OPENING REMARKS BY
HIS EXCELLENCY DATO’ THAN TAI HING
AMBASSADOR OF MALAYSIA TO THE LAO PDR
THE LANGKAWI DECLARATION ON THE GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF MODERATES ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION SERIES
The Experience of Moderation in ASEAN & Moderation as an ASEAN Value towards Peace, Security and Development
26 October 2016
HE Mr. Thongphane Savanphet,
Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic
Dato' Dr. Nasharudin Mat Isa
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF)
His Excellency Ambassador Yong Chantalangsy
Director General of the Institute of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR
His Royal Highness, Distinguished Speakers and Moderators
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good Morning, Selamat Datang and Sabaidee.
1. It gives me great pleasure to be with you this morning.
2. Let me begin by congratulating Dato' Dr. Nasharudin Mat Isa, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) and his team, as well His Excellency Ambassador Yong Chantalangsy, Director General of the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) of the Lao PDR, for the wholehearted commitment to organize this event, to discuss and exchange views on “The Experience of Moderation in ASEAN and Moderation as an ASEAN Value towards Peace, Security and Development.”
3. I also wish to take this opportunity to welcome the distinguished speakers who are here with us today, especially His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sirivudh. Please welcome His Royal Highness.
His Royal Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
4. As mentioned by the Executive Chairman and CEO of GMMF, the idea of Global Movement of Moderates was brought to the fore by the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak in his address during the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2010.
5. He then called for all the moderates, especially leaders of all religions “to marginalize extremist, reclaim the centre stage and shape the agenda towards peace and pragmatism”. Since then, the Government of Malaysia have followed up, both with practical action and by building intellectual capacity.
6. This is the very genesis of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) and our gathering here today is part of the global initiatives by the Foundation to counter the perverse propaganda and twisted narrative spread by the so-called Islamic State.
7. In paraphrasing what Prime Minister Najib had said 6 years ago, I wish to stress that moderation in itself is not an alien concept to ASEAN or to the world. It is a well-known principle that runs through all civilizations and faiths. Islam calls it ‘Wasatiyah’. Confucianism calls it ‘Chung Yung’ or the ‘middle path’. The Buddhists also believe in the ‘’Middle Path” - the path of moderation to attain Nirvana. As such and in the face of rising extremism, we need to rediscover the values of ‘moderation’.
8. It is in this vein that I am pleased to note that ASEAN has embraced ‘moderation’ as part of its core values with the adoption of the 2015 Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates during Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN. I am also pleased to note that this Roundtable, is part of the long list of initiatives to implement and operationalise the said Declaration.
His Royal Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
9. The importance of moderation for the ASEAN Community cannot be over-emphasised. ASEAN has triumphed for almost 5 decades relying mainly on the principles of non-interference and consensus building.
10. This has been the tapestry of ASEAN, but if you look closely at the intricate weaving of ASEAN diplomacy, you will find that ‘moderation’ is a carefully elaborated pattern woven in it. Not just at the regional level, but also from the context in bilateral relations among the 10 ASEAN Member States.
11. Allow me to digress a bit but still on track with the theme of our Roundtable today. As the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Lao PDR, what a better way for me to illustrate the point I just made, other than by looking at the close friendship and strategic partnership for cooperation that have been forged over the past 50 years between Malaysia and the Lao PDR.
12. Both countries had recently, on 1 July 2016, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Both sides enjoy steady progress with the substantive growth in economic cooperation, benefitting from the concerted efforts in promoting trade and investment, people-to-people ties as well as exchange of high level visits.
13. Malaysia is now the 8th largest foreign investor in the Lao PDR, rising in rank from the 10th position in 2010. At the same time, our bilateral trade value continues to increase at a more modest scale. We have strengthened defence cooperation with the establishment of the office of Defence Attaché in our respective capitals. We have greater connectivity with the existing 3 times weekly AirAsia direct flights between Kuala Lumpur-Vientiane and the impending introduction of Kuala Lumpur-Luang Prabang route beginning 21 November 2016. These are telling signs that both countries are on the right track to achieve greater heights of cooperation and success.
14. Cherry-picking as it may seem, it is undeniable that these are the fruits of labour by the Leaders of Malaysia and the Lao PDR driven by our friendship and goodwill, based on mutual respect, trust and understanding. By and large, ladies and gentlemen, this can also be attributed to the success of ‘moderation” in action.
His Royal Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
15. Coming back to event today, I take this opportunity to reaffirm Malaysia’s commitment to share its experience in marginalizing extremism while at the same time maintaining the peace and tranquility of a multi-ethnic society where different faiths and religious convictions co-exist and prosper.
16. I sincerely hope that our gathering today will provide us with greater understanding of the concept of moderation, allow us to draw experiences from each other, as well as to explore every opportunity that would allow the mainstreaming of the concept of moderation especially throughout the ASEAN Community.
17. Once again, my sincere congratulations to the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) and the Institute of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (IFA) for this excellent effort in promoting the value of moderation. I am confident that this gathering of great minds, will produce brilliant recommendations and findings for the benefits of 600 over million population of ASEAN and beyond. As they say, “when great minds meet, great things happen”.
18. Before I end my remarks, I would like to extend our sincere and special thanks and appreciation to HE Mr. Thongphane Savanphet, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, who would be delivering the Special Remarks to officiate this ASEAN GMM Roundtable.
19. With that I wish you all the best in your deliberations.
20. Thank you, terima kasih and korp chai lai lai.
