Policy Statement
Malaysia

Mr Chairman,
Mr Secretary General,
Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen,
 
On behalf of the Malaysian Administration, I thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished audience at the 18th Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU.

I also express Malaysia’s appreciation to the Government and the people of Mexico and the state of Jalisco for the hospitality and excellent arrangements accorded to all delegates since our arrival. Further, I congratulate you, Mr. Chairman on being elected to this position.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

The Constitution of the Union is an instrument which gives the ITU varied powers and functions. It is the cornerstone of everything that we do as a Union, which directly affects our respective actions as sovereign nations in the development of telecommunications and ICT.  

Telecommunications and ICT have made such rapid advancements in recent years that whilst Governments promote the latest technology and innovation to transform the lives of its citizens. We also have to ensure that the very fabric of society is protected from threats brought by its misuse and abuse.

At a time when the Internet is no longer a mere tool to gather knowledge and communicate, but is now shaping public opinion and gaining influential ground, to the extent that our cultures, values and traditions are being eroded, we must look back to our Constitution to see if it provides the means for us to take collective measures to counter this.

Article 1.1.f of the Constitution states that one of the Union’s purposes is: to harmonize the actions of Member States and promote fruitful and constructive cooperation and partnership between Member States and Sector Members in the attainment of those ends.

We must act swiftly to preserve the commonality of cultures among us and  protect society from threats brought by the abuse of technology and innovation. We must revisit our role and augment it – today, it is not enough for us to be the ITU and address infrastructure development, Universal Access, resource management, standards and the development of ICT. We must also consider the goodness of society. We need not be a regulator in the extreme, but the concern for mankind must always be there, particularly so because it is the ITU which promotes the use and adoption of technology, ICT and the Internet.

Let us consider the ITU’s role in the matter of online fraud, pornography and the exploitation of women and children. These are but only three cyber-threats. There are more and these issues, whether we like it or not, will bring adversity. I dare say that almost everyone here today has a child. As parents, we know what the implications of these threats are on our children. As the ITU, we must harness ICT, the Internet and other tools of civilization to safeguard the wellbeing of our children and the future generation.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Malaysia believes that the Guadalajara Plenipotentiary Conference will be one of the most challenging in the history of the Union. We need to deliberate how to manage the wave of social issues arising from new media. As we speak, the challenges of social networking applications are setting new boundaries for the rights of an individual and the need for privacy laws.

It is time for the ITU to be the catalyst to harness measures and reasonably curb the misuse and abuse of the Internet against any aggrieved party. Sovereign nations and Governments should make no apologies for doing this nor should we apologise for taking steps to preserve our culture, values and traditions.

Malaysia’s expectation of this Conference is very high. When this Conference ends, we are hopeful that the outcome will facilitate the work of the Union in helping Members manage both the positive and negative sides of the Internet. We applaud the ITU for its commendable and significant work done in enhancing cyber-security, in particular, to protect children online, and we look forward to working with all Members to strengthen this tract of work.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

This is a year to select our leaders. Leaders who will be able to deal with the complex issues some of which have just been mentioned, tackle them head-on, recommend bold approaches and catalyze the Membership towards action. We hope that our incoming leaders will perceive these issues and do their utmost to take on this additional work about to be placed on the ITU’s shoulders.

Finally, I take this opportunity to thank the ITU, the Secretary General and his team for the honour of our Prime Minister being made one of the laureates for this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day Awards. Malaysia is very humbled by this gesture and thank you for acknowledging our Prime Minister for his contributions to the development of ICT.

In conclusion, on behalf of my country, I reiterate Malaysia’s unwavering support and cooperation towards the ITU and the goals of the Guadalajara Plenipotentiary Conference.  We are confident that at the end, the constructive deliberations of this conference will result in the best possible plan to chart the way forward for the ICT sector globally.

Thank you.