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MALAYSIAN DIPLOMATS: OUR STORIES



          was supposed to be convened the following year.

          By  the  f nal  day  of  the  meeting,  I  faced  a  major  dilemma.  Whether  to
          proceed with an issuance of a summary by the Chair that captured what
          transpired during the two-week meeting, or to pursue the other option of
          not issuing any outcome document. T e latter meant that delegations would
          return  to  their  respective  capitals  with  naught.  No  tangible  substantive
          progress achieved for all their toil. If I were to present a Chair’s Summary, it
          would surely trigger mixed reactions. T e deliberations among NPT States
          Parties  up  to  that  point  had  clearly  demonstrated  tumultuous  political
          undercurrents, which at times turned acrimonious.

          I was well aware of certain delegations which disagreed with some of the
          elements contained in the draft Chair’s Summary. As such, my issuance of a
          Chair’s Summary would not go down easily. In disagreement, any delegation
          could respond to the Chair’s Summary in the most acerbic manner.


          T e clock was ticking. I looked at the gavel given to me, admiring this little
          tool for its symbolic nature and decisive function in a multilateral deliberative
          process. As delegates eagerly scouted for clues of my next course of action, I
          let my mind wander and travel, in search of the necessary resolve.


          Ref ection
          T e shinkansen came to a complete stop. I checked my watch. T e Japanese
          bullet  train  impressively  arrived  at  our  destination  at  the  exact  time  it
          promised. At f rst glance, the city of Hiroshima seemed to exude an aura of
          great pride, not unlike the city of Nagasaki that I had toured the day before.

          In my capacity as the Chair of the T ird NPT PrepCom, I humbly accepted
          the invitation from the Government of Japan to visit both cities which had
          experienced the devastation of massive atomic bombings approximately 74
          years ago. T e visit was intended to demonstrate to the Chair, a few months
          ahead of the T ird NPT PrepCom, the unthinkable destruction caused by
          nuclear weapons.


          I initially thought that the visit to Japan would not bring anything new.
          After all, I had read and listened to testimonies of the hibakushas (Japanese

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