UN Sec-Gen praises ‘strong commitment’ of M’sians to democracy

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK: The May 9 general elections in Malaysia, which were closely watched by both the United Nations and the US administration, have fetched applause from the world body as well as Washington.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres extended his felicitations on Thursday to the people of Malaysia for the peaceful holding of federal and state elections, and applauded the Malaysian voters for what he described as their “strong commitment” to the democratic process.

In a statement released by his official spokesperson, the UN Secretary General welcomed the formation of a new government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and also paid tribute to the outgoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Guterres also added that he was looking forward to working close with Malaysia on issues of mutual interest.

UN officials point out that the new Prime Minister is no stranger to the job, having led the country for much of the 1980s and 1990s.

Heather Nauert, the spokeswoman of the US Department of State, conveyed a message of congratulations to the Malaysian people:

“We congratulate the people of Malaysia on their participation in a hard-fought election campaign. Malaysians from all parties, states, and backgrounds engaged the electoral process in large numbers peacefully and with great enthusiasm.

“We fully expect all institutions will carry out their functions and duties to produce and implement official results in accordance with the federal constitution and the will of the people,” Nauert said in her message.

Despite the ongoing media hype over the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and the safe return of three Korean-American hostages to the US after being released from their captivity in North Korea and the widespread coverage of Singapore as the venue of the meeting between President Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the US media has been reporting extensively on the elections in Malaysia with the Washington Post captioning its analytic story “Malaysians usher in a new era as they usher out the ruling coalition.” — Bernama