Sumber : FMT 

Judul : Asean recognises foreign policy pioneer ‘King Ghaz’

Tanggal : 21 November 2015

Penulis : 

Link : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/11/21/asean-recognises-foreign-policy-pioneer-king-ghaz/

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Former foreign minister and diplomat Ghazali Shafie, known in the press as “King Ghaz”, was posthumously honoured today as the first Malaysian recipient of the inaugural Asean People’s Award.

 

As permanent secretary to the Foreign Minister under first Prime Minister the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, he helped shape the country’s foreign policy and was involved in Asean’s founding. He was later to serve as Foreign Minister from 1981-84.

 

Known as a diplomat extraordinaire with great intellectual charisma, he was deemed as an ‘agent of peace’, and was responsible for the peaceful negotiations with leaders from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei that brought about enduring peace in Asean.

 

Ghazali who died at the age of 88 in 2010, was among the 10 recipients of the award which recognises individuals or organisations that have contributed significantly towards Asean community building.

 

The recipients each received a financial grant of US$10,000 (about RM42,700) and a trophy.

 

His grandson, Ahmad Nazmi Bakhtiar Ghazali, 25, received the award today from prime minister Najib Razak at the Asean summit meeting.

 

Other recipients were Brunei Darussalam’s Persatuan Basmi Dadah; Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia; Prita Kemal Gani (Indonesia); Thasano Rice and Seed Multiplication Centre of Laos, Parami Roundtable Group of Myanmar; Ray Paolo J. Santiago of the Philippines; the Singapore Polytechnic; Dr Saisuree Chutikul of Thailand and Nguyen Manh Cam of Vietnam.

 

Ahmad Nazmi said his grandfather was once quoted as saying Asian people should learn to be like the bamboo. “The bamboo is God’s gift. It is a great teacher. Therefore, Asian peoples should learn from the bamboo, grow in a cluster while remaining free and independent. The taller of the bamboos will bow its head in humility. No wind can break a cluster of bamboo.”

 

He said the late Ghazali was a true believer in Asean and always had a deep sense of attachment to the region and its cause.