Will be attending the above event with the theme ” Embrace Diversity, End Discrimination”.
Date : Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Time : 9:30am – 4:15pm
Venue : Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Bernama) — The Commonwealth needs to define one issue on which it can speak with one voice and not try to replicate the United Nations or other similar better organised and funded agencies as it may defuse its capability, said Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, who was formerly a management director of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London from 1985-1992.
He said the member countries need to re-look the purpose of its existence and that the 60-year-old Commonwealth grouping should not be expected to speak in one voice on all issues.
“It has to look at the goals, the achievements, it has to be self-critical. Don’t forget to question ourselves, are we on the right track or have we achieved our previous objectives?” he said when speaking as a panel member at the “Malaysia and The Commonwealth Forum” themed “A Common Future?”, here on Monday.
Tunku Abdul Aziz said the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), the civil society organisation which facilitates public consultation on the grouping, should also look at areas which the Commonwealth had the capacity to achieve results.
Commonwealth members should concentrate on issues that the association could handle with its present resources, he added.
RCS director Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, who attended the forum, said it wanted to find issues in which the Commonwealth could best serve.
“We want to find issues where the Commonwealth can help in a unique way. The first thing is to find the key priority that the Commonwealth is going to work on, either to focus on the issue of democracy, climate change, youth or education,” said Sriskandarajah.
The RCS launched a global poll dubbed “The Commonweatlh Conversation” in July this year to engage the public on the future of the Commonwealth.
The results will be presented to the coming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago next month.
– BERNAMA
By V. Vasudevan (NST Online)
KUALA LUMPUR: The founding member and inaugural president of the watchdog group Transparency International Malaysia has called on the current executive council to resign enbloc and take collective responsibility for recent events involving the organisation.
Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim made the call after the president, Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, had announced his resignation over the way the Global Corruption Report 2009 had been made public. The report had triggered controversy and unhappiness among TI members and raised questions about the organisation’s objectivity.
Tunku Aziz said the issue of responsibility did not end with Low’s resignation.
“There is nothing in the Transparency International constitution requiring them to resign. But they must, as this is an ethical issue.
“If you had a part in the decision-making, you have to accept responsibility. Whether you resign or not is up to your conscience,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Tunku Aziz also announced his decision to quit the TI as an executive council member.
Another council member, Tan Sri Robert Phang, who was present at the press conference, said he had also resigned.
Together with the president, there are 13 members in the TI executive council.
Low had released the report to the media on Sept 23 without deliberation and debate by the council. It contained allegations about the government’s effort to fight corruption which some felt were flawed. His action had irked several council members.
Phang, who is also a member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s advisory board, had also criticised Low. Low’s resignation was announced in a statement by TI secretary-general Dr Loi Kheng Min, who is also a member of the council.
Low’s tenure, which began early this year, had run into controversy after he agreed to head the Port Klang Authority’s corporate governance committee.
TI members felt this was a conflict as the Port Klang Free Zone project was under the overall oversight of transport ministers who were MCA leaders and Low was a lifelong member of the MCA.
Tunku Aziz said yesterday that ethical behaviour and avoidance of conflicts of interest were among the mainstays of TI’s operating principles and Low was in breach of these when he accepted the Port Klang Authority appointment.
Tunku Aziz was also perturbed when the PKFZ management had threatened to sue Low and TI Malaysia over remarks in the Global Corruption Report 2009 which made references to the PKFZ.
Tunku Aziz noted with dismay the way the PKFZ management was planning to take TI to court and said it would be a blemish on the organisation’s image.
“We have been critical of the government. I was critical. They may not agree with us but they respect us,” he said.
Yesterday, Phang said he had little choice but to quit the council.
“I don’t know if there are other things which he has done but kept from the council. He has been running the TI like a ‘Sdn Bhd’ without consulting the committee.”
The other TI council members are Richard Wong Chin Mun, Dr Chin Yoong Kheong, Murad Ali Abdullah, Dr Pola Singh, Datuk Murad Hashim, Ngooi Chiu Ing, Josie Fernandez, Amu Tharmarajah, Mohamed Raslan Abdul Rahman and Datuk Mohamed Iqbal.
The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional will perform better if a general election is called now, as compared to the March 8 polls last year, said a Merdeka Centre director.
The political polling research company’s director and co-founder Ibrahim Suffian said this was in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s improvement in approval ratings, which went from 39% on the day he took office to 65% after 100 days.
He said when Najib assumed premiership, the level of expectations was very low but the latter had shown that he could set a direction for the nation.
“He has improved his approval ratings but whether he can translate it into support for the next general election remains to be seen.
“Right now, the public are relieved that they have a Prime Minister who knows what they want. What is important now is that he fulfils his promises in the next two to three years,” he said.
Ibrahim said the young generation of voters had “no affinity to political parties” and would cast their ballot according to current issues.
“If an election is held now, Barisan will do better, but not significantly,” he said at a panel discussion during the launch of The Edge new media editor Oon Yeoh’s book “Najib’s first 100 days: No Honeymoon”.
Other panelists were Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) spokersperson Wong Chin Huat, Centre for Indepen-dent Journalism executive director V. Gayathry, Selangor Mentri Besar’s research officer Tricia Yeoh, Singapore Management University associate professor Bridget Welsh, Malay Mail editor Ahirudin Atan and Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi.
Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, who admitted to being no admirer of Najib, launched the book.
As Najib had yet to be tested in a general election since taking office, Wong urged him to call for polls now but DAP’s Ooi said Pakatan Rakyat was not prepared.
“Should Najib call for general election now, (it does the Opposition no favours as) Pakatan is in a state of disarray,” he said, adding that if Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of sodomy, the coalition would be without a Prime Minister-designate.
Gerak Budaya invites you to a book launch, Najib’s First 100 Days – No Honeymoon by Oon Yeoh
This book will be launched by Tunku Abdul Aziz, a senator and former president of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International.
Date: August 12, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 8.00pm – 10.00pm
Venue: Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
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