Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his country was ready to mobilize an international Muslim force to rehabilitate war-torn Iraq.
"We are prepared to rally support among the Organisation of the Islamic Conference [OIC] to rebuild Iraq and strengthen its institutions of governance and its economic system," Abdullah said late Monday after talks with US President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.
Abdullah, chairman of the 57-member OIC, said the world would risk another failure in nation-building if Iraq was left in the cold at this juncture, rendering the region politically unstable and economically stagnant.
"We should no longer stand on the sidelines and merely watch Iraq struggle to find its feet after years of dictatorship and a recent invasion," he said at a dinner in Washington hosted by the US-ASEAN Business Council.
Malaysia, for its part, was ready to send a "sizeable" medical team to Iraq and participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, Abdullah said.
He warned that if the reconstruction of Iraq failed, the entire Muslim world would blame the US-led invasion for setting off a chain of events that led to sustained misery for ordinary Iraqis and a clash between the West and the Muslim world.
Abdullah pointed out that the Muslim world still needed some demonstration of good faith from the US in addressing the root causes of terrorism, in particular the unresolved question of Palestine.
He said he suggested and Bush agreed that a "capacity-building" program be undertaken in poor Muslim countries as part of efforts to demonstrate such good faith.
Bush said: "We talked about Iraq, and I told him I was pleased with the progress being made in Iraq, and the prime minister had some helpful suggestions.
"So, all in all, it's been a very constructive meeting," Bush said.
Abdullah, who also heads the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement of developing states, called for bridging "the great divide" between the Muslim world and the West, saying efforts should go beyond "elite diplomacy."
He declared that bilateral ties between Malaysia and the US were "very strong" despite Kuala Lumpur's opposition to the war in Iraq.
"You cannot judge our bilateral relations simply on the basis of what you hear, that we may have some differences on Iraq or on Palestine," he said.
"The foundation of the bilateral relations has remained strong all the time," he said.
This is the first visit to the US by Abdullah, who took over last October from retiring premier Mahathir Mohamad, a vociferous critic of Bush's foreign policies.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS