Let us join the Lions' Peace-Keeping Force
Speech by Y.B. Ng Wei Aik, the State Assemblyman for KOMTAR as Guest of Honour to Peace Poster Contest Organised by the Lions Clubs in Region 1 on 27th of September, 2009 (Sunday) 8.30 a.m. to 12.00 noon at the New World Park, Penang:
Lion Jennifer Lim, Project Chairperson for today’s event,,
Lion Lee Boon Hoe, Chairperson for the Lions Clubs in Region ,
District Governor Lion Choong Kwei Loi,
All participants, parents, members of the press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very Happy and Good Morning to all of you,
First of all, I would like to record my heartiest appreciation to the organiser for inviting me to grace this event as the Guest of Honour.
I would like to commend such an effort by the organizers as well as the Lions Clubs International to promote the true meaning of peace for it to be rooted in our children’s heart and mind, by involving them to participate in this contest. It is also part of our peace education for our future generations!
Ladies and gentleman,
I used to be a student of International Relations during my days in the University of Malaya. For me, the war is a word that we cannot simply ignore whenever we touching on any textbook for reference reading of International Relations. And I always learned the words of “War is imminent” and “Peace is something cannot lasted long” from my lecturers.
Peace is a term that most commonly refers to an absence of hostility, but which also represents a larger concept wherein there are healthy or newly-healed interpersonal or international relationships, safety in matters of social or economic welfare, the acknowledgment of equality and fairness in political relationships and, in world matters, peacetime; a state of being absent of any war or conflict. Reflection on the nature of peace is also bound up with considerations of the causes for its absence or loss. Among these potential causes are: insecurity, social injustice, economic inequality, political and religious radicalism, and acute nationalism. Peace is not only for a specific country or a group of countries, but the whole world with its population of more than 6 billion people is entitled to enjoy a world in peace.
Ladies and gentleman,
While world peace is theoretically possible, some believe that it is impossible to achieve.
The plausibility of world peace tacitly relies on the assumption of rational agents that base their decisions on future consequences, which is not self-evident.
If peace is defined as the absence of hostility, violence and conflict, world peace would imply a worldwide end to violence and thus to institutions which rely on threats of violence to sustain their existence. It follows that there could be no law enforcement, because force is a form of violence. Without law enforcement, there could be no laws, except those which everyone voluntarily agrees to follow. Finally, there could be no governments of the type that rely on threats of violence to collect taxes, maintain their borders, or govern their citizens. Considered in this light, world peace goes beyond the cessation of nation-state warfare and calls for dramatic changes in most of the political institutions familiar to people worldwide.
Whether the peace is not possible without security or the security without peace is impossible? Let us rethink about this scenario: Why should a peace nation like Malaysia spend RM3.4 billion to purchase its first Scorpene submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, which arrived at our naval base in Pulau Indah recently? Is it a mean for our ultimate goal of national defence or offensive in nature? But, something for sure, it is not to serve our purpose to curb the piracy on the sea.
Ladies and gentleman,
For everyone of us, I think our most urgent task is to bring about total nuclear disarmament in the United States and around the world; to phase out nuclear power and promote other forms of renewable energy and conservation; to educate the public on the detriment of Star Wars National Missile Defense; to expose and cease operation of armament manufacturers world wide; to foster a free and responsible media; to reform and empower the framework of the United Nations so it is an effective peace-keeping body.
Instead of relying on our national armed forces or the United Nations peace-keeping force, let us be the peacemakers starting from the bottom of our heart. Once again, I would like to congratulate and salute to all our parents for allowing their children to join the Lions Clubs International’s peace-keeping force. It is a force that truly transcends all racial and ethnic boundaries as well as beyond all ideological differences, religious interpretation and national sovereignty. By its nature, it is a force of the people, by the people, for the people and with the people!
Thank you very much.
Lion Jennifer Lim, Project Chairperson for today’s event,,
Lion Lee Boon Hoe, Chairperson for the Lions Clubs in Region ,
District Governor Lion Choong Kwei Loi,
All participants, parents, members of the press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very Happy and Good Morning to all of you,
First of all, I would like to record my heartiest appreciation to the organiser for inviting me to grace this event as the Guest of Honour.
I would like to commend such an effort by the organizers as well as the Lions Clubs International to promote the true meaning of peace for it to be rooted in our children’s heart and mind, by involving them to participate in this contest. It is also part of our peace education for our future generations!
Ladies and gentleman,
I used to be a student of International Relations during my days in the University of Malaya. For me, the war is a word that we cannot simply ignore whenever we touching on any textbook for reference reading of International Relations. And I always learned the words of “War is imminent” and “Peace is something cannot lasted long” from my lecturers.
Peace is a term that most commonly refers to an absence of hostility, but which also represents a larger concept wherein there are healthy or newly-healed interpersonal or international relationships, safety in matters of social or economic welfare, the acknowledgment of equality and fairness in political relationships and, in world matters, peacetime; a state of being absent of any war or conflict. Reflection on the nature of peace is also bound up with considerations of the causes for its absence or loss. Among these potential causes are: insecurity, social injustice, economic inequality, political and religious radicalism, and acute nationalism. Peace is not only for a specific country or a group of countries, but the whole world with its population of more than 6 billion people is entitled to enjoy a world in peace.
Ladies and gentleman,
While world peace is theoretically possible, some believe that it is impossible to achieve.
The plausibility of world peace tacitly relies on the assumption of rational agents that base their decisions on future consequences, which is not self-evident.
If peace is defined as the absence of hostility, violence and conflict, world peace would imply a worldwide end to violence and thus to institutions which rely on threats of violence to sustain their existence. It follows that there could be no law enforcement, because force is a form of violence. Without law enforcement, there could be no laws, except those which everyone voluntarily agrees to follow. Finally, there could be no governments of the type that rely on threats of violence to collect taxes, maintain their borders, or govern their citizens. Considered in this light, world peace goes beyond the cessation of nation-state warfare and calls for dramatic changes in most of the political institutions familiar to people worldwide.
Whether the peace is not possible without security or the security without peace is impossible? Let us rethink about this scenario: Why should a peace nation like Malaysia spend RM3.4 billion to purchase its first Scorpene submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, which arrived at our naval base in Pulau Indah recently? Is it a mean for our ultimate goal of national defence or offensive in nature? But, something for sure, it is not to serve our purpose to curb the piracy on the sea.
Ladies and gentleman,
For everyone of us, I think our most urgent task is to bring about total nuclear disarmament in the United States and around the world; to phase out nuclear power and promote other forms of renewable energy and conservation; to educate the public on the detriment of Star Wars National Missile Defense; to expose and cease operation of armament manufacturers world wide; to foster a free and responsible media; to reform and empower the framework of the United Nations so it is an effective peace-keeping body.
Instead of relying on our national armed forces or the United Nations peace-keeping force, let us be the peacemakers starting from the bottom of our heart. Once again, I would like to congratulate and salute to all our parents for allowing their children to join the Lions Clubs International’s peace-keeping force. It is a force that truly transcends all racial and ethnic boundaries as well as beyond all ideological differences, religious interpretation and national sovereignty. By its nature, it is a force of the people, by the people, for the people and with the people!
Thank you very much.
posted by weiaik at
10:05
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