PETALING JAYA: Ministers attending international meetings and conferences should be required to inform Parliament of the matters discussed at these high-level meetings, says the G25 group of eminent Malays.
“As it costs money to send our ministers and officials to attend international-level meetings, Parliament should require the relevant ministries to submit their report so that as the MPs debate on the matters raised at the international level, the public will also benefit by being informed,” it said.
The group added that ministries should also be open about the matters raised at international meetings on issues relating to family health, including those affecting women and young girls.
G25 then said that this would have been a good way of commemorating International Women’s Day.
It added that while issues related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as pollution control are being addressed in government policies after the adoption of the convention, attention must also be given to human rights issues related to gender.
“Similarly, human rights issues such as gender equality and women empowerment, women’s and children’s health and rights are now recognised internationally as fundamental to a country’s economic development prospects. These are also encompassed in the SDGs,” said the group.
It added that these issues are discussed at the relevant international meetings at which countries report their progress, for example on issues related to gender, women empowerment harmful practices such as child marriage, gender-based violence and female circumcision.
G25 added that these are culturally sensitive issues for which international values may differ from religious and cultural values.
It said that Women, Family and Community Development Ministry officers are often asked about outstanding matters relating to Malaysia.
“At these meetings, representatives from civil society organisations in Malaysia are also in attendance as observers. As they are not part of the official delegation, they do not participate in an official capacity,” it said.
It added that the ministry should then inform Parliament about the matters discussed at these meetings and the stand taken by Malaysian officials on the issues that were raised.
G25 then said that Malaysia is making good progress towards achieving SDG3 which is related to Health and well-being throughout the life course, although challenges remain in combating HIV, tuberculosis, and non-communicable diseases.
It acknowledged that Malaysia has shown a keen interest in strengthening its relations at the international level, which is evident through its participation at the meetings of the United Nations in New York and the Bretton Woods organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva.
“Malaysia also has a permanent representative from our Ministry of Education at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) headquarters in Paris,” it said.
G25 added that Malaysia regularly sends ministers and top officials to attend meetings at all these international institutions as the discussions on the economy, education, health, and environment are relevant to every country.
“We also take a strong interest in the Asian Development Bank in Manila and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These institutions have provided development assistance to Malaysia in the past such as that provided by the World Bank,” it added.
G25 said that Malaysian officials enjoy frank discussions in these economic development institutions on sensitive matters such as the New Economic Policy.
It then said that Malaysia is respected among the international development institutions because it has been open to discussing internal problems such as the racial imbalances in the country.
“Above all, they respect us for bringing up the issues to our political masters, instead of hiding them under the carpet as some of the criticisms may touch on our internal policies,” it said.
It said civil servants attending these meetings also do their best to explain the government’s policies.
“The Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department would make it a point to bring up the reports of the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme or the Asian Development to the National Development Planning Committee or even higher to the National Economic Committee,” it said.
It added that in the mid-80s, the EPU briefed the Prime Minister on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study on our education system and added that the study was done on Malaysia's request.
In October 2011, the Ministry of Education initiated a review of Malaysia’s education system. The Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025) was published in 2013, laying out the measures required to raise the quality of education in the country,” it added.
The G25 is a civil society group encompassing retired senior civil servants.
