Will Najib revisit his two earlier speeches to the UN General Assembly and admit the failure even in Malaysia of his initiative on the Global Movement of Moderates?

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, will be making his third address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Friday since becoming the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2009.

The thrust of his two earlier UNGA speeches were his initiative on the Global Movement of Moderates for “moderates of all countries, of all religions to take back the centre, to reclaim the agenda for peace and pragmatism, and to marginalize the extremists”.

Or to use Najib’s own words, a clarion call “to reject extremism in all its forms because the real divide is not between East and West or between developed and developing worlds or between Muslims, Christians and Jews. It is between moderates and extremists of all religions”.

In his September 2010 speech in the United Nations, Najib even offered Malaysia as an example of a country practicing such principles of moderation – “a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural and democratic society that has benefited from the positive interaction and synergy between the various communities.”

He said: “Mosques, temples, churches and other places of worship co-exist in harmony. Although Islam is the official religion, we honour other religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism – by making their religious and cultural celebrations as national holidays and celebrate them as national events. It is this equilibrium that leads to moderation or ‘wasatiyyah’ in the Islamic tradition of mutual justice.

“Malaysia stands at the geographical cross roads of major civilisations and religions of the world. We are therefore well poised to play our part in promoting religious understanding, harmony and tolerance. To further strengthen our process of national unity, I have introduced a philosophy known as 1Malaysia . 1Malaysia is a vision that seeks renewal and rejuvenation to bring all our people together in a just and harmonious relationship. 1Malaysia calls for the acceptance of diversity as a source of greater unity. We seek to celebrate our multi-ethnic and multi-religious society for strategic strength and harmony.”

In the past 16 months since the 13th General Elections last year, the 1Malaysia policy has disappeared from the lexicon of Najib and his administration.

In his third speech to the UNGA, will Najib revisit his two earlier speeches to the UN General Assembly and admit the failure even in Malaysia of his initiative on the Global Movement of Moderates?

In Malaysia today, his brainchild the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM) is operating as if it is a seditious organization, with the media asked not to report its forum on the “Future of Malaysia” with NGOs on Malaysia Day, as moderation has become sedition in Najib’s Malaysia while certain extremism enjoys immunity and impunity despite infractions of the law!

Will Najib salvage his Global Movement of Moderates initiative and make an international statement in the United Nations for an end to the current “white terror” campaign to create a new climate of fear in Malaysia after the 22-year Mahathir “Dark Age”, give an undertaking that there will be no Operation Lalang II using the Sedition Act instead of the Internal Security Act, drop all sedition charges and repeal the Sedition Act as he had promised to do in 2012?