MalayMail-Oct 23
Malaysia has played an active role in fostering peace as the current chairman of Asean by bringing Thailand and Cambodia to the negotiation table over a border dispute that turned lethal, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today. He added that the two countries have now agreed to sign a peace pact at the Asean Summit this weekend, with the ceremony set to be witnessed by US President Donald Trump, alongside other world leaders. “We were successful in helping solve the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. “Just recently, the defense ministers of both countries finalized the detailed terms of the peace agreement, and if agreed upon, the signing will be witnessed by Trump, who also supports this resolution, as well as myself,” Anwar said in Parliament. Malaysia was also behind Myanmar’s military junta agreement to halt fighting and allow humanitarian aid amid a civil war, Anwar said, noting that Myanmar had suffered one of its worst earthquakes in March this year. Malaysia’s chairmanship of the ten-bloc platform this year saw the emergence of what Anwar described as “Asean Centrality”, a concept that stresses greater cooperation on the belief that member states must put the region’s interests first above all else, even as they are allowed to engage with the world’s superpowers. Anwar told Parliament today the term centrality was chosen over the word neutrality as Malaysia pushes for more “constructive engagement” between member states on regional issues, particularly trade and security. Asean Centrality, he added, can be envisioned as a concept that encourages South-east Asian nations to engage in more dialogue even on issues that were once deemed sensitive. Read more at:
