Saturday, July 22, 2006

Goh Chok Tong vs Anwar

Imagine a Singaporean as UN Secretary-General. All I can say that it's pride mixed with tears. Tears for world and pride for Singapore. No wonder they told us to smile at all the ang mos. Logically, I don't think it will be happening. I seriously doubt that UN Secretary-General's pay package can remotely matched that of the Singapore SM.

Remember, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

On related news, Anwar is also rurmored to be in the running for the same very post. From what I read, Anwar is having a tough time making a comeback in Malaysian politics. Maybe this dose of international fame might do his chances good. However, I have a feeling that Malaysians in the general would not be none the more impressed. In the below interview, Anwar talks mainly about the current crisis in the Middle East. He must had figured as a "progressive" Muslim, he is the best candidate to deal the host of islamic extremists that is facing the world today.

Lastly, will this be another showdown between Singapore and Malaysia? What if GCT gave Anwar a good spanking or Anwar takes GCT from behind? Will our already rocky relationship be further strained?

Aren't we moving up the world? Just imagine Singapore or Malaysia having the entire UN at our command. YAYA....we can order everyone to hand over their nukes and then world peace forever.





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Goh Chok Tong
A possible UN role
Support grows for Goh in race to take over as secretary-general.
By David Nason, The Australian.
Jul 21, 2006


MOVES to have former Singaporean prime minister Goh Chok Tong succeed
Kofi Annan as UN secretary-general are gathering momentum in New York
as the Security Council prepares to hold an informal "straw poll" for
the candidates later this week.

The vote, tentatively scheduled for tomorrow, will gauge the level of
early support for the four officially declared Asian region candidates:
* Former UN undersecretary-general for disarmament affairs Jayantha
Dhanapala of Sri Lanka;
* UN undersecretary-general for public information Shashi Tharoor of
India;
* Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai; and
* South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon.

But the vote won't preclude other candidates coming forward before the
Security Council's final recommendation is made in September or October
and speculation continues to surround Mr Goh, who is believed to have
significant support among the nations of the Non-Aligned Movement.
So far, Mr Goh has given no indication of his intentions and, for now
at least, is hamstrung by the fact that Dr Surakiart has been nominated
by ASEAN, the Southeast Asian regional bloc that includes Singapore.
But if Dr Surakiart does badly in the straw poll and withdraws from the
race, ASEAN would be free to propose another candidate.

However, Dr Surakiart has indicated to supporters that he intends to
stay in the contest no matter what the outcome of the straw poll.
Mr Goh, an economist and social conservative known for his strong views
on multi-racialism, meritocracy and terrorism, was prime minister of
Singapore from 1990-2004.

In 2005, he was made an honorary Companion to the Order of Australia by
John Howard for services to Australian-Singaporean relations.
A spokesman for Pakistan's influential UN ambassador, Munir Akram,
confirmed NAM's interest in Mr Goh and said the group "wants to have
its own position" on the new secretary-general, even though the
selection process is controlled by the Security Council.
He said Mr Goh was being discussed as part of NAM's enduring concerns
for "General Assembly revitalisation".

The straw poll will be a secret ballot of the 15-member council that
comprises permanent members Britain, France, Russia, China and the US,
and 10 non-permanent members - Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Japan,
Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and the Slovak Republic.
It is designed to test the water and create conditions for unpopular
nominees to withdraw and new nominees to enter the contest.
The ballot paper will allow the council members to indicate either
"encouragement", "discouragement" or "no opinion" on each of the four
candidates.

Each candidate will be told his own score and the top and bottom
scores, but how each nation voted will remain a secret.
The process for selecting a new secretary-general involves the Security
Council reviewing the nominations and forwarding a recommendation to
the General Assembly, which then rubber-stamps the decision.
Under Article 97 of the UN Charter, the successful nominee must receive
at least nine votes and not be subject to a veto by any of the
permanent five nations that, in reality, dominate the process.
China is expected to be the main player this time around because of the
regional rotation system that decrees the next secretary-general must
come from Asia.

At this stage none of the four nominated candidates has emerged a clear
favorite, raising speculation that Mr Annan's successor is yet to enter
the race.


Source: The Australian




Thursday, July 20, 2006
Anwar Ibrahim a possible candidate for UN Secretary-General
Mark Colvin
Australian Broadcasting Corporation


MARK COLVIN: Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has admitted that he's considered the possibility of becoming the next Secretary-General of the United Nations after Kofi Annan retires.

His name has come up repeatedly in international circles, as a moderate Muslim candidate from Asia. But he says he's not actively seeking the post, because he feels that doing so would compromise his freedom to speak out on important international questions.

On the Middle East, for example, Anwar Ibrahim has launched a strongly worded attack on Israel and the United States, as we'll hear shortly.

It's been an extraordinary journey for Anwar Ibrahim since he was released from prison just over a year-and-a-half ago. Surgery has helped him recover from the police beating that crippled him in jail, his old nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohammed is in retirement, and his sodomy charge was overturned.

Today Dr Ibrahim was in Brisbane giving a lecture on Shakespeare, not such a surprise, given that he told me on the day of his release that he'd read the bard's complete works several times over in jail.

So I started our interview by asking him about the Shakespearean character who waits too long to grasp the responsibilities of power - Hamlet.

ANWAR IBRAHIM: The so-called weakness is a reflection of the true state of mind of people encountering such problems. This is philosophical contemplation. He has to bear the whips and scorns of time, and therefore you need to have time to reflect.

Is this a weakness? No, but I think I have learned the lesson from Hamlet that you shouldn't take too long a time to contemplate, because then politically you will lose.

MARK COLVIN: I was going to say, it is a weakness if you leave it too long.

ANWAR IBRAHIM: It's true, it's true. But it is a strength because you should use a lot of time for contemplation, for reflection, for introspection.

MARK COLVIN: What about yourself? Are you ready to go back into national politics, or even into international politics?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: I'm committed to the reform agenda - reform in Malaysia, and in particularly in the developing world, in the Muslim world.

My views are known and I think it is more important to talk about the reform agenda, than the actual position, whether Malaysia or internationally. I don't want to be presumptuous of my role.

MARK COLVIN: But if you have an agenda for reform, you need to be in some kind of position of power in order to carry it out, don't you. And people are talking about you as a possible UN Secretary-General.

Have you considered it?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: This must be from my erstwhile friends, not enemies. So I have not given serious consideration.

I've thought about it, frankly, but I think it's still premature to decide because I think once you start contemplating with this, then you start making compromises. I don't want to be in that position.

I've learned my lesson, and I think the trial and tribulations have shown that my passion for freedom and justice is paramount. If you have the Middle East crisis, I'll express my views, frankly, openly, whether the Americans like it or not.

Where you talk about the reform of the Muslim world, it does not matter if the Arab states or Arab governments are in favour or not. I will express my views.

MARK COLVIN: So do express your views, please then, on the Middle East crisis now.

ANWAR IBRAHIM: The disgusting episode is when the administration in Washington refuses to condemn the excesses of Israel, even in terms of their attempt to destroy... complete destruction of a state.

It is fair for them to criticise or to condemn Hezbollah in some of the excesses, but how do you then condone the other? I mean, in all the deplorable, disgusting, I mean the pathetic to allow countries and civilians being killed.

MARK COLVIN: What can the Lebanese Government do though, given that it's got Hezbollah inside it, and Hezbollah has refused to disarm and we now discover that Hezbollah has very, very large quantities of arms, and very dangerous ones?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: You engage with the Lebanese Government and allow them to continue this sort of engagement with all forces...

MARK COLVIN: But can Israel do that when rockets are raining down on cities like Haifa?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: The rockets rained down after this month of attack on the Palestinians. You are calling for reaction.

I find it difficult to understand - how do you allow that, how you allow members of parliament and ministers to be kidnapped, and this is tolerated, because of one or two bombings.

If for example, there is two perpetrators of a crime in Australia, and you're not convinced that the Australian Government is effective in combating them, do you attack Australia?

MARK COLVIN: So, was Hezbollah justified in beginning this conflict because of what was happening in Palestine?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: I do not want to rationalise or defend any action in this manner. You can condemn, you can take some action against Hezbollah to try and get them to come to terms and engage, but you can't go and destroy a country. I mean, it's atrocious.

MARK COLVIN: You have many friends in Washington, including a number who have been labelled neo-conservatives, like Paul Wolfowitz.

What do they say when you say these things?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: Well, I continue to engage, I mean despite the fact that many of my friends have attacked me severely or ferociously for being submissive to the neo-cons, I'm not.

To the contrary, I've used the engagement to articulate frankly to them that we are together in terms of promoting reform and freedom, we are together in securing peace in the Middle East.

I am agreeable, I mean, I support the policy to protect the security of Israel, but I cannot rationalise the continuing bombardment of Iraq. I cannot rationalise the intransigence of Israel to the Palestinians.

So we have to try and get them to understand and appreciate the concerns are there. You can't treat a group of people as slaves, but well, I have not been successful. I have been having a few sessions with Deputy-Secretary Zoellick, I continue to have sessions with Paul Wolfowitz, I'm not giving up.

My small role, again, I'm not presumptuous, but in a small way I try to engage. I told them, I will engage with the neo-cons, I will engage with the Islamists, because I think there's no other option but engagement.

MARK COLVIN: What are the chances of any kind of reform agenda taking root in the Muslim world, in the current circumstances?

ANWAR IBRAHIM: I've been an optimist all along, and mind you, the problem is not only by the dictators and tyrants and authoritarian leaders in the Muslim world.

This has been.... the provocations and the action and the policies of the administration of Washington does not seem to help - the war in Iraq, the failure to even continue a peaceful engagement in the Middle East.

We... many Muslims are trying very hard, to get the Muslims to reform this internal dynamics within Muslim societies.

The reluctance of United States to encourage engagement between Israel and the Palestinians, this has not helped. It's only provoked so much anger and rage.

MARK COLVIN: Dr Anwar Ibrahim, who's in Brisbane giving a talk about Shakespeare, speaking to me a little earlier today.


posted by wert | Saturday, July 22, 2006 | Email This!


1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Between the 2, I know which one has my respect. So far, Singapore has only shown itself to be yes-men to the super-powers, never acting or showing itself to champion justice without war.

Mon Jul 31, 04:27:00 PM 2006  

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Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to be authorative or clever in any way. It was based on rambling of a half crazed creature, so treat it as such and let it be! I was asked to keep my dangerous thoughts and unbalanced views all in one safe place , and so I did. Objectivity, Accuracy, Responsiblity and any High Standards are certainly not part of this blog's features. However, I must stress that I do not strive to mislead people, confuse people, and much less undermine our national strategy.