Take advantage of UN and Asean role to galvanise security: Jimmy
Published on: Friday, November 28, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must take advantage of its appointment as chairman of Asean in 2015 as well as its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to galvanise security in the region, especially in the east coast of Sabah.Kota Kinabalu MP Jimmy Wong, in debating the Foreign Ministry Budget 2015 at the committee level in Parliament here, said through the Asean platform, Malaysia must try to convince the other countries in the region to cooperate to eliminate the presence of terrorists.Apart from that, he also suggested that the Foreign Minister or Prime Minister use the UN platform to tell the international community on the terrorist threats in Asean.
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"We must view the threat similar to how ISIS are now threatening Iraq and Syria. If we do not take seriously the threats from the Southern Philippines, definitely ISIS will come to this region," he said.Wong said it has been reported that the terrorist group operating from the Southern Philippines was linked to the Islamic State movement while the FBI of the United States has also cautioned that Asean had been identified as one of the main training grounds of ISIS fighters.He hoped Asean would set up a joint force or an Asean Peace Command in the bid to address the growing threats from the Southern Philippines.He said it was also imperative that the setting up of the joint force has the consensus of Manila.
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"I would like to remind the Minister of Foreign Affairs that getting the mandate to sit in the UN Security Council and the chair of Asean as well as the RM120 million allocation is not something light.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Nonetheless, Wong expressed pride that Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman is from Sabah and he was confident that Anifah was committed to do the best for the people in Sabah.
