MANILA – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said good governance and democratic accountability will form the pillars of his administration, underscored by the principles formulated in the Malaysia Madani philosophy of nationhood.
Delivering a lecture titled “30 Years from 'Asian Renaissance: Strategic Takeaways from Asean” in the prestigious University of the Philippines, he said Malaysia would have “no truck” with religious intolerance, injustice, greed, and exploitation.
Anwar, on the second day of his two-day official visit to the Philippines, also commended the Filipino people for showing courage in their convictions for the cause of democracy.
He said Malaysia had recently undergone a similar process, as democracy had enabled him to take on the responsibility of leading the people.
“You have demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are able to confront arrogant powers and show us, in Asean and beyond, that defeat in times of trouble is not an option,” Anwar said.
“You have shown that democracy is not a mere slogan to be bandied about only in times of elections and that rightfully used, democracy does empower the people to determine their future for the better.”
Anwar delivered the lecture after being conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the UP Diliman campus theatre in Quezon City this morning.
The prime minister was cited as a scholar on Filipino national icon Jose Rizal and as an internationally acclaimed expert on economics, democracy, freedom, governance, Islam, and democracy, as well as the need for accountability.
Anwar’s lecture, among other things, touched on his book The Asian Renaissance, which contained a collection of essays published in 1996 during his tenure as deputy prime minister.
He said when he wrote the book, the East Asian region had undergone a period of transformative economic growth, adding that the region’s average annual GDP growth for the three decades to 1996 was approximately 6.5%.
The prime minister said since then, Asean has changed dramatically in 30 years, which has led to greater achievements and opportunities despite trials and tribulations.
“We have gone from a monolithic global order to a bipolar world, and now a multipolar world,” he said.
“For Asia in general, and particularly for Asean, our identities remain the same, that is diverse and multicultural, yet united in the dignity of the nations we have carved out for ourselves in our colonial struggles and our adjustments to a globalised world.”
He noted that this was well articulated conceptually by the “greatest” of Malayans, Rizal, in The Philippines a Century Hence, which noted that a scattered collection of islands, languages, cultures, and people has been united as a Philippine Nation.
However, Anwar said Rizal had warned Asean countries sliding into the comfort zone of routines, “a declivity down which many governments slide”.
“Indeed, as we extrapolate this in the context of Asean, we could make the case that routine has led, to a certain extent, to the erosion of our bonds as individual states that must be united in the common cause of peace and stability. Even worse, routine has allowed the world to fall behind our future potential,” Anwar said.
“Routine tells us to be divided in opinion and to hate one another, fuelled by the convenience and routine of social media, fake news, misplaced nationalism, and certainly, Islamophobia.”
Nevertheless, Anwar said, although Asean nations have risen from the shackles of colonial masters, they must be vigilant against their own home-grown masters, warranting a revisiting and review of ethics and values.
“Let us not be fettered by the fear of failure. Instead, let us continue to build upon our communities on the firm foundations of a humane economy, compassion, justice, inclusiveness, and shared prosperity.” – The Vibes, March 2, 2023
