Anwar cites Rizal in reiterating ASEAN ideals amid Myanmar crisis

FILE: Luneta Park where the monument of Jose Rizal is located (Photo By Arius1998/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a scholar on Dr. Jose Rizal’s works, has cited the Philippine national hero in calling on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to stay true to the bloc’s key ideals — stand up for justice and rule of law — amid the ongoing Myanmar crisis.

“[W]hen I mentioned in Bangkok recently about the need to temporarily carve out Myanmar, on account of the blatant human rights violations, it was said in the larger context of the imperative to stay true to one of the key ideals of ASEAN, which is nothing less than to stand for the cause of justice and the rule of law,” he said in a lecture at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City.

“In this regard, it bears repeating these immortal lines from Dr. Rizal, who I must reiterate, remains truly an Asian Renaissance Man, that ‘Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest,'” he added.

Anwar noted that while consensus continues to be a central tenet of decision-making in the ASEAN, it does not follow that the bloc should remain silent over the violation of ASEAN Charter by its own members.

“In all honesty, I believe that non-interference is not a license for indifference,” he said.

Anwar last month said ASEAN should “carve out” Myanmar for now rather than let the state “frustrate” the bloc’s actions.

He called for a “strong consensus” among member states in giving a strong message two years since the military launched a coup in Myanmar that saw its de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained.

At present, ASEAN continues to urge for “significant progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus” to pave the way for an inclusive national dialogue in Myanmar.

As ASEAN turns 56, Anwar said the way forward for its goal of a “just and peaceful” world is to bolster cooperation in all “crucial” issues that bind the bloc as a solid and diverse regional grouping.

Honorary doctor of law

Anwar, who is on an official visit to the Philippines from March 1 to 2, received on Thursday the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from UP.

The Malaysian leader was cited for being a scholar on Rizal and an internationally-acclaimed expert on economics, democracy, freedom and governance, among others.

The UP cited his “thought-provoking advocacy of the concept of an Asian Renaissance and his elaboration of its discourse for his devoted study of the life works and teachings of Jose Rizal”.

He was recognized for describing Rizal as “the first Asian to set the standards in the struggle to restore human dignity and self-respect to subjugated peoples worldwide”.

Anwar was also acknowledged for his “commitment to the pursuit of justice and democratic ideals into the attainment of a more inclusive and pluralistic Malaysia, at great personal cost.”

UP Vice President for Public Affairs Jose Wendell Capili said Anwar has been a devoted scholar on the life, works, and teachings of Rizal and that his interest in Rizaliana was furthered by his frequent visits to the UP in his youth under the tutelage of the late University Professor Emeritus of History and UP Diliman College of Arts and Sciences Dean Cesar Adib Majul.

Anwar served as Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998 and Minister of Finance from 1991 to 1998 and was sworn in as Prime Minister by King Al-Sultan Abdullah on Nov. 24, 2022.