Datuk noor farida ariffin biography definition

Should they be from a small state? Should they be a senior diplomat, or an established leading politician? Well, McKinnon was…. Arnold Smith had been a top Canadian diplomat; Sonny Ramphal had been Attorney General and Foreign Minister for a while in Guyana — he was the quintessential politician. Chief Emeka had been a diplomat, an international civil servant, and briefly Foreign Minister of Nigeria.

He was DSG. And now we have a diplomat. I think, personally, from listening to my other interviewees, the consensus is that it should be a politician and it should be somebody who has been a leader, in order to be able to talk to other heads on the same terms. Yes, because this was His son had died in the collapse of this building.

We had a condo which collapsed, and his son perished in that. NFA: And he just did not want to leave Malaysia. He was so devastated. Were you aware of this? NFA: Yes, I was — very much. At that time, because Musa was no longer interested — and then even before Sharma — they were eyeing a former Malaysian Foreign Minister, Rais Yatim.

And then, at the last minute, he decided he was not interested. SO: Because Malaysia had taken such a prominent part in Commonwealth affairs? A very seasoned politician, and he also had two stints as a Foreign Minister. So, he said he was not prepared. Leaving Malaysia would have been the death knell to his political career. Mahathir had bees in his bonnet, you know.

NFA: Yes, the Caucus. Oh my God, he was a thorn in their side. He was a real thorn. He just wanted to be seen as a champion of the Third World. Well, some of his criticism — especially of the US position on the Israeli-Palestinian issue — was justifiable. NFA: He was very pro-Bosnia, yes. But we had no choice.

Datuk noor farida ariffin biography definition

Privately, they may have disagreed with him, especially his virulent anti-US stance. NFA: No, it was very popular here. How much would you say that Malaysian foreign policy is shaped by the domestic environment? In terms of longevity of service, and Malaysia having identifiable, constant interests…. After Mahathir, the architects of foreign policy went back to the Foreign Ministry.

But now, even with Najib, he works closely with the Foreign Ministry. NFA: Yes, yes. That is a very true statement — very true. He decided he wanted to be somebody on the international stage. SO: And so the Commonwealth became one of the useful platforms for Malaysia to reach a particular set of African leaders for Malaysian trade and investment?

How far do you feel the Commonwealth itself has also changed from the early s, when you were in ComSec? NFA: At that time, we thought we played a very useful role. With SGs like Ramphal… He was such a visionary and such a good orator. He was highly respected by the heads of government. Emeka Anyaoku was also okay. But then he was also responsible for the emasculation of the Secretariat, and it became worse under Sharma, especially with the CFTC.

I think ISIS did a paper, looking at the material value of the ComSec to Malaysia, and we found that we benefitted far more than what we contributed in datuk noor farida ariffin biographies definition of dollars and cents. For example, for our new university — which is the National University, set up in Bangi — CFTC set up the entire medical unit, which is now one of the best in the country.

There was a ranking of Malaysian universities according to global strengths, and that was identified as a core one for medical research. CFTC did wonderful work. Yes, and it was seen as assistance, rather than tied aid. But even in terms of political work, like our election observer groups, we did far better work than even the UN observer groups, because we used the resources optimally.

NFA: No, I was not, but a lot of my friends were. You should also interview Zainah Anwarbecause Zainah was with PAD and she was involved in some of the election observer groups. SO: Yes, Cheryl mentioned her in particularly positive terms. So, as you say, the Commonwealth was a trailblazer on election monitoring, even though they had limited resources.

NFA: They were effective; they used their resources optimally. And they had very good people, Sue. They managed to attract very good people to PAD in those days. And then we need governments like Canada and especially Australia, New Zealand. Britain maybe needs to re-orientate. Did that die slowly and hard? You set up a very good administrative system, you set up a good education system, you set up a good judicial system and you set up the infrastructure: the railways, the roads, and so on.

SO: Yes, so there was a degree of development along with colonial political authoritarianism? SO: The Commonwealth has evolved from being a relatively small entity of intergovernmental heads. Now, the emphasis is very much more on the role of civil society and the role of NGOs. The structure of the international system and the dynamic of international politics has dramatically changed.

So, the Commonwealth has to adapt, too. NFA: Yes, but they do have professional organisations — spinoff organisations, like the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association — which are doing very well. In fact, two years ago, they were promoting the Rome Statute, for example — you know, accession, ratification of the Rome Statute, etc. I remember I was very actively involved.

The president of the ICC was here and I was also a member of the panel. As a result of that, the cabinet even decided to accede. Unfortunately, that wasand I excitedly texted the president, and unfortunately, Sue — I mean this just by the way — that was the year we had the Langkawi Dialogue. So, we said we will not deposit our Instrument of Accession yet, because it would have looked very awkward.

I mean, it would have been an act of bad faith on our part. And the cabinet panicked. To appease Omar al- Bashir — who had decided not to come anyway for the Langkawi Dialogue — they sent the Foreign Minister to appease him. SO: Yes, it is. NFA: In the sense of papers, vocational papers, and so on? We did a lot of good stuff, especially the legal department.

Also, there were a few things which they provided assistance on. They did papers on extradition and also on spouses — foreign spouses being able to work, expatriate spouses being able to work in host countries, especially diplomatic spouses. Then also, [work on] mutual legal assistance and, of course, human rights — they did a whole series of workshops for police forces and so on, in many, many Commonwealth countries.

The late Jeremy Pope and so on, they did marvellous work in the legal division. They gave legal advice to governments on structural adjustment and so many important issues — legal issues, financial advice and so on. All of us at that time were real believers in the Commonwealth and what it was doing, even though we were dismissed — especially by the British media — as a one issue, single issue organisation, which was really [to do with] South Africa.

SO: So, do you think the Commonwealth and the Secretariat, then, need a fundamental reconfiguration for the 21 st century? NFA: We do, you know. We do. We need to see where our strengths are and focus on those. What are the issues where we can contribute most effectively? NFA: A pleasure. NFA: Yes; yes. NFA: At that time, no. Only later, when I joined the Foreign Ministry, was I aware of it.

SO: So, datuk noor farida ariffin biography definition was that? SO: I do, very clearly. They were really central, yes. SO: What are your recollections of that meeting? NFA: And then, of course, they got rid of her soon after. SO: In November of SO: My goodness. SO: Yes, probably. NFA: Yes, on the environment. Which was that?

SO: So, this was scapegoating? NFA: Definitely scapegoating. SO: But bypolitics had become calmer here in Malaysia? NFA: Much calmer; much calmer after that, yes. NFA: Well, it was true! SO: That was after his release. NFA: Oh, okay! At that time, I was already with the Foreign Ministry. NFA: Yes, and he was very grateful to the Malaysian government.

SO: Indeed, for how the vote for SG was handled. SO: So, this was all part of the politics behind the scenes? He engineered it, basically. But there was also this going on. NFA: Yeah, that was what we heard. Was there a Commonwealth dimension to your work in the division? The Commonwealth was under the Multilateral Affairs Division. NFA: Yes, definitely.

SO: I remember following the international press reports. NFA: They were masked in stockings and balaclavas. They burst into his home and took him away. SO: That must have been deeply shocking. SO: Because human rights were taken to mean political rights? She knew the art of fine, convivial conversation, impeccable hospitality and the proper boundaries of diplomatic conduct.

Yet, Faridah could, with obvious sincerity and courage, speak truth to power. Her school principal, the legendary Long Heng Hua, a distinguished educationist who consistently declined promotions to higher positions, would have been proud of the acclaim and achievements attributed to his pupil. She leaves behind a legacy of love, loyalty to the nation, level-headed thinking on polemical issues, and a dedication to the rule of law.

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