PETALING JAYA: More prominent people have called for the government to strongly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with a former diplomat saying it is vital for small states to speak out.
Dennis Ignatius said the Russian military action in Ukraine was an “unprovoked and naked aggression” against a peaceful neighbour and a clear violation of the UN Charter and international law.
Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming of DAP said the prime minister’s statement on the Ukraine conflict was weak for “feigning neutrality” and not putting the blame on Russia for its unprovoked attack.
Political scientist Wong Chin Huat said appeasement had been shown to cause more wars, not peace. “Malaysia can be easily threatened with war by any big power which sees Malaysia as part of its sphere of influence,” he said.
Yesterday former foreign minister Anifah Aman, also urging Malaysia to take a firmer stance, said that we “could very well be in the same shoes as Ukraine” because of the “trespass after trespass by a big super nation to the east” into Malaysia’s territorial waters.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said Malaysia was “seriously concerned” over the escalation of conflict in Ukraine and called for immediate steps to de-escalate the situation.
Ignatius said Russia’s attack on Ukraine had nothing to do with whether Ukraine had the right to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but about a sovereign independent nation’s right to chart its destiny.
“This is a cardinal principle that is especially important for small states like Malaysia whose geography puts them on the peripheries of a big power. To be less than equivocal in collectively condemning such aggression is to weaken our security and sovereignty from future aggression,” he told FMT.
Ignatius, a 36-year veteran in the Malaysian foreign service, said Moscow had a long history of crushing the yearning of people in Eastern Europe who wanted to live free of Russian domination. Russian tanks had crushed popular revolts in East Germany in 1953, Hungary in 1956, and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
“It is now set to crush another nation whose people want the right that every other nation has, to chart its course. Malaysia cannot and must not remain silent.”
Wong, warning against appeasement, said that there were those who believed that Malaysia’s best interest would be served by taking an evasive stand on the invasion and perhaps expecting Ukraine to effectively ask for a ceasefire on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms.
Based on what was taking place in Russia, small countries were not safe, he added. The world would have many hotspots as big countries could simply overrun their neighbours to change international boundaries. - FMT
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