NEW YORK: Dr Mahathir Mohamad berkata, komuniti antarabangsa perlu memberi perhatian terhadap fenomena perubahan iklim dan bencana alam yang banyak dipengaruhi oleh aktiviti manusia daripada membuat persediaan untuk berperang.

“Kita perlu membuat persediaan untuk memerangi perubahan iklim, untuk mengembalikan persekitaran normal yang dinikmati sejak ribuan tahun lalu,” kata perdana menteri.

Dalam pernyataannya pada perbahasan umum sesi ke-74 Perhimpunan Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNGA) di sini pada Jumaat, Mahathir berkata, negara-negara juga harus membuat persediaan berdepan dengan gempa bumi besar, taufan dan ribut taufan, banjir dan kejadian tanah runtuh.

“Kita perlu belajar bagaimana untuk mengurangkan bencana alam ini. Kita perlu membina tempat perlindungan, membuat hujan buatan dan menghasilkan makanan tanpa cahaya matahari, berpindah ke tepi laut dan sebagainya,” katanya.

Beliau menegaskan pasukan pakar bencana yang serba lengkap harus sentiasa bersiap siaga untuk bergegas ke kawasan bencana dengan menekankan bahawa setiap bencana adalah bencana dunia.

“Sudah tentu semua bencana alam itu mungkin tidak berlaku, tetapi kita tidak boleh bergantung kepada itu. Kita membazirkan wang mempersiapkan diri untuk berperang, mencipta lebih banyak senjata pemusnah apabila semua boleh dilenyapkan oleh bencana alam ketika planet ini melalui kitaran seterusnya,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, manusia adalah mahkluk yang cerdik dan mampu bertahan dalam kitaran perubahan iklim seterusnya jika mereka mampu melahirkan penyelidik yang dapat menghasilkan sistem pertahanan terhadap bencana.

“Jika kita mengurangkan belanjawan kita untuk membunuh orang, kita akan mempunyai dana untuk penyelidikan dan persediaan,” katanya.

Dalam ucapan sama, Mahathir berkata, Malaysia telah melancarkan kempen untuk menjadikan peperangan sebagai satu jenayah, selaras dengan objektif PBB.

“Tidak masuk akal untuk menggantung pembunuh kerana membunuh seseorang tetapi memuliakan orang-orang yang bertanggungjawab atas kematian jutaan manusia.

“Peperangan moden adalah menyeluruh dari semua segi, bukan sahaja para pejuang terbunuh, tetapi juga orang yang tidak bersalah, kanak-kanak, yang sakit dan tidak berupaya juga terbunuh dan cedera.

“Seluruh negara hancur dan wang bertrilion hilang. Akhirnya, kedua-dua yang menang dan kalah menderita,” katanya.

Beliau berkata terdapat cara lain untuk menyelesaikan pertikaian seperti rundingan atau menyerahkan kepada timbangtara oleh pihak ketiga serta merujuk kepada perundangan Mahkamah Dunia, misalnya Mahkamah Keadilan Antarabangsa.

“Malaysia bukan sahaja bercakap, tetapi kita menyelesaikan pertikaian dengan jiran-jiran kita melalui rundingan dan juga melalui Mahkamah Dunia. Ada yang kita menang dan ada yang kita kalah, tetapi tiada siapa yang terbunuh,” katanya.

Beliau menyifatkan sebagai tidak masuk akal cakap-cakap tidak boleh (ambil) “seinci pun daripada wilayah saya”.

“Kita tahu bahawa jika kita pergi berperang, inci itu akan menelan kos lebih daripada nilainya. Apabila seseorang itu ke mahkamah dia tidak selalunya mendapat apa yang kita dakwa sebagai hak kita, tetapi sama juga dengan berperang. Kita tidak selalu menang,” kata beliau.

Mahathir berkata, dalam pertandingan antara dua pihak, seseorang mesti kalah jika pihak yang satu lagi menang.

“Tetapi jika kita menggunakan cara damai, kita masih boleh kalah, tetapi kerugiannya kurang, tiada siapa yang akan mati atau tanah yang hancur,” katanya.

NEW YORK, Sept 28 — A classic case of the denial of free trade is the ban on the import of palm oil proposed by the European countries, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“All the countries of the world wish to prosper, to grow their economies. During their colonial days their wealth had been exploited to enrich their colonial masters. 

“They cannot expect much from their former colonial masters. But they do expect to be allowed to develop their own countries themselves. But they are hampered from doing so.

“There is much talk about free trade. But all the time new regulations are being introduced which are detrimental to the development of poor countries. 

“A classic case of the denial of free trade is the ban on the import of palm oil proposed by the European countries. 

“Unable to sustain the competitiveness of their own edible oils, a campaign is mounted to ban palm oil. 

“It is said that palm oil is poisonous to health, destroys the habitat of long-nosed monkeys, reduce carbon dioxide absorption, etc. 

“Products of Europe are labelled palm oil free. Biofuel using palm oil are banned,” he said in his statement at the General Debate of the 74th UN General Assembly here.

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia does not produce palm oil at the expense of the environment.

“Malaysia will not clear more forests for palm plantations. We are as concerned about our environment as the Europeans. 

“At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, Malaysia pledged to maintain at least 50 per cent of our land mass under forest cover. We have made good our pledge and better. Our forest cover is currently at 55.3 per cent, exceeding our Rio pledge.

“Palm oil is still a big contributor to our economy. There is no evidence that it is poisonous. 

“We appeal to the good sense of the rich not to impoverish us, not to deprive hundreds of thousands of our workers from earning a living. You will be doing a good deed by consuming palm oil,” he added.

NEW YORK: From standing by their child’s side and keeping them safe to leaving their job entirely, rising numbers of parents are supporting activist children as they skip school to protest – but also hiding some of their worst fears about climate change.

“They’re scared, but I think they look to us as their biggest allies and supporters,” said Teresa Elguera, 49, a teaching consultant from Brooklyn, who took her nine-year-old son Aaron to a protest at City Hall in New York on Friday.

Parents have largely stayed in the background while their children, led by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, have spearheaded a worldwide wave of climate protests.

That culminated in about 4 million people marching globally last Friday ahead of a United Nations climate summit on Monday where Thunberg made an emotional plea to world leaders to act.

“We need to give real and honest information, but we need to watch our children and see how much they can take in,” said Elguera, a mother-of-two, who takes Fridays off work to accompany her youngest son to the “climate strike” protests.

“We need to get enough space to handle our own fears so that we can have space to then listen to our children.”

“I’m glad she supports me because if she didn’t I would have no way of getting here,” said Aaron, holding a “SAVE our MOTHER” sign.

The Climate Psychology Alliance, a UK-based group of psychologists, has warned children are increasingly suffering anxiety and grief about climate change, and advised parents to acknowledge their fears and offer them support in taking action.

The American Psychological Association said they were aware of reports of growing “eco-anxiety” in children, but research was needed to establish how common it is.

Youth climate advocacy group, Sunrise Kids, arranged an event on Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations’ key annual meeting for worried adults to discuss “parenting in the age of climate crisis”.

Many echoed a desire to not frighten their children when talking to them about climate change.

“We want our kids to feel safe. We need to let them know it’s an existential crisis but without them feeling scared,” said Mark, the father of a nine-year-old, who didn’t want to give his second name.

Talking of the future

“The feeling of guilt is something that I see a lot amongst parents. How do you talk about the uncertainty of our future to your children?” said Jill Kubit, director of Dear Tomorrow, an organisation that shares hopeful messages about the climate.

Children “deeply feel that we’re taking away their dreams and hope,” said Kubit, who has a six-year-old son.

But the children at Friday’s protests in New York, which saw just a handful take time off school compared to thousands a week before, said their parents were not at fault.

“I do not blame my parents for climate change, I blame world leaders for not listening to the signs soon enough,” said Alexandria Villasenor, 14, one of the faces of the climate movement in the United States.

“My parents are the greatest example of an adult ally because they support my activism, they amplify my message and they protect me.”

Her mother, Kristin Hogue, who accompanied her daughter to protest outside the United Nations headquarters on Friday, said she “basically just did anything that she asks me to do.”

“You deal with your guilt by taking action,” she said.

Parents should tell their children about climate change, said 15-year-old Kallan Benson, from Maryland, whose first “school strike”, inspired by Greta Thunberg, was last December.

“I hear so many people say this is too scary of an issue. Well, yeah, it’s scary, but that’s one of the reasons we need to know,” said Benson, outside City Hall.

“We need to know what’s going to happen … with that knowledge comes empowerment.”

Benson’s mother Kimberly, 54, a former marine scientist, said she and her husband did not have jobs and were using their retirement savings to support Benson’s activism and that of her 14-year-old brother.

“Honestly there’s no point in saving for the future if we don’t save the future,” she said.

NEW YORK, Sept 28 — The creation of Israel by seizing Palestinian land and expelling its 90 per cent Arab population is the root cause of terrorism, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

“Since then, wars have been fought in many countries, many related to the creation of Israel. And now we have terrorism when there was none before, or at least none on the present scale. 

“Military action against acts of terrorism will not succeed. We need to identify the cause and remove it. But the great powers refuse to deal with the root cause,” he said in his statement at the General Debate of the 74th UN General Assembly here.

The prime minister added that Malaysia accepted the state of Israel “as a fait accompli”. 

“But Malaysia cannot accept the blatant seizure of Palestine land by Israel for their settlements as well as the occupation of Jerusalem by Israel. The Palestinians cannot even enter the settlements built on their land.

“Because of the creation of Israel, there is now enmity towards the Muslims and Islam. Muslims are accused of terrorism even if they did nothing.

“Muslim countries have been destabilised through the campaign for democracy and regime change. Muslims everywhere have been oppressed, expelled from their countries and refused asylum. 

“Thousands have died at sea and in the severe winters. One cannot deny that in the past there were no massive migration. Now the wars and instability due to regime change have forced them to run away from their countries,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also said that the application of the rule of law has been selective.

“Friends may break any law and get away scot-free. Thus, Israel can break all the international laws and norms of the world and it will continue to be supported and defended. The unfriendly countries can do nothing right. There is no justice in the world,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also again highlighted the fate of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. 

“Many colonies of the West, upon independence, expelled non-natives in their countries. But nowhere have they been as brutal as Myanmar. 

“Even natives massacred, brutally killed and raped in full view of the world backgrounded by the burning houses and villages of the victims. 

“They were forced to migrate and now they dare not return to Myanmar even when offered. They cannot trust the Myanmar military unless some form of non-Myanmar protection is given.

“The helplessness of the world in stopping atrocities inflicted on the Rohingyas in Myanmar has reduced the regard for the resolution of the UN. Now, despite UN resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, the country has been invaded and occupied. 

“There may be reasons for this action but it is still wrong. The problem must be solved by peaceful means.

“India should work with Pakistan to resolve this problem. Ignoring the UN would lead to other forms of disregard for the UN and the Rule of Law,” he said.