INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S FEDERATION FOR WORLD PEACE MALAYSIA (CPFWPM)
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW FOR THE INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S FEDERATION FOR WORLD PEACE MALAYSIA (CPFWPM)
14 June 2019, Hotel Jen Penang
A very good evening to all of you.
First of all, please allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude for this invitation to be a part of the Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace Malaysia (CPFWPM) Inaugural Ceremony. This ceremony cannot be more timely because Malaysia has always been known as a peace-loving country. The peaceful transition of power from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan after the 14th General Election last year is a solid proof of how much we Malaysians value our peace. And for the CPFWPM to be founded and based here in Penang, it is a decision which I believe to be well-considered because the state provides vibrant socioeconomic conditions for NGOs to thrive and to meet their objectives. Congratulations for being here in Penang!
The Chinese People’s Federation for World Peace Malaysia (CPFWPM) – I have been informed of its founding purpose, and inspired by it, especially its focus on advocating the spirit of Chinese traditional virtues, namely upholding family values and filial piety just like the English saying “Charity Begins at Home” which echoes similar notions from a Western perspective. Hence, without a doubt, creating a world of peace starts within the family. And this is aligned with our vision of Penang2030 in building a family-focused, green and smart state that inspires the nation.
The key phrase here is “family-focused” which to me, means the importance of achieving harmony, cohesiveness and keeping the flame of passion burning in one’s immediate & extended family, between married couples and to a certain extent, even to a friend if he or she were to be treated as family.
History has repeatedly proved that peace does not fall from the sky; the process towards attaining it is time-consuming, not to mention the obstacles faced by right-minded people who are vying to achieve consensus in the path towards a peace process in a conflict and more often than not, it can only be achieved by the collective effort of peace-loving people around the world who shed blood in one struggle after another.
Today, through the concerted efforts of generations, peace and development have become the main themes of our time. However, various kinds of hegemony, power politics, a cold war mentality among the world’s superpowers and terrorism fueled by race and religion are very much threatening the peace and social fabric of communities across the globe.
The world today is, unfortunately, still not at peace and as such, the promotion of peace and even more so of its maintenance remain the common task and a challenging mission facing mankind.
Here at the CPFWPM, all of us must renew our commitment to global solidarity. To sustain peace, we must build it every day, in every society, with every woman and man, by working together towards a better common future in which not only everyone has a stake in but truly believes in it to be so.
Finally, I would like to conclude my speech by quoting the Nobel Prize Winner of 2014, Malala Yousafzai: “Let us bring equality, justice, and peace for all. Not just the politicians and the world leaders, we all need to contribute. Me. You. It is our duty.”
Ladies and gentlemen, my friends, dear brothers and sisters, justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail as long as each of us contribute a fair bit towards our shared future! Thank you very much.