MALAYSIA has warned against treating international law as optional, saying it must not be upheld only when it benefits particular parties as the international community grapples with growing challenges to the multilateral system.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said a culture of impunity could not be allowed to continue if the international system was to remain relevant and effective, stressing that accountability must be upheld.
“Defending international law is not about choosing sides.
“It is about defending a rules-based order, where no country is above the law and the rights of a people cannot be determined solely by political interests,” he said.
He was speaking during an intervention at the Hague Group Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting in Defence of International Law on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York yesterday.
Mohamad said the international community should seek to strengthen rather than weaken the multilateral system, with the United Nations remaining a key pillar of international cooperation.
“When this system is weakened by failure to act or political deadlock, we must work to strengthen its foundations through principled, law-based action,” he said.
For Palestinians, he said, this meant upholding their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination, as well as supporting the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Mohamad said the Hague Group was established because principles that existed only on paper had little meaning without enforcement.
“Malaysia joins this initiative out of a sense of responsibility that calls for collective and consistent action anchored in international law,” he said.
The group provides a framework for translating legal obligations into concrete measures and action, he added.
In a separate intervention at the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 and China, Mohamad said developing countries must have a meaningful role in shaping the future direction of the international system.
“Malaysia calls for reform of international financial institutions, a more effective multilateral trading system, stronger climate action and closer cooperation in science, technology and innovation, including information and communications technology and next-generation artificial intelligence (AI),” he said.
He said any reform of the UN system must strengthen its ability to meet the needs of member states, particularly developing countries.
Mohamad said South-South cooperation demonstrated that developing countries were not merely recipients of development solutions, but strategic partners and contributors to global development.
“Malaysia’s commitment to South-South cooperation is translated through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme, which supports capacity-building, technical cooperation and the sharing of expertise among developing countries,” he said.
He said emerging challenges, including climate change, development financing and rapid technological transformation, must be addressed without creating new divides to replace existing ones.
Malaysia’s participation in UNGA 81 comes as it seeks to reaffirm its commitment to multilateralism, international law and a stronger and more effective United Nations. - September 26, 2026
