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YB Dato’ Sri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia, undertook a working visit to New York to attend the General Assembly and Security Council meetings of the United Nations.

On 11 May 2016, YB Deputy Foreign Minister participated in a UN Security Council Ministerial-Level Open Debate on “Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by the Terrorist Acts: Countering the Narratives and Ideologies of Terrorism”. The Open Debate was chaired by H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Foreign Minister of Egypt, as the current President of the Security Council.

 

 

The meeting received briefings from UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, the Secretary-General of Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy Mr. Mohi El-Din Afifi, as well as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation Mr. Steven A.Crown, who shared views and experiences to galvanise international efforts to counter the terrorists’ narratives and ideologies.    

 

In a statement delivered by YB Deputy Foreign Minister at the Open Debate, he stressed that terrorism and violent extremism are global threats that transcend cultures, religions and geo-political boundaries. He rejected any association of terrorism and violent extremism with any one religion, nationality or ethnic group. However, he highlighted the need for Muslims to acknowledge and address the exploitation of Islam by terrorist groups that had led to the perceived link between terrorism and Islam.

 

YB Deputy Foreign Minister strongly denounced claims by terrorists that their barbarity is sanctioned by Islam and highlighted clear injunctions from the Holy Quran on peace, justice and honourable conduct. He also underscored the need to address the root causes of terrorism, which had created a conducive environment that feeds into the terrorists’ narrative, such as prolonged and grievous injustice, gross violations of human rights, and foreign occupation. Thus, in countering the terrorists’ narrative, YB Deputy Foreign Minister expressed the view that it is crucial to remove the underlying root causes in order to expose the fallacy of the terrorists’ arguments and diminish their “soft power” in manipulating socio-political grievances to gain sympathy and recruit foreign terrorist fighters worldwide.

 

In reacting to global and indiscriminate terrorist attacks, YB Deputy Foreign Minister called on the international community not to engage in “hysterical responses” that could divide societies, such as by discriminating against a group of people for their peaceful religious beliefs, or branding whole groups of people as terrorists, since doing so would merely perpetuate terror and paranoia.

 

Other than YB Deputy Foreign Minister, high-level attendees at the Open Debate consisted of the Foreign Ministers of New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Argentina, Sweden, Somalia, and Iceland, as well as Deputy/Vice Foreign Ministers of Japan, Spain, and Denmark.

 

 

As an outcome of the Open Debate, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement, which, among others, called for the UN to take the lead in promulgating a comprehensive international strategy on countering the narratives and ideologies of the terrorist groups by 30 April 2017. 

 

Meanwhile, on 10 May 2016, YB Deputy Foreign Minister participated in the High-Level Thematic Debate at the UN General Assembly on the issue of peace and security entitled “In a World of Risks: a New Commitment for Peace”.

 

In his statement at the High-Level Thematic Debate, YB Deputy Foreign Minister reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to UN peacekeeping, premised on the principles of collective security and peaceful settlement of disputes. He highlighted the principle and approach of moderation to promote an inclusive society and shape the agenda for peace, harmony and stability. He also emphasised on the importance of partnerships between the United Nations and regional/sub-regional organisations in the maintenance of peace and security, including ASEAN.

 

UN Deputy Secretary-General Eliassan delivered a statement on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the meeting and stressed the need for the UN to undergo policy reviews focusing on prevention, long-term political solutions and solid partnerships to address the increasingly challenging and complex global conflicts of today.

 

Among UN member states who were represented at the Minister or Deputy/Vice-Minister level at the High-Level Thematic Debate included Egypt, Sweden, Argentina, Mexico, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Japan, and Denmark.

 

Malaysia’s high-level participation in the above meetings reflect our strong commitment to cooperate closely with the UN on various issues of global concerns, particularly relating to the maintenance of peace and security.

 

 

 

PUTRAJAYA

 

 

12 May 2016

 

 

 

LAWATAN KERJA TIMBALAN MENTERI LUAR NEGERI, YB DATO’ SRI REEZAL MERICAN NAINA MERICAN KE NEW YORK, AMERIKA SYARIKAT, 10-11 MEI 2016 

 

 

 

YB Dato’ Sri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri Malaysia, telah mengadakan lawatan kerja ke New York bagi menghadiri mesyuarat di Perhimpunan Agung dan Majlis Keselamatan Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (PBB).  

 

 

Pada 11 Mei 2016, YB Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri menyertai mesyuarat di peringkat Menteri di Majlis Keselamatan PBB yang dipengerusikan oleh Menteri Luar Mesir, TYT Sameh Shoukry. Mesyuarat tersebut bertajuk “Cabaran ke atas Keamanan dan Keselamatan Sejagat disebabkan oleh Ancaman Keganasan: Pembanterasan Naratif dan Ideologi Keganasan”. 

 

 

Semasa mesyuarat tersebut, TYT Jan Eliasson, Timbalan Setiausaha Agung PBB, TYT Mohi El-Din Afifi, Setiausaha Agung Akademi Penyelidikan Islamik Al-Azhar, dan En. Steven A. Crown, Timbalan Presiden yang juga Timbalan Penasihat Undang-Undang Microsoft Corporation telah memberi taklimat serta berkongsi pandangan dan pengalaman dalam usaha-usaha menentang ideologi dan naratif keganasan di peringkat antarabangsa.   

 

 

Dalam kenyataan yang disampaikan oleh YB Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri di mesyuarat tersebut, beliau menyatakan bahawa keganasan dan ekstremisme merupakan cabaran global yang melangkaui budaya, agama, dan sempadan. Sehubungan ini, beliau menolak sebarang cubaan untuk mengaitkan aktiviti keganasan dan ekstremisme dengan sesuatu agama, kaum, atau kewarganegaraan. Namun, beliau juga menekankan bahawa orang Islam perlu mengakui wujudnya persepsi negatif terhadap agama Islam yang telah dikaitkan dengan keganasan, disebabkan oleh manipulasi ajaran Islam oleh puak-puak pengganas. 

 

                                                                              

 

YB Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri mengecam pendirian puak pengganas yang cuba menjustifikasi kekejaman yang dilakukan oleh mereka di atas nama dan ajaran Islam. Sebaliknya, beliau merujuk kepada dalil-dalil yang jelas di dalam kitab Al-Quran yang mengutamakan keamanan, keadilan, dan akhlak yang mulia di dalam ajaran Islam. Beliau juga menekankan bahawa masyarakat antarabangsa perlu menangani punca-punca asas keganasan seperti penindasan dan ketidakadilan yang berterusan, penjajahan, serta pencabulan hak asasi manusia yang melampau, yang telah menguatkan lagi naratif puak pengganas. Sekiranya punca-punca asas keganasan ini ditangani, pengaruh puak pengganas untuk memanipulasi situasi sosio-politik bagi meraih simpati dan merekrut anggota baru akan dapat dikurangkan. 

 

Dalam reaksi mesyarakat antarabangsa terhadap serangan pengganas, YB Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri mengkritik tindak balas histerikal yang hanya akan memecah-belahkan masyarakat, seperti mendiskriminasi atau menggelar golongan tertentu sebagai pengganas hanya berdasarkan agama atau kaum mereka.

 

 

Selain dari YB Dato’ Sri Reezal Merican, Menteri/Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri yang turut menghadiri mesyuarat tersebut terdiri dari negara New Zealand, Norway, Belanda, Argentina, Sweden, Somalia, Jepun, Sepanyol dan Denmark.   

 

 

Hasil dari mesyuarat tersebut, Majlis Keselamatan PBB telah mengeluarkan satu Kenyataan Presiden Majlis. Kenyataan tersebut, antara lain, menggesa pihak PBB untuk mempelopori usaha bagi menghasilkan satu strategi antarabangsa yang menyeluruh bagi menentang naratif dan ideologi keganasan, sebelum 30 April 2017. 

 

Sementara itu, pada 10 Mei 2016, YB Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri menyertai Debat Tematik Peringkat Tinggi di Perhimpunan Agung PBB berhubung isu keamanan dan Keselamatan yang bertajuk: “Dalam Dunia Penuh Cabaran: Komitmen Baru untuk Keamanan”.

 

Di dalam kenyataan beliau di mesyuarat tersebut, YB Timbalan Menteri Luar Negeri mengesahkan komitmen Malaysia terhadap operasi pengaman PBB, berdasarkan prinsip keselamatan kolektif dan penyelesaian konflik secara aman. Beliau menekankan prinsip dan pendekatan kesederhanaan bagi mempromosi masyarakat yang inklusif dan bagi membentuk agenda keamanan, keharmonian dan kestabilan. Beliau turut menegaskan kepentingan kerjasama perkongsian di antara PBB dan organisasi-organisasi serantau di dalam mengekalkan keamanan dan keselamatan, termasuk ASEAN.

 

 

Timbalan Setiausaha Agung PBB, TYT Jan Eliassan menyampaikan kenyataan bagi pihak Setiausaha Agung Ban Ki-moon di dalam mesyuarat tersebut, di mana beliau menegaskan perlunya bagi PBB untuk menjalankan kajian semula ke atas polisi berkaitan pencegahan konflik, penyelesaian politik jangka panjang dan kerjasama perkongsian utuh dalam menangani konflik-konflik global yang semakin mencabar dan kompleks. 

 

Di antara negara-negara ahli PBB yang diwakili oleh Menteri atau Timbalan Menteri ialah Mesir,  Sweden, Argentina, Mexico, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Belanda, Iceland, Switzerland, Itali, Jerman, Jepun, dan Denmark.

 

Penyertaan Malaysia ke mesyuarat-mesyuarat peringkat tinggi tersebut mencerminkan komitmen serius Malaysia dalam kerjasama dengan PBB mengenai pelbagai isu-isu global, terutamanya yang berkaitan dengan keamanan dan keselamatan.

 

 

 

 

PUTRAJAYA

 

 

12 Mei 2016