PUTRAJAYA: Wisma Putra will establish a centre of excellence for maritime services next year in order to strengthen the sovereignty of Malaysian waters, said Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (pix).
“We already have a department on maritime but we need to strengthen it, to add people and perhaps even assets because looking at the maritime issue, you require some kind of equipment.
“Our borders are very porous and we have a very long sea area that we have to monitor,“ he told Bernama in an interview at his office recently.
Led by the people from the Ministry, the centre would also include experts and academicians, Saifuddin said.
Currently, the responsibilities of handling and overseeing all maritime-related issues – including negotiations on maritime delimitation with neighbouring countries – lie with the Ministry’s Department of Maritime Affairs.
The measure also fulfils the Pakatan Harapan government’s manifesto to protect the country’s borders, including through diplomatic efforts and bilateral negotiations.
Meanwhile, commenting on Malaysia’s decision to not ratify the 1951 International Convention on Refugees, Saifuddin said the focus in 2020 would be on improving assistance to refugees in Malaysia and beyond in health services, work permits and education for the children.
He added that some of the ideas include having a proper guideline and accreditation for the children of refugees attending classes offered by civil society organisations in Malaysia.
“We are working very well with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and I have had several meetings with them. They understand perfectly and they are not pushing us to sign.
“In fact, it is well documented that even though we have not yet signed it, we have not ratified it, but we have done quite a bit, in fact, we have done more than some countries that actually ratified the international convention,” he said.
Touching specifically on the issues of the Rohingyas, Saifuddin said Malaysia would soon have to decide whether the operation of its hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, will be extended after 2021.
“(If yes) for how many years? Because this involves budget and you can’t plan ahead unless you have a proper projection,“ he said, adding that the extension is decided annually.
Besides that, Saifuddin said the Foreign Ministry has lined-up four activities for next year in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, including the ones related to the reform of the UN and its veto system as well as active participation at the 2020 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
“What we plan to do is to talk to like-minded countries as much as possible, either to co-host a resolution or a side event, in conjunction with the UN General Assembly, in the third week of September 2020,“ he said.
The minister said Malaysia will also actively participate in the UN2020, a civil society initiative that regularly consults with government representatives, UN officials, and other stakeholders.
He added that Malaysia would also be engaging in the Beijing+25, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
All of these, he said, is part of Malaysia’s efforts to be more proactive in the decision-making process at the international platform to make the world a better place to live in, as outlined in the Foreign Policy Framework of The New Malaysia launched September this year. — Bernama
