Malaysia

Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Opertti on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I am confident that with his vast experience and diplomatic skills in the service of his country, Uruguay, he will be able to steer our deliberations to a fruitful outcome. May I also take this opportunity to express my delegation’s sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Udovenko, of Ukraine, for the admirable way in which he presided over the last session of the General Assembly. The global situation continues to be in a state of flux. Six years after the end of the cold war, the world is no more the safe place that we were led to believe it would be. Old conflicts stubbornly persist, while new ones have emerged. The picture is no better on the disarmament front. Although the signing of the Convention on landmines is a laudable achievement in the field of conventional weapons, the situation on the nuclear disarmament front remains bleak. There has been little or no progress in nuclear disarmament. Indeed, the situation has been aggravated by nuclear tests conducted by two non- signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), posing a grave challenge to the disarmament process. The international community must make every effort to check further erosion of nuclear disarmament regimes, while strengthening and promoting universal adherence to them. In this regard, the nuclear Powers have a special responsibility. The situation in the Middle East continues to be a source of grave concern. The dismal lack of progress in efforts to bring the Palestine-Israel peace process back on track is a matter of deep disappointment. It portends adverse implications for international peace and security. Lest the positive achievements of recent years be dissipated, all parties concerned must exert every effort to build on the peace agreements that were painstakingly negotiated. Only their continued active engagement in the peace process can influence developments in the right direction. It should be stressed, however, that peace and stability in the region cannot be attained by delaying and frustrating the realization of the just aspirations of the Palestinian people to an independent and sovereign homeland. We are dismayed by the ongoing unresolved conflict in Afghanistan. The contending parties must realize that a long-term solution to the conflict can be reached not through military means, but through negotiations leading to genuine national reconciliation. We call on them to set aside provincial or sectarian interests, eschew violence and seriously pursue a peaceful resolution of the conflict, in the larger interests of their country and their people. We condemn the violence directed at the personnel of the United Nations, humanitarian organizations and countries concerned. On a slightly more positive note, Malaysia is pleased about the successful conclusion of the national elections 2 in Cambodia, in which the international community once again played a constructive role. We urge all political parties in Cambodia to close ranks and resolve outstanding problems through dialogue, in the larger national interests of Cambodia. The objective should be the early formation of a Government that fully reflects the wish of the Cambodian people for national reconciliation, pluralism and development, and which will enable Cambodia to partake in constructive regional cooperation with its neighbours. Recent events have once again emphasized to the international community the continuing threat to peace and security posed by terrorism. Here I refer in particular to the terrorist attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, which resulted in the tragic deaths and injuries of many innocent people. Malaysia reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Malaysia will join in efforts to combat terrorism through the strengthening of international cooperation in various fields on the basis of the supremacy of the rule of law. There should be increased cooperation among police and other security and law enforcement agencies of Member States. At the same time, at the political level, the international community must work towards inculcating the new global culture of peace that the Secretary-General has so eloquently articulated. Malaysia believes that violence begets violence, and the victims will unfortunately be innocent civilians. Indeed, in a world armed with nuclear weapons where the danger of nuclear terrorism is ever present, every effort should be made not only to keep terrorism at bay through enhanced international cooperation but — and this is equally important — to address the root causes. While terrorism may not be entirely eliminated, understanding the reasons for its continued existence will be an important step towards combating it. Continued instability in parts of Africa is of major concern to our Organization. Malaysia welcomes the increased attention given to Africa by the United Nations and its specialized agencies. Malaysia particularly welcomes the initiative taken by the Security Council to highlight the special problems of Africa in the Council earlier this year and in the Council’s ministerial meeting on African issues held last Thursday, 24 September. Furthermore, Malaysia welcomes and will actively participate in a similar discussion on Africa at this session of the General Assembly. We are convinced that these discussions will contribute to a greater understanding of the interrelated problems of peace, security and development faced by many African countries. Hopefully, they will lead to more focused and coordinated programmes of international action to overcome those problems. Given the continuing disadvantaged position of Africa, there is a need for sustained efforts on the part of our Organization and its specialized agencies, as well as traditional and new partners of Africa, to assist African countries in their development needs. I am pleased to say that Malaysia, for its part, has been able to make a modest contribution in these efforts through technical cooperation and trade and investment in a number of African countries. Malaysia will continue to do so, within its limited resources, in the spirit of South-South cooperation and solidarity with Africa. As we grapple with questions of international peace and security, we should be equally concerned by the current state of the global economy. Indeed, we see that the most imminent threat to the well-being of our region today is not political, ideological or military, but economic. It is clearly evident that the financial crisis that descended on East Asian countries over a year ago has brought social misery, political instability and economic turmoil. In certain countries there is now massive unemployment. Economic growth has been severely curtailed, and in fact has contracted. Virtually overnight, the hard-earned gains of decades of hard work, careful planning and prudent management have been wiped out. Millions of people in the region most severely affected by the crisis find that their place is now below the poverty line. Their right to live a life that is free from the scourge of poverty and to have a decent standard of living with some basic necessities has been trampled by the manipulators of the currency markets. Indeed, the super- rich have impoverished the poor. It is ironic that this has happened in the year when we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Though they are pursuing policy responses that are in line with International Monetary Fund requirements, the economies of the affected countries have not recovered. Instead, the contagious effects of the crisis have spread to other regions and are affecting the world economy. We may be sliding towards world recession. We may even be on the verge of a global depression if urgent steps are not taken through international collaboration and cooperation to halt the slide and reverse the trend. While various factors contributed to the crisis, we have no doubt that the financial turmoil was triggered by speculative attacks on the East Asian currencies and the resultant reversal of capital flows. The crisis reveals flaws in the market mechanism and raises questions about the relative benefits of liberalization and globalization. Unless 3 these flaws are effectively addressed, the threat of a global depression as devastating as the one that hit the world in the 1930s could confront us. The international community has to act urgently to reform the international financial system to ensure against massive currency attacks, manipulations and frequently excessive fluctuations. It has been said that the markets would punish those countries which do not possess proper financial structures and disciplines and which lack transparency. But the international financial market itself lacks transparency. In today’s financial system, currency valued at more than $1.2 trillion is bought and sold every 24 hours. This trade is largely carried out without any clear rules, and the very Governments whose currencies are being traded are left to fend for themselves in trying to defend the value of their currencies. There is no system of surveillance, no open reporting of any kind and no regulating authority such as the World Trade Organization for this most lucrative trade in the coveted commodity that is money itself. It is now most urgent that the international financial market be reformed. More than that, significant changes should be made to the international financial architecture. Malaysia has been advocating the need for change over the last year. Initially, this call went unheeded. In September 1997, our Prime Minister said in Hong Kong, “A certain degree of uncertainty is fine, but an absolutely uncertain financial world is no good for anyone except of course for those who deliberately create the uncertainty.” It is clear that the situation is becoming increasingly uncertain globally. Increasingly, the experts now agree. A number of Governments also agree. The situation has clearly got out of hand. There has to be change and improvement in the international financial architecture. There must be rules to encourage greater transparency. Financial operators must abide by certain internationally accepted regulations. They must accept closer supervision so as to distinguish between genuine investors and currency speculators. There has to be an earnest effort among Governments to immediately engage in dialogues to revamp the system. We must undertake an immediate collective effort to find a comprehensive and workable solution to what is clearly now a global problem. A few developed countries cannot resolve this problem on their own. A few developed countries cannot forever remain rich and prosperous if more than two thirds of the world’s countries remain poor and socially and politically unstable. This is the time to enter into a genuine process of North-South dialogue on an issue of great interest to both. Malaysia welcomes the call by President Clinton for a special discussion in Washington on the financial and economic crisis that the world is facing today. Meanwhile, in the absence of reforms or internationally well-tested formulas or guidelines, Malaysia has taken steps to impose currency and capital controls in order to insulate its economy from currency uncertainties while at the same time continuing to be active in international trade and to welcome foreign investment. While countries In East Asia are doing their best to overcome their problems in their respective ways and to ameliorate the plight of their people, it is important that the lessons of East Asia be learned by the rest of the developing world. It is equally important that the international community find consensus to formulate necessary ground rules to keep in check the rapacious nature of financial speculators and manipulators whose only motivation is profit-making and profit-taking. This Assembly, and in particular the Economic and Social Council, can and should also consider this important issue. The United Nations can put its moral weight behind the call for regulating these speculative activities in the interest of protecting or insulating vulnerable developing economies. In an increasingly interdependent and borderless world, the globalization of trade and commerce is moving apace. However, many developing countries can barely cope with this, given their weak domestic, economic, financial and legal structures. Globalization may be desirable and, perhaps, inevitable and unstoppable as a process and trend. Nevertheless, it is important to realize that unless the developing countries are given time to build up their structures and are actively assisted in the process, they will not be able to participate meaningfully in global free trade, still less compete with their partners from the developed world. In such a situation, globalized free trade would be a patently unfair form of world trade, with the odds stacked against developing countries. Indeed, it would be a continuing form of exploitation of the weak and poor nations by those that are powerful and rich. Needless to say, in the wake of the sad experience of the East Asian economies, the faith of many developing countries in globalization has been very much shaken and diminished. Consequently, many developing countries view the prospect of further liberalizing their 4 economies with great caution and trepidation. It is Malaysia’s conviction that as we approach the new millennium, relations among States should be based on a new paradigm predicated not only on equal sovereignty but also on respect for dignity and mutuality of interests and benefits. Only on that basis will we be able to reap the full potential of globalization through genuine international dialogue and cooperation. The enjoyment of human rights is one of the most important principles in the maintenance of justice and peace in the world. The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year affords us an opportunity to reflect on both accomplishments and failures in realizing the commitments enshrined in the Declaration. The promise in the Declaration to end cruelty and injustice still remains largely unfulfilled. Similarly, the promise to provide a decent living to all has been threatened by the negative effects of globalization and the inadequate attention given to economic, social and cultural rights. This fiftieth anniversary coincides with the review of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The review will provide us with an opportunity to make a thorough and honest assessment of the successes and failures in implementing the commitments made five years ago. It would be timely for discussions to focus not only on rights but also on obligations. It is imperative that the conferment of rights should be linked to the fulfilment of obligations and clearly defined duties and responsibilities. The imbalance in emphasis between political and civil rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other has to be clearly addressed in order for the promotion, protection and enjoyment of all human rights to be fully achieved. The right to development, recognized as universal, inalienable and an integral part of fundamental human rights, has not been fully realized. There is still no effective international cooperation to create a true environment of equitable economic relations which would facilitate the realization of this goal. We may recall that the Secretary-General appropriately designated the last session of this Assembly as the reform Assembly. He tabled his package of reform proposals for our consideration and appropriate action. After much debate, many of these proposals were approved and are now in various stages of implementation. It is hoped that with the implementation of the reform package the Organization will become more action-oriented and more focused on and responsive to the needs of Member States. Certainly, greater rationalization of the plans and actions and more effective management will lead to increased efficiency in programme implementation as well as to better and more effective and efficient utilization of human resources. Let us continue to give our strong support to the Secretary-General in his continuing efforts to fully and effectively implement his reform proposals. Let us also extend our support to his efforts to strengthen the Organization in ways that will benefit all Member States. Certainly, a positive contribution in this regard is to ensure our continued financial support to the Organization, thereby easing its burdens at a time of increasing demands being made upon it. The establishment of the proposed Revolving Credit Fund might help ease the financial crisis of the United Nations temporarily. In the long term, however, the only effective way of resolving the problem is through the timely payment by Member States of their dues. What is most disappointing, however, is the lack of any progress in an important aspect of the reform of our Organization. I refer to the discussions on the reform and restructuring of the Security Council in the high-level Working Group of the General Assembly. Individual Member States, as well as groups of States, have made many important proposals on various aspects of the reform and restructuring of the Council, from its enlargement and composition to its working methods, including the use of the veto. Regrettably, all these proposals aimed at making the Council more representative, democratic, transparent and accountable, have not received the desired consensus. Clearly what is lacking is not ideas and proposals but the necessary political will on the part of Member States, particularly those with strong views on specific aspects of reform of the Council. If the reform and restructuring of the Council continue to elude us in its sixth year of discussion in the Working Group, we have only ourselves to blame for our inability to demonstrate our reasonableness, our goodwill and the necessary compromises required from all of us to break the current impasse. Additional years of continuing with the sterile debate in the Working Group will only increase the creeping sense of cynicism and pessimism among Member States, which would be seriously detrimental to the reform process. As its contribution to the reform debate, Malaysia reiterates its call for a comprehensive reform and 5 restructuring of the Security Council. We continue to advocate enlargement of the Council in both categories of its membership, permanent and non-permanent, circumscribing, if not totally abolishing, the use of the veto and improving the working methods of the Council, which should include increased transparency, accountability and participation by the larger membership of the Organization through more open debates on issues of importance to the international community. As the discussions in the Working Group enter their sixth year, it is the earnest hope of my delegation that there will be increased focus, seriousness and urgency on the part of Member States in arriving at a consensus. Otherwise, we will lose forever the remaining window of opportunity to reform the Council. We should remind ourselves that we do not have the luxury of time and that this opportunity for a comprehensive reform of the Council, if not realized, may not present itself again for many years to come. In conclusion, let me reiterate Malaysia’s belief in the importance of these annual debates in the General Assembly and their relevance to our continuing efforts to enhance international cooperation and collaboration at the multilateral level. The statements by Member States in this Assembly serve to inform us and challenge us to further action in pursuit of our common goals. In the final analysis, the future viability of the United Nations will depend on the perception by Member States of the continued relevance of the United Nations to them and on their continuing support for the Organization.