Kuala Lumpur--Malaysian Prime Minister Abdallah Ahmad Badawi has called for restructuring the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to make it more effective and qualified to implement the resolutions of the Islamic summits, as he put it. In an interview with Al-Sharq al-Awsat at the Malaysian prime minister's office in Kuala Lumpur, Badawi appealed to the OIC to give more attention to economic and commercial cooperation and economic development. He said that the "OIC used up too much time concentrating on political issues." He added: "I believe that there are many reasons that justify economic development and cooperation discussion, that the organization really needs some sort of reform."
The Malaysian Prime Minister stressed the importance of effecting educational reforms in Islamic schools, emphasizing the importance of reforms in Islamic states. He said: "Islamic interpretations at present must concentrate on development based on modernization in science and technology." The Malaysian premier revealed a number of measures that his country has taken to confront the Islamic fundamentalist current after the September 11 attacks, noting that cooperation is active not only with the United States but with the Southeast Asian nations as well.
(Begin interview) (Awwad) Malaysia has fielded a candidate for the OIC general secretariat. What stakes do you have in terms of reforming the organization?
(Badawi) Malaysia's decision to present a candidate for the OIC General Secretariat was made after a careful study and strong recommendation by a number of OIC member states. They felt that it would be an appropriate opportunity to have an efficient Malaysian national to be at the head the General Secretariat in Jedda. At the same time, Malaysia chairs the OIC summit. It actively participates in restructuring the OIC General Secretariat to make it a more efficient and active tool, especially in implementing UN resolutions.
(Awwad) If no consensus on your candidate is achieved at the next OIC summit because there is a candidate from Bangladesh and another from Turkey, will you request a vote through secret ballot?
(Badawi) This issue is being discussed at our foreign relations' office. We are still evaluating the support and backing we have for our candidate. We will then decide what we should do.
(Awwad) What is your plan for reforming the OIC?
(Badawi) We have a plan to make the OIC more efficient and improve its performance to quickly respond to the developments and problems that are a cause for concern for the OIC members. I want the OIC to devote more attention to economic and commercial cooperation and economic development. The OIC has consumed too much time in concentrating on political issues. I believe that there are many reasons that justify economic cooperation discussion, that the organization really needs some sort of reform.
(Awwad) There is misunderstanding of Islam because of the spreading extremist fundamentalist trend. This misunderstanding increased after the September 11 attacks. How does Malaysia view this issue?
(Badawi) The current issue does not call for reforming religion because religion itself does not encourage terrorism. We are required to teach genuine Islamic principles, and at the same time remove any wrong ideas that link Islam with terrorism.
(Awwad) Therefore, in your view, the issue is connected with reforming the educational system?
(Badawi) We must concentrate on teaching religion so the others might know what Islam means and why it was revealed. Islam means peace and living in tranquility. It also means realizing progress and development to prove also that we are not backward.
(Awwad) But the extremist groups in general, especially Al-Qa'ida Organization claims that its actions are based on Islamic sharia principles.
(Badawi) There is nothing to justify the action of this or that group by relying on the Holy Koran, which forbids terrorism. Certainly, peoples sometimes have the right to fight and defend their countries. If you find your country exposed to a foreign attack then you certainly have the right to fight and defend your country. Relaying on the Koran to terrorize others is absolutely unacceptable.
(Awwad) How do you view the process of reforming social and political systems in Islamic countries?
(Badawi) I call for reforms because 200 years ago or before that Islam was different from present-day Islam. We are living in a changing environment and Islam is a vital religion and is appropriate for all times but the problem lies in interpreting it. Any Muslim who understands the Holy Koran knows that working in accordance with the Koran is done within the limits of the principle of compulsory individual duty or the voluntary, collective duties. In our contemporary world, the competition must be within the collective duties. This is different from the compulsory, individual duties, which call on us to pray five times a day and to fast. As for other issues that have to do with the state, development, and economic reforms, they are not within compulsory duties. Even on the question of defense, the situation is different. You cannot now fight on horseback. The Koranic verse "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power" takes a different interpretation. You must develop new defense tools. There is need for air forces and other tools, which are completely different from the ones that existed before.
Islamic interpretations at present must concentrate on development based on modernization in science and technology. Our educational system must be prepared to be in harmony with reform. I underline this point because it is extremely important.
(Awwad) In Southeast Asia, there are forces that are trying to impede the social progress and development; namely, the Al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah and others, which have direct or indirect links with the Al-Qa'ida Organization. Will your government take measures to confront these forces?
(Badawi) The first part of a solution to deal with this phenomena is to understand the cause of their existence. If we know the cause then we can adopt the appropriate solution. If the problem is not understood, the conflict will continue. The second part of the solution lies in our ability to have dialogue with others to understand what they want.
(Awwad) Do you mean dialogue with an extremist organization like Al-Qa'ida and the groups that are linked with it?
(Badawi) No, I am speaking to groups that exist in our countries. We have taken various measures that are in harmony with our special position to ensure that our country will not be exposed to any kind of terrorism. We can speak of the limits of what we can do in our country and we have several experiments, such as confronting the armed communist terrorism 30 years ago and our dialogue with its leaders at that time. We asked them: Why do you do this to us? We told them: You are fighting an independent Government that is elected by the people. Your fighting the British in the past as a colonialist power is different from fighting against an independent and elected Government. They told us that they were fighting in order to adopt the communist system. We rejected their aims and told them that this country belongs to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians. At the same time, we had other programs aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the people in order to assure them that this government intended to do the best for them. Thus, we won the battle against the armed communist terror.
(Awwad) Have you taken any measures against Al-Qa'ida Organization, taking into consideration the existence of extremist Islamic organizations in the region accused of links with Al-Qa'ida? Probably they are stronger in neighboring states like Indonesia, the Philippine, and Thailand.
(Badawi) Malaysia has an excellent record in effectively dealing with the threats of the terrorists and outlaws even before the September 11 attacks. Before and after independence, we faced the problem of the communist insurgents for 42 years, from 1948 to 1990. We were able to defeat the communist terrorism not only by military means but also by other means. We won the hearts and minds of our people by dealing with the roots that led to the communist insurgency that affected Malaysia for a long time.
This record is a powerful testimony of the abilities and efficiency of our government and security forces to confront armed threats against the society and preserve peace and security in the region.
After September 11, the Malaysian Government adopted various effective and preventive measures on the national level to ensure peace and security in the country, including measures against the terrorist organizations such as (Al-Minah) or the armed Malaysian group, as well as the Al-Jama'at al-Islamiyah. Moreover, Malaysia embarked in earnest on bilateral, regional, and international cooperation and coordination to limit and contain the threats of international terrorism. Malaysia reached agreements and commitments on all the bilateral, regional, and international levels.
(Awwad) Then why does Malaysia oppose the establishment of a US military base in Thailand to combat terrorism?
(Badawi) We feel that the states in the region have the ability and wherewithal to deal with any terrorist threats by restoring the cooperation network that was established sometime back on the bilateral and regional levels. It is also necessary to take into consideration that Malaysia has a joint antiterrorism program with other states in and outside of the region.
(Awwad) What is the level of cooperation between Malaysia and the United States in fighting the Al-Qa'ida Organization and the rest of the extremist fundamentalist organizations in the region?
(Badawi) Cooperation with the United States exists on the level of exchanging information and holding joint training. We established an antiterrorism center in the region. I must also tell you that this was not confined to combating the Al-Qa'ida Organization but all the links of terrorism. Terrorism does not necessarily come from the Islamic world; it could come from anywhere. It could be championed by many other groups and could originate in all communities. Before fighting this phenomenon, we must understand why others resort to terrorism.
(Awwad) If the UN Security Council issues a resolution granting the United States a central role after handing power over to the Iraqis by the end of next June, will Malaysia send its forces to Iraq?
(Badawi) For a long time, Malaysia has been stressing the importance of central UN role in strengthening peace, security, and stability in Iraq. Within the framework of the OIC and the Nonaligned Movement, Malaysia has urged the United Nations to play a central role to restore sovereignty and full independence to the Iraqi people. Based on this, we welcome a UN Security Council resolution that would strengthen the UN authority by giving it an important and clear mission with the necessary resources to implement this cherished aim.
Malaysia's decision to send forces to Iraq depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the presence of the forces in Iraq, and whether they will be peacekeeping forces under UN umbrella and whether they will be really under the blue beret forces command.
Malaysia can also play a role in other fields, such as contributing toward the reconstruction of the country. Malaysia's role should not be confined to participating in the peacekeeping forces.
(Awwad) You were your country's foreign minister for a long time. Now you are prime minister, having achieved a landslide victory for the coalition that you are leading. How do you deal with the daily programs that are directly connected with domestic issues and problems?
(Badawi) We no longer have any problems, given the people's overwhelming support. We won over 90 percent of the votes. This granted us self-confidence in carrying out our tasks. I led my party to participate in the elections based on our clear promises to the people, which were stipulated in our election platform; namely, to improve our economy, security, and other urgent issues.
We are happy for this mandate because we want our government to be most efficient in improving public and social services. We must fight corruption because it is a bad phenomenon and is harmful to the government and the country. We also want development that will serve people's interest. We want to completely get rid of poverty because it is a very bad phenomenon. We also try to improve the agricultural sector to provide good sources of development. We also want to improve our relationship with the private sector. We are constantly facing questioning in Parliament concerning the programs that we promised to carry out.
(Awwad) Observers think that your methods of dealing with the political problems and in administering the country differ from your predecessor, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
(Badawi) It is very difficult to do this comparison, simply because we are two different persons. However, it can be said that the aim and the visions are the same in terms of developing this country and having the people, both Muslims and non-Muslims, participate in development. These are the same aims. However, the methods of realizing these aims might be different. Dr Mahathir Mohamad spent huge amounts of money to build excellent and first-rate infrastructure in the country. I am now trying to carry out the programs that serve the people, on the professional, social, and educational levels in order to build a strong and competitive economy. I have decided to make agriculture one of the sectors of growth in the country.
(Description of Source: London Al-Sharq al-Awsat in Arabic -- Influential Saudi-owned London daily providing independent coverage of Arab and international issues; editorials reflect official Saudi views on foreign policy)
Translated from the original by WNC.
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