Waiting for Dr M’s take on our UN win
Will he be critical of Najib’s eagerness for international fame while neglecting the home front?
Ishmael Lim, Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia’s non-permanent seat in the United Nation’s Security Council can be a wonderful thing for Malaysians.
The obvious and immediate benefits would be the elevating of Malaysia’s stature in the eyes of the world as a player on the global stage. We believe the less obvious but more important benefit to the citizens of Malaysia would be that the international spotlight will bring along with it scrutiny into the domestic affairs of our nation.
Although the Security Council doesn’t discuss affairs unrelated to global or regional security or crisis resolution, we should at least be hopeful that by the time we take our seat in January, our own house will be tidied up and set in order before we give our views on how others should put right theirs.
Everyone knows that the number one issue on the global centre-stage now is Ebola and IS in Syria and Iraq. Malaysia will be expected to share its views and cast its vote on the resolutions that will be proposed by members on the council.
Away from the horse-shoe table in the council chamber, close contact with other members will hopefully prompt questions as to how we propose to handle our own internal issues. Of concern would be our position with regard to the repeal of draconian laws that are being used to suppress legitimate political and academic discourse and its preferential application to silence dissent.
We expect former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad will share some of his views and criticism of this development with fellow Malaysians in due course. Will Mahathir be critical of the Najib administration’s eagerness for international fame while neglecting the home front on his frequent away trips? Might he see PM Najib’s cosying up with foreign powers as a strategic threat that might possibly affect our independence on trade issues? Western expectations of Malaysia’s repeal of certain local laws might be interpreted as Jewish-linked interference with a view to destabilising a Muslim nation.
Mahathir’s rule was famously associated with his autocratic style, where the opposition and the press had little free space to express anti-establishment views. At the same time, his tenure was characteristic for keeping the conservative religious voices from expressing anything he might construe as extreme and not conducive to encouraging business and foreign direct investments. Groups with fundamentalist tendencies were monitored and kept in check before any militant action could surface or take root. Unfortunately, this close micro-management style of Mahathir’s was abandoned after his retirement.
