YOURSAY | 'Charity starts at home, and where it matters, we have failed.'
Mahathir will be in his element at UN General Assembly
The Wakandan: Hopefully, this is not a case of once bitten, twice shy.
At the beginning of his tenure as the new prime minister of the Pakatan Harapan government, Dr Mahathir Mohamad spoke promisingly at the United Nations, came back and sought to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd), only to cancel it days later.
A dignified man is known by his word. If his word is not worth the paper that it is written on, then obviously there is no value in the word or the man.
Rick Teo: Mahathir is wasting taxpayers’ money by going to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
He has lost his credibility when he went back on his word on Icerd and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He is now a laughing stock among the world fraternity, who regard him as a senile old man who flip-flops on his decisions.
Indeed, Mahathir should stay at home and keep company with controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik. Better still, if he can hand over the baton to PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, who would make a better impact at the UNGA.
S Kumar: Self-praise is no praise. Mahathir can't even handle the issues at home but wants to talk about world issues. He brags about “rule of law” but does not practise what he preaches.
He gets hard of hearing when told to correct his mistakes. And he goes blind but sees only what he wants to see. He talks about Jews but feels it is okay to keep radioactive waste from Lynas, which could affect the health of Malaysians.
Why isn't Zakir Naik in the Malaysian delegation?
DoIR: Indeed, his time could be better used to address the various headaches in the country. Honestly, the UNGA jaunt is just to fill up the slot for Malaysia.
Besides, not many countries will take us seriously in view that we are a tiny country with our internal problems, U-turns and nothing really much to show to the world.
If we can’t even put our house in order, will others listen? Yes, if you are among the top economies. But we are not.
Falcon: Who are we to preach to the world? Which mask or face will we show at the global stage?
The hypocrisy, doublespeak, the modules and models of apartheid practised, the continuous race and religious baiting, and now, the presence of outsiders and terror-tainted conduits from terror havens and capitals of the world, money launderers for terror financing given five-star support by state and religious actors; who exactly are we to preach the beatitudes?
Charity starts at home, and where it matters, we have failed. By the way, where are pastor Raymond Koh and the other missing people?
Apanakdikato: When Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew spoke, the whole world listened.
Leaders from all over the world sought his advice and views on the economy, politics, education, leadership, business and many other important topics. He offered fresh insights about the future while keeping historical perspectives in view.
One of the reasons why his views were highly sought is because the success of Singapore is strongly evident and a testimony that Lee knew what he was talking about, backed with substance.
This is the difference between Mahathir and Lee. Mahathir does not really have the wisdom and knowledge of what he is talking about.
How can a person who behaves like a dictator talk about multilateralism or the rule of law? How can a person who failed to overcome racism and religious bigotry in his own country talk about world peace and order?
Mahathir has a lot to learn from Lee, a great statesman and leader. Mahathir must remember that in projecting himself as an extremist and racist on the world stage, he is going to hurt Malaysia.
He should stop being vocal about his biased personal views, which are not shared by the rakyat and are damaging to the good image of the country and its people.
Justice: Indeed, charity always begins at home. The Orang Asli have suffered the loss of ancestral lands, where they are now squatters.
This is because of the lack of protection by the government of the day, even in ‘New Malaysia’, and the corruption of government leaders, such as those in Sarawak, where MACC cannot, or failed to, act.
Even several UN conventions, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, are not enforceable in Malaysia because the government failed to incorporate these conventions into our local laws.
So, talking big in the UN about injustice, oppression or discrimination in other countries means nothing to Malaysians.
MS: After the spectacular failure of his multi-billion ringgit effort to be a leader of African nations through his crony-enabled Langkawi Dialogues in the 90s, Mahathir will now try to position himself as leader of the failed Islamic states like Pakistan, with a stellar reputation for corruption, violence, terrorism, child marriages and incest that claims to be perpetually oppressed.
In any case, this is the man, who personally staged-managed the scuttling of the Rome Statute and walked back on Icerd, addressing a hall empty of all but a handful of the usual sycophants on an all-expenses-paid jaunt to the Big Apple to take in its many Jewish wonders.
OceanMaster: In his speech to UNGA, he should have fought to nullify the evil Icerd and the barbaric Rome Statute.
On the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), he should speak out against SDG 1 - eradication of poverty; SDG 3 - quality education; SDG 5 - gender equality; SDG 8 - decent work and economic growth; SDG 10 - reduced inequalities; and SDG 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions.
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