Malaysia insists the UN remains the main body for world peace, not the Board of Peace

ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Cheng Lin

JAKARTA - The Malaysian government has stated that it will continue to maintain the role of the United Nations (UN) as the world's main body in global peace, amid the presence of the Board of Peace (BoP).

"Malaysia will continue to maintain the role of the United Nations as the world's main body in maintaining global peace," said Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia Lukanisman bin Awang Sauni at the House of Representatives, the Malaysian Parliament, Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, February 5, reported by ANTARA.

Lukanisman said the Malaysian government had noted the concerns of the members of the body set up by US President Donald Trump that they should not be a substitute for the UN.

He explained that currently there are at least 12 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, who have refused to join the Peace Council.

For example, said Lukanisman, France officially rejected the establishment of the body because it was considered to challenge the UN's multilateralism framework, as well as imposing a membership fee of 1 billion US dollars (around Rp16 trillion) which was unreasonable.

In addition, Ireland and Spain also expressed reluctance to join the Peace Council because it was considered only to add a new framework to the existing UN mandate.

"In fact, the People's Republic of China and Russia have also criticized this initiative as a strategy to sideline the role of the UN Security Council through a unilaterally controlled platform," said Lukanisman.

Lukanisman emphasized that the Palestinian issue is not merely a religious issue, but a humanitarian issue, human rights, the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own destiny and the right to return to their homeland and establish a sovereign state based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He conveyed that Malaysia was committed not to sacrifice its principled stance just to be at the negotiating table that does not guarantee true justice for the Palestinians and their people.

Malaysia will utilize every channel, both through the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and ASEAN, to ensure that the voice of the Palestinian people continues to be heard on the international stage, while also encouraging a speedy resolution of the conflict.

"Malaysia will remain steadfast with Palestine because their struggle is our (Malaysia) struggle, and their victory is a victory for humanity," explained Lukanisman.