Malaysia Strides Into 2015 To Shoulder More Responsibility

By Noor Farhana Ahmad Norain KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysia strides into 2015 just after midnight Wednesday night, taking over as chairman of Asean and occupying a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council as well confident of hosting several important regional and international events. The 2015 curtain lifts with Malaysia assuming its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2015-2016 term and as the chairman of Asean for 2015. Prime Minister Najib Razak reportedly said that as a UNSC non-permanent member, Malaysia intended to expand the moderation agenda as an effective step towards resolving global conflicts. He said Malaysia would continue to encourage negotiation as a solution to conflicts, as well as support peacekeeping efforts and giving of aid in the process of bringing peace to nations in conflict zones. At the regional level, Malaysia is taking over the chairmanship of Asean for next year, during which two summits are scheduled, one in April and another in November. Najib said Malaysia, as the Asean chairman, pledged to steer the regional grouping towards realising the setting up of the Asean Community and also help to develop the region’s 10-year post-integration plan that would guide Asean’s continued growth from 2016 to 2025. Following is the 2015 calendar of important events in Malaysia: JANUARY ------- Jan 10: Launch of Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFest 2015) at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Jan 27-28: Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. FEBRUARY -------- Feb 12-14: 38th Executive Board Meeting and Editorial and Technical Committee Meeting of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Kuala Lumpur. MARCH ----- March 17-21: Langkawi International Air and Maritime Exhibition (LIMA '15) in Langkawi, Kedah. March 18-19: Asean Aviation Summit in Langkawi, Kedah. March 27-29: Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix 2015 at the Sepang International Circuit. APRIL ----- April 1: Goods and Services Tax takes effect nationwide. April 26-27: 26th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur. AUGUST ------ Aug 1-6: 48th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. NOVEMBER -------- Nov 3-5: 11th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Kuala Lumpur. Nov 19-21: 27th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur. -- BERNAMA