(Petaling Jaya, Monday): Last
Wednesday, the Cabinet failed to grasp the very first opportunity to speak
up for Malaysia and humanity to condemn the Taliban announcement
of its decision to destroy ancient Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.
The next day, the world recoiled with horror as the Taliban Information and Culture Minister, Mullah Qudratullah Jamal, announced that the destruction of the ancient statues, including the 1,500-year-old tallest standing Buddha in Bamiyan (174 feet), had started that morning and that rocket-launchers, mortars and cannon were being used to carry out this desecration of what an Iranian official statement described as “treasures of mankind just like the Taj Mahal or Imam Square”.
The priority agenda of the Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday should be to rectify this lapse by condemning in clear and unequivocal terms the medieval Taliban barbarism and to demand an immediate halt to the Taliban vandalism to obliterate the priceless heritage of humanity.
The Cabinet should initiate the second all-party conference to unanimously give voice to the Malaysian conscience in the international arena where all Malaysians and political parties, whether in government or opposition, regardless of race, religion or political beliefs, could unite to condemn the obscurantist and unIslamic Taliban destruction of ancient Buddhist statues in Afghanistan as vandalism of our universal human heritage.
The first time an all-party conference was held in Malaysia was on 26th October 1995 when 25 political parties from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and the opposition stood united on behalf of humanity against the French resumption of nuclear testing in the South Pacific and to demand all countries to end nuclear testing and to destroy all nuclear weapons.
All political parties in Malaysia should reconvene in an united voice on behalf of humanity to denounce the sacrilege to humanity by the medieval Taliban fanatics.
(5/3/2001)