MEETING BETWEEN NAJIB AND BAN KI-MOON GOOD BASIS TO BUILD UP RELATIONSHIP

By Manik Mehta

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- The dinner meeting in New York between visiting
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon seemed
to have "gone off very well".

Indeed, according to UN sources, the quiet dinner meeting was being hailed
here as a "good basis" for Malaysia to further build up and strengthen its
relationship with the international body.

The meeting took place within a small private circle at the official
residence of Malaysia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Hamidon
Ali, who had arranged the meeting.

It is seen as a "fine gesture" from Ban who has, ostensibly, been pleased
with the role played by Malaysia and by Hamidon in the crucial Fifth Committee
where often important and rocky issues such as the budget are dealt with and
resolved as nations, anxious to represent their individual interests, try to
assert their own position in any resolution.

Also, Hamidon's role in the Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) of the
UN during 2009 with Malaysia as the vice-president - the Ecosoc is
considered to be the second most important body after the Security Council - has
come in for praise from the international community which appreciates his
handling of divergent views in Ecosoc with great dexterity and diplomatic
finesse.

Malaysia is expected to be elected president of Ecosoc on Jan 19, 2010.

Both Najib and Ban met for an hour and a half at the residence and while
there was no fixed agenda for their discussions, the two exchanged views
on a wide range of issues of multilateral interest such as climate change,
peacekeeping in problematic regions, the global economy, etc.

The UN sources told Bernama that Ban, who is Korean, was curious to know
about the Malaysian approach to the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s
when many Asian countries, including Korea and Malaysia, were sucked into the
whirlpool of the crisis.

While Korea sought massive financial aid from the International Monetary
Fund, Malaysia resorted to other remedial measures such as exercising tight
fiscal discipline, curbing outflow of foreign exchange, etc.

The Malaysian side had expected Ban to ask Malaysia to increase its
financial contribution to the UN coffers. However, this question did not crop up
in the meeting.

But Ban, who is known to promote women's role in international affairs and
other important issues, has reportedly asked for participation by Malaysian
women personnel in UN peacekeeping missions.

Najib reportedly told the UN secretary-general that he would look into the
matter upon his return to Malaysia.

In an interview with Bernama at the Malaysian permanent mission to the
UN in New York, Hamidon talked about current issues that play a dominant role in
discussions within the international community. Climate change is the buzzword
right now, with every country preparing for the crucial Copenhagen meeting that
will take place on Dec 7.

"Malaysia takes a positive stand on climate change and wants to do something
about it. Being part of the G-77, we are supportive of the grouping's stand. We
are of the view that one cannot abandon the Kyoto Protocol. The new treaty, if
it is signed, should be an improvement on the Kyoto Protocol," Hamidon said.

Ban has been actively canvassing with the world leaders to sit together and
find a solution to the climate change problem before it escalates into a major
crisis enveloping the world and putting human lives at risk.

In general, Malaysia's stand is that the industrialised countries need to
reduce emission much more than the developing countries.

Malaysia also argues that it will need technology to help mitigate the gas
emission. Also, the developing world needs financial assistance from the
industrialised countries in efforts to reduce the emission.
-- BERNAMA