My First Post

My name's Fadli. I was born on 24 August 2006. I hail from Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. I'm currently spending my holidays at home after another year of hectic study. I am pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree (majoring in International Business and International Relations) at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. My interests include Politics, History and pro-Wrestling among other things.

As I write these words, Kofi Annan has just finished his farewell speech as the United Nations Secretary-General. After ten years of service, the man is stepping down to give way to Ban Ki-moon to take up the post. In my humble opinion, his speech was well-worded, strong and very concise. He stated five principles which he believe is essential to be followed by his successor and others: collective responsibility, global solidarity, rule of law, mutual accountability and multilateralism. Of course, his principles will just remain mere words should it not be taken up by anyone. From what little I know of him, Mr. Annan has shown the virtues of a true diplomat: cool, calm and contented even at the worse of times. Even when mocked, he can maintain his posture and sometimes show his wit. This is apparent when told of the United States Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton's comment that "nobody sang Kumbaya" during a private dinner attended by him and Annan at the White House recently. Mr. Annan's reply after being told of the comment: "But does he know how to sing it?".

As CNN ran a montage of Mr. Annan's ten years as Secretary-General, a few seconds of inaudible footage of his swearing-in by a man wearing the traditional Malay garb consisting of the Baju Melayu, Songkok and Sampin caught my eyes. Was that really a Malaysian swearing him in as Secretary-General of the United Nations? If this was so, what an honour that must have been for the ambassador of my country to be given the responsibility of doing so.

If there's one question which I would like to have the answer to, it is this: Where does Malaysia stand in the eyes of the world? I have seen my country playing prominent roles before being important members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), et cetera. Yet, I still wonder how Malaysia is perceived by its neighbours near and far. Is Malaysia seen as a model Islamic country as espoused by its leaders? Is Malaysia seen as an indispensable part of its region? Or is Malaysia seen as just another Third World country whose views and positions on international issues can be ignored without any severe repercussions?

Hence, I have decided to start this blog. I just thought it would be nice if I could use it as an avenue to let off some steam should I feel the need to, which is quite frequent considering the news items that bother me everyday. That's all for now. Thank you for reading this.


Godspeed,
Fadli