Forging partnerships at receptions

NATIONAL day receptions hosted by embassies are productive and jolly affairs, featuring a speech by the head of mission celebrating the bilateral relationship, a cultural aspect such as a musical performance or art exhibition, and of course, a glimpse of the cuisine from the country hosting.

I have certainly learnt a great deal from these events, and there’s often an interesting mix of people to engage with, from the diplomatic community, think- tankers, academics, activists, corporate figures, and entertainers.

Of late, however, these events have become a serious platform for the discussion of international relations; in particular, the thinking behind Malaysia’s recent foreign policy statements and decisions.

Support for Palestine has remained a constant, quite rightly so and across political parties. Since last year, over 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza, while violence in the West Bank has also massively increased.

A few days ago Israel began a ground invasion of Lebanon, after the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies killed dozens and injured thousands of innocents, before airstrikes killed another thousand.

As I write, Iran is retaliating by sending rockets into Israel. The situation in the region looks bleak, and leaders in the region face difficult decisions about how to respond, with demands of justice and revenge coursing through considerations of public opinion, the prevention of prolonged war and the long-term security of the region.

A couple of national days have already been interrupted by Malaysians protesting Western countries’ support for Israel, and many Western diplomats squirm to explain their countries’ position, whatever their personal feelings.

Unfortunately, there have been cases where the objections mean that other programmes of benefit to Malaysians have been disrupted. But there are exceptions: Irish Ambassador Orla Tunney is popular not just for her charm but also her country’s strong support for Palestine.

Outside the EU, there is Brazil, whose energetic ambassador Ary Quintella highlights his country’s music and sustainability – including at Sunway last week through a concert of Brazilian music co- organised with the Euroasia Association of Performing Arts and presenting his country’s proposed 18th Sustainable Development Goal of ethnic-racial equality. Malaysia’s bid to join BRICS was unexpected. I am told that the announcement caught even Malaysian Cabinet members off-guard, and there are questions about whether this is a good way to make policy, with senior officials scrambling to justify the decision, mainly through economic arguments.

Yet, social media – not usually a platform for serious analysis – had many voices of approval for Malaysia’s apparent realignments when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok.

By this stage, any accusations of inconsistency between attitudes towards Ukraine and Palestine were totally dwarfed by the hypocrisy of so many of the big powers.

At the United Nations, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan reaffirmed Malaysia’s stance on Palestine and reform of the United Nations Security Council, citing the failure to reach a ceasefire because of the use of the veto.

Yet Malaysia has always been a generous contributor to UN peacekeeping operations.

The movie Malbatt: Misi Bakara, released last year, highlighted the role of the Royal Malay Regiment in rescuing US soldiers trapped in a market in Mogadishu, while the gallery at the Army Museum in Port Dickson devotes a section to our troops in the Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).

Established in 1978, it originally aimed to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon and establish Lebanese government authority in the area.

The army is rightly proud of the important role our troops have played; and yet, the force has repeatedly been witness to conflicts, with Israel and Hezbollah essentially bypassing or ignoring it, and both sides accusing Unifil of enabling the other.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin has given assurance that our battalion is safe amidst the escalating conflict, but two of its vehicles were attacked by a mob in Tyre two weeks ago, lending credence to the idea that it’s not locally seen as very effective.With Malaysia chairing Asean next year, however, there is much hope and expectation that we will engage and contribute meaningfully on the Myanmar issue. On this, and so many other issues, diplomatic receptions will certainly remain an important platform in facilitating partnerships.

The views expressed here are the writer’s own.