Congratulations
YAB Tun. You continue to make Malaysia proud. Needless to say, you deserve the
prestigious Rafik Hariri UN-Habitat Memorial Award.
In
your acceptance speech http://chedet.cc/blog/?p=844#more-844
you dedicated this award to the people of Malaysia for their “culture
of sharing among the multi-racial, multi-religious people of Malaysia, without
their love for peace and stability, Malaysia would not have been able to grow
as it has done.”
You, Sir, of all world leaders have contributed meaningfully to
Rafik Hariri especially during his tenure as PM of Lebanon. Your friendship and
personal rapport with Rafik Hariri have had profound effect on Malaysia-Lebanon
bilateral relations. YAB Tun, you were
the first Malaysian Prime Minister to visit Lebanon accompanied by several
ministers and 100 strong official and business delegation from 17-18 June
1997.
It was no
coincident that during this official visit to Lebanon that you were also
conferred with the Grand Condor of Lebanon (Wisha Al-Akbar) medal by Lebanese President
Emile Lahoud.
There is a
great amount of awareness and admiration among the Lebanese leadership and
people at large about Malaysia’s economic and political achievements. Prime
Minister Rafiq Hariri, during a welcoming banquet, was quoted as saying
"Malaysia has attained the highest level of international competitiveness
in trade, industry, and services since Mahathir took office in 1981”.
Malaysia
continues to provide the necessary support to Lebanon in its economic reform
and nation building. Malaysia contributed in no small way the Lebanese
reconstruction process to bring Lebanon to its former status as the primary
business centre in Western Asia. The establishment of full diplomatic relations
between two countries contributed in no small way in boosting political and
economical ties.
Consistent with
the pledge made during Paris II Conference held on 23 November 2002, Malaysia
agreed to provide Lebanon with soft loan when it with purchased US$300 million
bonds on 27 December 2002 at concessionary rates with the maturity date on 27
December 2017. Malaysia had earlier assisted Lebanon via purchase of the US$250
million bonds on 22 May 2002 with the maturity date on 5 March 2005.
The Paris II
Conference was aimed at securing international backing for the efforts to
exchange the Lebanese debt into long-term and low interest rate loans for the
rebuilding of post civil war Lebanon. More than US$3 billion financial pledges
were made by friends of Lebanon albeit slightly below the target US$4 billion.
The loans would
help Lebanon meet short term debt maturities and avoid a financial disaster, as
Lebanon simply has no means to repay the principal on large amounts of debt. Donor
countries would also want to see Lebanon have a set of priorities with which to
implement the reform programme, free from political agendas which may hamper
economic progress and development.
Since the
demise of Rafik Hariri, events in Lebanon are not doing justice to the legacy
of this great son of Lebanon. The two main “forces” – March 14 vs. March 8
groups – have been “playing” the sectarian political tug-of-WAR for quite some
time. They are the proxies’ of foreign interest in the region. And the real
victim is the beautiful people of Lebanon, and I mean it literally. After 15 years
of civil war, the people deserve better leaders who are less corrupt and more
nationalistic.
The more
dangerous challenges have emerged in the form of a substantial drop in security
levels, a significantly more unstable political environment and the revival of
that most powerful of Lebanese diseases, confessionalism. Some Lebanese government officials have been
at best lukewarm on the subject and very little effort being made for the
preparation and drafting of detailed presentations and economic plans. Lebanon
also has demonstrated difficulty in complying fully with its promises made
twice before, at the first two Paris handouts, especially after Paris II in
November 2002.
Lebanon has a
persistently high current account deficit, while the government debt-to-GDP
ratio is one of the highest in the world, giving rise to large recurrent
financing needs. Financial stability of the system rests squarely on continued
inflows of deposits, which depend on domestic political stability and a
favourable regional environment. Banks’ expansion abroad has made them further
vulnerable to regional developments. New vulnerabilities could emerge from the
slowdown in real estate and if banks take excessive risks to compensate for
falling interest rate margins.
In addition to
the challenging global and domestic environment, the current conflict in Syria
is creating a great deal of uncertainty. Further escalation could have major
political and economic repercussions for Lebanon given the close ties between
the two countries.
In short,
Lebanon continues to perpetuate the symptom associated with the long years of
“foreign interferences” and the economic mismanagement. Corruption and
governance problems have been identified as a major constraint together with scarcity
of skilled and qualified labour, which is experiencing massive emigration.
Lebanon
post-conflict environment is ridden with social and political complexities;
lack of institutional capacity within line ministries and inter-agency
rivalries. Project implementation was hampered by implementation problems,
institutional bottlenecks, political instability and the external turmoil. The
reasons for slow implementation include the complexity and sensitivities of the
political and religious environment in Lebanon.
The political
bickering, particularly over privatization have produced no substantive results
as much as there is no progress in the auctioning of concessions for the
management of the mobile phone operators or other state institutions such as
the Electricite du Liban (EDL), water and the telecoms. Infrastructure
bottlenecks and structural dysfunctions are acting as key impediments to
broad-based endogenous growth and are contributing to keep investments in
productive capacity at low levels.
The problem is
explained in part by the complexity of the political environment in Lebanon,
characterized by a confessional system of governance and the resulting
diffusion of political authority and decision making.
Lebanon
therefore needs to find a political and economic consensus on key national
issues. Based on present realities, much more work is required for the new
Lebanon to become a reality. Political groups and leaders must review their
position in line with the need to protect the real Lebanese political and
national interest on all domestic and regional issues.
Lebanon is a
country with many contradictions due to its strategic and geo-politico
location. Applying the words of a famous Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, I can
say that Lebanon suffer from the same fate – “Poor Lebanon, So far from God and
So Close to Israel”.
For now, Lebanon
does not have the luxury of peace and stability of Malaysia to fully utilise to
grow and develop the country. Tun Dr. M can say it with the comfort of his well
know record of Malaysia’s achievement during his administration. Lebanon,
Mexico and the rest of the world may only dream of emulating Malaysia’s success
story. It may not be a miracle but the magic lies in devising a formula to keep
the country stable and peaceful. It is never easy BUT you have the secret
formula to the Malaysian magic - done in your own pragmatic way!
Indeed your friend PM Rafik
Hariri noticed this during his visits to Malaysia. He however did not live long
enough to realise what you have been preaching all along .. “Only peace and stability can be a win-win
formula.”
We thank Allah subha nahu wataala for His Anugrah to Malaysia!
Friday, 5
October, 2012 (Amended 23 October, 2012)
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