Retired school head from Johor gets South Korean peace award

SEOUL: A retired secondary school principal, Woo Sow Pheng, 62, has received an award from a South Korean NGO for her efforts in promoting peace, harmony, and unity in Malaysia.
Woo was among 19 individuals, including former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and former Prime Minister of Armenia, Hrant Bagratyan, to receive the peace award from Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) chairman Lee Man Hee.
HWPL is an NGO dedicated to promoting peace and the cessation of war, including the reunification of South and North Korea.
The presentation was made during the three-day 3rd annual commemoration of the World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit, an inter-faith gathering of more than 1,000 participants from all over the world, which concluded here yesterday.
Woo, who is also President of the Johor Women's League, said she did not expect to be awarded for her work in promoting peace.
"There is a lot that we can do to promote peace, harmony and unity to make Malaysia an even better country," said Woo, who is also the coordinator of the Johor Peace Committee (JPC) of the International Women's Peace Group (IWPG), which is an affiliate organisation of HWPL.
She said JPC would organise a forum and exhibition, entitled "Bersama Demi Malaysia", at SMK Sultan Ismail in Johor Bahru this Saturday.
It will be officiated by Felda chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Samad, who is also Johor Baru Member of Parliament.
"The aim is to enable youths of all races to share the pride and joy of living in peace, harmony and unity in our multiracial country," Woo said, adding that she intends to set up an IWPG Malaysia branch to further spearhead efforts to promote peace and unity in the country. — Bernama