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Photo shows the logo and theme for Malaysia’s Asean Chairmanship 2025, unveiled by the Foreign Ministry at Wisma Putra late October this year. — Bernama photo WHILE the officials at Wisma Putra are busily preparing Malaysia for assuming the chairmanship of Asean next year, I have several matters of interest for the consideration by our leaders. I’m wondering if any of my suggestions will draw their attention at all. These are just passing thoughts as I’m keeping abreast with developments in terms of our foreign policy. Principle of non-interference Should the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of a member country be somewhat relaxed, if not removed altogether? I’m of the opinion that the toppling of an elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi by a military junta in Myanmar could have been avoided if Asean had had the necessary power in its Charter. As a group, acting in concert should have been able to directly influence the military leaders who were stepping out of line to think twice before staging a coup d’état. The communication between the Asean Secretariat in Bangkok was one way – with Suu Kyii only. Sure, the lady was internationally well-known, and generally seen as the symbol of Myanmar. But ignoring the generals with the guns was not clever. Worse, the junta leader was not even invited to attend any meeting of Asean; it was the mother of all insults as far as the armed forces were concerned. The generals were in actual power, however obtained, like it or not. Even if the great powers didn’t like them (they didn’t!), it was international etiquette to give them a seat at the table! Whether or not Malaysia, as the Chair of the group, will take the initiative to sound out to the member countries the importance of giving Asean some teeth, remains to be seen. However, Asean will be in good hands if it focuses on the policy of people-centred development. By this, I mean the principle of equitable distribution of wealth to reduce extreme poverty and the closing of the yawning gap between the rich and the poor in each member country. By this, I mean controlling privatisation of basic services such as healthcare, education and distribution of water and electricity. Equally important is the conservation of the forests and the protection of the people who live in them; they rely on the forests as their primary source of food and materials for their survival. All Asean countries must recognise the spirit and the intent of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007). Within this context, I am banking on Malaysia, my country, to lead the way and set an example. It is incumbent on Malaysia to impress upon the other member countries that they must consider enacting legislation to recognise the legal rights to lands, territories and resources of the indigenous peoples of their respective states. Not forgetting maritime resources within each country’s exclusive economic zone! Asean Community Vision 2025 In November 2015, Asean adopted a vision of development supported by three pillars: Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), Political-Security Community (APSC), and Economic Community (AEC). For the past decade, I have been attending seminars of all descriptions. At every seminar, the subject of poverty has always dominated heated discussions. One criticism of AEC has been that “the AEC Blueprint is focused on economic progress, with no explicit concern regarding respect for human rights and accountability for redress in cases of human rights violations” (extracted from Page 601 of ‘The Indigenous World 2018’ – published by IWGI, Copenhagen). It is my hope that the Chair will have time to check these sources out and initiate discussions among member countries to address this issue. At the time of the creation of Asean in 1967, the founders Tun Abdul Razak Hussein of Malaysia, Thanat Khoman of Thailand, Adam Malik of Indonesia, and Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, were so engrossed with groping for ideas with which to address the multifaceted problems facing their countries that the relations between states came first. Now the problems are people- centred. Since Asean’s inception in 1967, social and political conditions have changed a lot in all the member countries. The current Asean leaders must empower their organisation in terms of issues relating to human rights violations committed in any member country. Cases of enforced disappearances of persons such as the sad cases of Pastor Koh, of Amri Che Mat, of Joshua Helmy and of his wife, may be seen as ‘internal problems’, but they are of universal importance. A crime against humanity. Malaysia will set a good example to others if human rights violations in the member countries will be part of the Asean Agenda for 2025. That may involve wider participation by the ordinary citizens of the member countries. Hopefully, one or two seminars will take place in Sarawak or Sabah. Equally hopefully, the seminars won’t just be ‘talk, talk, talk...’ – yes, you’ve correctly read my thought! You know what I am getting at. Above are my thoughts of the day, for what they are worth. Give Malaysia the chance to prove that we will do justice to our tenure of office for the next 12 months. * The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper.casino slot free 100 bonus 。

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's de facto leader said Sunday it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans to dissolve his Islamist group that led the country's insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview with Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad's decades-long rule, ending the country's uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. Al-Sharaa said it would take time to hold elections because of the need for Syria's different forces to hold political dialogue and rewrite the country's constitution following five decades of the Assad dynasty's dictatorial rule. Also, the war-torn country's battered infrastructure needs to be reconstructed, he said. “The chance we have today doesn’t come every 5 or 10 years,” said al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “We want the constitution to last for the longest time possible.” Al-Sharaa is Syria's de facto leader until March 1, when Syria's different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country's political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together. There, he said, HTS will dissolve after years of being the country's most dominant rebel group that held a strategic enclave in the country's northwest. Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over Syria since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Unlike his criticism of key Assad ally Iran, al-Sharaa hoped to maintain “strategic relations” with Russia, whose air force played a critical role in keeping Assad in power for over a decade during the conflict. Moscow has a strategic airbase in Syria. The HTS leader also said negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been clashing with the SDF even after the insurgency, taking the key city of Manbij, as Ankara hopes to create a buffer zone near its border in northern Syria. The rebels attacked near the strategic northern border town of Kobani, while the SDF shared a video of a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city of Manbij. In other developments: — Syrian state-run media said a mass grave was found near the third largest city of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo, one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's downfall. His late father, Youssef al-Qaradawi, was a top and controversial Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria.

Major Shake-Up May Be Looming For Toronto Maple Leafs Coverage In Canada, Per SourceJohn Parker Romo made a 29-yard field goal to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-27 overtime win against the host Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon. Romo buried the game-winning kick in his third career game for Minnesota (9-2), which won its fourth game in a row. The score capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive for the Vikings after the Bears went three-and-out on the first overtime possession. Sam Darnold completed 22 of 34 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Vikings. Wideout Jordan Addison finished with eight catches for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown. The overtime defeat spoiled an impressive performance from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who completed 32 of 47 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns for Chicago (4-7). D.J. Moore had seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, and Keenan Allen finished with nine catches for 86 yards and a score. Chicago erased an 11-point deficit in the final 22 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. Romo had put Minnesota on top 27-16 when he made a 26-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. Williams trimmed the Bears' deficit to 27-24 with 22 seconds to go. He rolled right and found Allen wide open in the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, and moments later he fired a strike to Moore for a two-point conversion. The Bears recovered an onside kick on the next play to regain possession at their 43-yard line with 21 seconds left. Cairo Santos' onside kick bounced off the foot of Vikings tight end Johnny Mundt, and Tarvarius Moore recovered it. D.J. Moore put the Bears in field-goal position with a 27-yard reception across the middle of the field, and Santos made a 48-yarder as time expired to even the score at 27-all. Minnesota led 24-10 after three quarters. Romo made a 40-yard field goal early in the third quarter, and Aaron Jones punched in a 2-yard run with 1:22 left in the period to put the Vikings on top by two touchdowns. Addison and Jalen Nailor each had receiving touchdowns in the first half for Minnesota. Roschon Johnson scored on a 1-yard run for the Bears' only touchdown of the first half. Chicago trailed 14-10 at the break. --Field Level Media

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