanthropy.  Robin Hood at least stole from the  rich
   to  give to the poor.  These highway men steal from the
   poor  and  give a paltry sum to assuage their sense  of
   guilt.  They are no philanthropists.
   
   15.   The  unipolar  world dominated  by  a  democratic
   nation   is  leading  the  world  to  economic   chaos,
   political  anarchy, uncertainty and fear.  We  are  not
   going to recover, and have peace for as long as threats
   are  used for political and economic reforms that  most
   of  the  world  is  not ready for and  not  willing  to
   accept.
   
   16.   If we want to have democracy, the rule of law and
   respect for human rights, the powerful must demonstrate
   their  commitment to all these noble ideas.   And  they
   can  begin  by  restructuring the  United  Nations,  in
   particular  the  abolition of the  undemocratic  single
   country  veto.  This should be replaced with a modified
   veto  where  two  veto  powers backed  by  three  other
   members  of  the Security Council would  be  needed  to
   block  any United Nations Resolution.  But slowly  even
   this   should  be  dismantled  in  favour  of  majority
   decisions in the Security Council.
   
   17.  The other important agencies of the United Nations
   must  be  freed  from  the  domination  of  any  single
   country.    Gradually   they  should   be   made   more
   democratic.
   
   18.  The free market must be recognised for what it  is
   -  a market where the bottom line is paramount.  It  is
   not   a   political  force  for  the  disciplining   of
   governments.  For the right to exploit world  trade,  a
   tax should be levied by the United Nations and used  by
   the  United Nations to build needed infrastructure  for
   the poor countries of the world.
   
   19.  Exchange rates should be fixed by an International
   Commission  based  on relevant issues.   Apart  from  a
   small commission, no profits may be made by speculating
   or manipulating exchange rates.
   
   20.  Subsidies by rich countries for the production  of
   food and other products must be forbidden although poor
   countries  may  be  allowed  for a stipulated  time  to
   protect their industries and food production.
   
   21.   The world has lost its way.  The world is  moving
   too  fast.  We need to pause, to take stock of  things.
   There is a Malay saying that when one loses his way  he
   should go back to the beginning.  We need to go back to
   the  beginning.   If we dare to admit it  much  of  the
   problems  that  we face today are due to the  arbitrary
   expropriation of the land of the Palestinians in  order
   to  create  the State of Israel to solve  the  European
   Jewish problem.

   Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri