Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called for constructive and respectful dialogue among civilisations, emphasising that such engagement must be rooted in mutual recognition of dignity, strength, and cultural diversity.
Delivering a public lecture titled “Asean in a Multipolar World: Perspectives from Malaysia” at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) on Thursday (May 15), Anwar underscored the importance of cross-cultural understanding in fostering global harmony.
In recognition of Anwar's efforts to promote global peace and strengthen international cooperation, MGIMO also conferred upon him an honorary doctorate.
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Delivering a public lecture titled “Asean in a Multipolar World: Perspectives from Malaysia” at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) on Thursday (May 15), Anwar underscored the importance of cross-cultural understanding in fostering global harmony.
In recognition of Anwar's efforts to promote global peace and strengthen international cooperation, MGIMO also conferred upon him an honorary doctorate.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/bdemkkj2
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00Is it an honor for all militians and peace-loving people of the world who believe in justice, in peace, and accept humbly?
00:21Thank you very much. I didn't realize you surprised me with this. But it is, of course, a rare honor. And it would be taken as a major challenge for us to lift the aspirations of this great university, and more so to embark upon a journey which is very critical for mankind.
00:52We have lost the sense of honor, dignity, human values, and respect. And it is a challenge mainly to the young to do our utmost to assimilate knowledge, imbibe the know-how, the new disciplines of digital transformation and artificial intelligence,
01:20and the need to transform our societies through energy transition. At the same time, imbibe ourselves with strong values.
01:32The Russians talk about the Russian soul. And it is very consistent with our Madani framework. Yes, we have to affect change.
01:46We are living in unprecedented times. The pace of change is fast and unprecedented. The new technology demands us to be more creative and human beings be more ingenious.
02:04But we should never lose our lives. But we should never lose our soul of dignity, of human values, and respect for one another, of different creed, different cultures and civilizations.
02:23Incidentally, I had a great meeting with President Vladimir Putin. We are here on his invitation with my colleagues and exchanges from a very important international leader to a relatively smaller country in ASEAN.
02:45But we accorded the sense of respect of equality of pride. And this is what I need to be promoted in the world.
02:57We don't believe in unilateral decisions and display of power and arrogance.
03:06We need to showcase that every community, every country, big or small, rich or poor, must be given the respect and recognition.
03:23I therefore take this opportunity to thank the President and the people of Russia for that sense of recognition and respect and the belief that we have to work together.
03:42We can only work together if we do respect the differences.
03:46In all my years, from the days I was a student and many years I spent in prison, I took a lot of time and interest in reading all the great works of Russian thinkers and literary giants.
04:10Yesterday at the Metropole Hotel, I was in the Chekhov room and then going there, I saw the Turgenev room and Tolstoy.
04:23And for the information of Rector, I must say that we have also encouraged our Translation Bureau to translate some of these great works.
04:31Where else can you find a country with such culture and tradition able to produce remarkable, phenomenal work of literature,
04:48of understanding human strength, depravity, tragedy, and humanity at large.
04:59I mean, reading the works of Dotyevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Pestinac, the poems of Anna Akhmatova, etc.
05:11I mean, would enrich not only the soul of Russia, but the soul of humanity, which is now terribly lacking.
05:29And this is consistent, what we talked about, polylogue among civilizations.
05:34How do you serve the world without any attempt to understand one another, of thinking that you represent the best,
05:45and therefore tend to be condescending towards the rest?
05:51So, polylogue among civilizations is not about erasing other cultures or distinctions.
06:00It's about recognizing the strength of one another.
06:06That's why I used to say, in these post-normal times, often we ignore the importance of these values,
06:14intrinsic values of humanity, of justice, of respect.
06:19Even how we look at the issues in the world today.
06:25You find, for example, utter devastation of Gaza,
06:32with hardly any effort to redeem the problems.
06:36And you can see, for example, the debate,
06:40when you talk about how do you deal with Ukraine, and you deal with Gaza.
06:46You see, this contradiction is unacceptable.
06:51That is why I say, in my remarks, I say,
06:54how is it that two killed in Ukraine is a disaster,
06:59and 40,000 killed in Gaza is a mistake?
07:05So, this contradiction must end.
07:08I told President Putin that we look forward to this success of these negotiations
07:15taking place in Istanbul today.
07:19And we support all efforts, initiatives,
07:26to resolve this amicably and peacefully.
07:29No country should be used to support the design of others.
07:41We have to have the patience to deal with it.
07:43Let's do that, let's do it again.
07:43Let's do it again.
07:55We hope that there's been a suggestion.