“Malaysia was one of the three Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia and the Philippines being the other two) getting invited to the recently concluded Summit for Democracy organised by the White House.

“Unfortunately, Malaysia made the decision not to participate in this summit. This is a short sighted and nonstrategic move, pointing to a lack of coherence and independent thinking in our foreign policy,” Ong Kian Ming said in a statement.

The Summit for Democracy, held from Dec 9 to 10, was participated by nearly 100 countries. The event touched on three issues; which are defending against authoritarianism, combating corruption and advancing respect for human rights.

However, many quarters mocked the US’ sincerity on the matter, adding the superpower nation itself was regressing in terms of respecting democracy.

It was evident after several Republican-led states in the US such as Texas, Georgia and Arizona started enacting laws to restrict voting access, following claims by ex-president Donald Trump on widespread voter fraud which led to his ousting last year, an allegation dismissed by its Supreme Court.

Touching on the matter, Ong said that Ismail Sabri could have used the platform to reiterate Malaysia’s commitment to democracy, which has been tried and tested since the 14th General Election.

He added that the premier could have used the summit to highlight the memorandum on understanding (MoU) signed between the Government and Opposition, to show how the country has grown in terms of political maturity.

“Instead, Ismail Sabri was caught up with the 100-day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia event, which saw politicians and attendees openly flouting COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOP).

“The least he could have done was to highlight our achievements in a pre-recorded speech to be featured in the summit,” Ong mentioned.

Don’t trivialise this, Saifuddin

With that said, he urged Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah not to brush aside the matter and reminded him of the importance of sending the right message when it comes to foreign policy.

“I’m sure Saifuddin will talking about the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken’s upcoming visit to Southeast Asia.

“But we missed an opportunity to add substantive content to our foreign policy which could have been done during the summit, such as our strategy in dealing with major powers when it comes to regional geo-politics issues.

“Plus, I’m concerned that some may view our absence as tipping over to one side over this tricky balancing act.

“Either way, the signs are worrying for those who are concerned with the foreign policy direction of Malaysia, under the current leadership,” the former deputy minister remarked. – Dec 13, 2021

https://focusmalaysia.my/summit-for-democracy-msia-missed-an-opportunity-to-shine-dap-mp-says/