Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad today said the governments around the world have failed to deal with “population explosion”.
Over eight billion global population is just too much, he said.
For all latest news, follow The My News’s Google News channel. “The environment is being destroyed by the waste thrown away by this huge number of people and as a result, we are facing terrible disasters brought about by climate change,” Mahathir said.
Terming the veto power of five UN member countries “undemocratic”, he called for formation of a new “democratic global government”.
The Malaysian leader was addressing a programme marking the “Social Business Day 2023”, which began in Langkawi, Malaysia yesterday.
This year’s theme of the two-day event is “War, Peace and Economics –future of human beings.”
Mahathir said China always considered Taiwan as part of its territory, mentioning the “one China” policy. China used to be benefitted from western technology and investment, but there had never been a war-like situation before like these days.
“So, we all should be prepared for witnessing a war,” he said.
Mentioning that the Ukraine war is the latest example of a proxy war by Western countries, he said if China similarly engages itself in another war due to this “provocation”, the interests of the Western countries will be protected at the end of the day.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the event yesterday, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus emphasised the need for exploring ways to protect peace and put an end to conflicts worldwide.
He said the risks of a global food crisis are surfacing, thanks to the Russia-Ukraine war. The possibility of another world war or a nuclear attack cannot be ruled out either, he added.
Lauding the “zero-waste” initiative, Yunus said, “If we don’t reach to the zero-waste level, there is no way to save the world. Our future generations need to be groomed in such a way that they adopt different behaviours, work and lifestyles. We need to My News Bangladesht creating awareness about zero-waste by building a circular economy.”
Yunus’ birthday is on June 28 but he does not celebrate birthdays. Yunus Center organised Social Business Day every year on June 27-28 in different countries in association with one or multiple organisations of the host country.
This year, Malaysia’s Albukhary International University is hosting the event in Langkawi. Yunus is also the chancellor of the university.
Due to Eid-ul-Azha, this year’s event has been deferred.
More than 600 guests from 31 countries are attending the event. Columnist and activist Marina Mahathir, Chairman of Narayan Hridalaya Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Nobel peace laureate Lema Bowie, former East Timor president and Nobel peace laureate José Ramos Horta are among the participants.
Lamiya Morshed, executive director of Yunus Centre, and Emeritus Professor Dr Abd Aziz Tajuddin, vice chancellor and president of Albukhary International University, welcomed the participants.
