Page 68 - MDOS2_Final

MALAYSIAN DIPLOMATS: OUR STORIES

And now, it is time to pass the baton to the next generation of diplomats,
just like how I had received the torch of the Chairmanship from Dato’ Sri
Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob, the Secretary General of the Ministry of
Foreign Af airs, prior to assuming my current post in New York.

T e ef orts and commitments on this front should be continued moving
forward, so as to preserve Malaysia’s global prof le, visibility and standing in
opposing nuclear weapons.

I am also very much thankful to a senior diplomat extraordinaire, Tan Sri
Hasmy Agam, a pioneering champion of nuclear weapons disarmament who
f rst cultivated my interest and chartered the path on the issue approximately
two decades ago.

T e responsibility as the Chair was actually a marathon, which required
constant energy and thorough substantive support. For this, I am grateful
to my team members who were there every step of the way, and to the full
support of the Ministry.

It has been a few years since, but the memory vividly comes to live every time
I reminisce that closing hour of the meeting, when the time allocated for the
T ird NPT PrepCom was almost exhausted and all requesting delegations
were already given the f oor for interventions and f nal comments.

T e closing motions then set in, transitioning smoothly with almost
surgical precision. I delivered my f nal remarks, smiled calmly from the
podium, reached for the gavel and gave it a stroke before pronouncing those
commanding words for one last time “T e Meeting is Adjourned”.

T e chamber then reverberated with a thunderous applause from delegates
and representatives, signifying their appreciation for the best ef orts put in,
fairness and hopefully credibility of the chairmanship, as well as
accomplishments of States Parties, the UN Secretariat, civil society
organisations and all relevant stakeholders, in both substantive and
procedural areas.

I took a long sigh of relief, at the completion of this major responsibility.

66