PITTSBURGH — I read the other day Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa’s explanation as to why the United Nations General Assembly’s plenary hall was “sparsely populated” as Anwar Ibrahim was making his maiden speech (delegates left the hall when the Israeli prime minister spoke).
Oh, why bother? I thought at first: haters will be haters (paid or otherwise)! In hindsight, however, I must tip my Steelers’ cap to the health minister; she did well to set the record straight not just for Anwar but also for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
I wasn’t aware that some delegates had staged a walkout as Netanyahu spoke to a lot of empty seats, but he did. But what does it matter to Israel? Do you think the social media and netizens back home in Israel cared? Or do you seriously think they would heckle and boo their prime minister for speaking to a near-empty hall? Mamash lo, as they would say in Hebrew. If they had, they probably wouldn’t ever be heard of again.
Or perhaps the Israelis know when to leave petty partisan politics behind when national pride is at stake – something some of our Malaysian friends need to be taught.
I sat through Netanyahu’s address; it was a rousing one, admittedly. Scores of Israeli journalists and diplomats from the viewing gallery upstairs, where we were seated, applauded their PM and gave him a standing ovation at the end. I would have, too, if I were an Israeli.
But here’s the thing: Anwar didn’t do too badly, either. Throughout Anwar’s address, the Malaysian journalists and diplomats, though not as many as the Israelis, applauded their PM and, at the end of it, gave him a standing ovation.
Better still, there were non-Malaysian journalists and diplomats who clapped and stood with the Malaysians. A gentleman seated two rows behind me and Terence Fernandez, the group editor-in-chief of scoop.my, was going, “Bravo! Bravo!” at the top of his voice on two occasions during Anwar’s address.
The first was when the Malaysian PM condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
“We condemn unequivocally the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This conflict in Ukraine, for example, underscores the imperative to make peace and settle differences amicably through negotiations. Nevertheless, time is not on our side, and owing to the protracted failure to deal with this Russian-Ukraine crisis, I urge a concerted effort led by the UN to resolve this.
“We cannot choose our neighbours, but we can choose to live in peace with them. And peace cannot happen without the cessation of hostilities by all parties. It is imperative for all parties to return to dialogue and resolve their differences through the negotiation table.”
Bravo! Bravo!
The second was when Anwar criticised, also unequivocally, the regime in Afghanistan, whose members are fellow Muslims. While Malaysia is committed to continuing its existing people-to-people relations with Afghanistan, including through the provision of humanitarian aid, Anwar said:
“… we remain resolute and firm in our call on the authorities of Afghanistan to reverse their exclusionary and discriminatory policies against women and girls. Denying their right to go to school is a violation of the teachings of Islam, not to mention the United Nations Charter and the multilateral framework of human rights. They are also profoundly detrimental to the future of Afghanistan.”
Bravo! Bravo!
“Bravo! I love his speech. I love it. Well done, Malaysia,” Ambassador Dr Brian G. Cole of the International Development and Solutions said to me.
Yesterday, I contacted the Malaysian Ambassador to Iran, Khairi Omar, who was part of Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir’s delegation to UNGA, for insight and possible feedback from the diplomatic circles as to how Anwar and Malaysia are perceived after the PM’s address.
Khairi said he was still getting WhatsApp messages from his foreign diplomat colleagues, mostly those stationed in the Middle East, with regard to Anwar and UNGA.
In summary, they said they may be hearing a new voice for the Muslim world in the form of Anwar Ibrahim.
“Prime Minister Anwar is very fair and right about the issues affecting the UN as well as the problems of the world, including the condemnation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the issue of respecting human rights in Afghanistan and Palestine, the issue of Muslims in Myanmar, Asean, climate change, and other matters, as well as an explanation about Malaysia,” an Iranian diplomat told Khairi.
“(Anwar’s address) shows his real commitment to resolve international problems, especially (those affecting and on behalf of) Muslims.”
A diplomat from Jordan had this to say:
“Mr Ambassador, I have been through the statement of HE, the PM of Malaysia, and it is very much expressive and inclusive. Well said and represented all that we feel. I will be looking forward to your return to discuss more of the initiative, if I may call it the ‘Malaysia Madani’ as such. I would like to know more about it. I also praise the parts related to the Palestinian cause, Islamophobia, sustainable development, Afghanistan, and even the Ukrainian issue.
“It’s a totally logical and principled statement. I raise my hat for you in Malaysia.”
If the near-empty plenary hall still bothers our Malaysian friends, I suggest they take a look at the visuals of Anwar at the Islamic Cultural Centre, where the oldest New York mosque is located, where the prime minister became the first foreign leader to deliver a khutbah Jumaat there.
The masjid was not just full; the saf overflowed into the gardens outside the praying halls.
There, the PM repeated some of the points he had made two hours earlier at the UN General Assembly.
In addition, he asked the Muslims not to be too preoccupied with blaming others for their predicament. Look at ourselves, he said, and ask ourselves if we could have done more to improve our own lot.
One thing was quite conspicuously absent from Anwar’s statement to the UNGA, and this was pointed out by a diplomat from Vietnam – “No word on the South China Sea?”
Perhaps that is something the great minds back home should be wondering about. – September 28, 2023
Rocky Bru is Datuk Ahirudin Attan, group executive director of Big Boom Media, which publishes Scoop. He is also the president of the National Press Club of Malaysia.