Walking The Talk On The War On
Poverty.
This is an excerpts on the main discussion held at the Langkawi International Dialogue. The Langkawi International Dialogue is an attempt at rescuing the third world from the suffocating clutches of poverty. An idea mooted by the then Prime Minister fo Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohammad, this gathering has developed from strength to strength. The attendees too, are ever-growing.
A significant number of attendees are leaders from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. These are the regions whose population in their millions are still
trying to feed themselves on an income of 1USD a day.
This is among a few gatherings which are free from the ever present glare of the IMF and The world Bank. What is discussed and deliberated in Langkawi is an initiative from the member
countries. The continent fo Africa, though still mired in their own mess, is still one the main region attended to. It is really heartening to see leaders from Bangladesh, Sudan, Chad and Uganda also trying their best to address the issue.
Of course, one must not forget that Malaysia''s successs is due to its political stability and conducive business policy. Unlike Africa and the Middle East we do not have much natural
resources. We are not even a member of OPEC. Yet it is oil and gas that has helped us all these years to continue developing.
The poor countries, whereevr they may be, did not have the
capacity to claw out of the hole. They may have vast resources as in Africa. However, there must be that intelligent matching of resources and capacity inorder to speed up the
struggle. For proper management there must be people-friendly institutions in place. Besides setting aside sufficient funds, training and support services should be in place too.
Above all, there should be significant will-power to make it happen. For countries like Zimbabwe, Sudan or even the Ivory Coast, it will be a real climb. Magnanimity in their leadership, if its not already there, ought to be introduced. Factors like freedom of speech and democracy must be embraced wholeheartedly.
Great attention should be focussed on their youth and women. This attention, in many places, would be able to balance the call to arms among male Africans. Guns and bullets are not answers to the many problems that smothered them. Education should be emphasised as a problem-solver. Lastly. tribal
politics and extremism where the winner takes all and owns all, should be replaced with more moderate policies.
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