By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, June 20: Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who has been re-appointed chairman of 10th Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Caucus, said he is most willing to take up any parliamentary work where he can make Malaysia and other Asean countries a better place.
Wan Junaidi said he was appointed the Caucus chairman in 2007, when it was first set up.
“I was the pioneer involved in the formation of the AIPA Caucus. The idea was mooted between 2006 and 2007 when there was a need to have harmonisation of the law on various aspects for Asean countries,” Wan Junaidi told the media when visiting and handing over financial assistance to the fire victims at Kampung Tabuan Hilir here this morning.
Citing the Labour Law as an example, he said in 2007, there were labourers from Asean countries working in Malaysia. If there was harmonisation of law such as labour law in Asean countries, that would prevent exploitation of workers from Asean countries in Malaysia.
“I was appointed the chairman in 2007 when Malaysia was hosting the AIPA conference then. This year, Malaysia is hosting again and my name was proposed and endorsed by other Asean countries. So, I am re-appointed as chairman.
“I am most willing to take up the responsibility because I am familiar with all the setup, the issues, the initial intention of the Caucus’ formation and the law. And I am most willing to serve not only our people but for the betterment of the region,” he said.
On the three-day AIPA conference that he attended in Kuala Lumpur, he said resolutions had been reached unanimously on three issues, namely the rise of terrorism and countermeasures, cooperation on climate action among Asean countries and protecting children from sexual exploitation in the effort to promote tourism.
“On the rise of terrorism, we have focused on global threats, conflicts and humanitarian crises, which continue to challenge peace and stability in the region as well as the countermeasures that can be taken.
“The main issue, however, is how to introduce a strong law against terrorism without infringing into basic human rights,” he emphasised.
On efforts to enhance cooperation on climate change in Asean, Wan Junaidi said Asean members were asked to tackle climate change issues together so that measures taken would be effective.
He explained that Asean needed to enhance climate-related cooperation within and outside the region to enable the region to contribute to global efforts to address climate change issues.
In an effort to strengthen the legal framework to protect children from sexual exploitation, he said there were discussions on ways and methods to share information among Asean countries on existing legal frameworks, to identify gaps and to discuss the priorities of law harmonisation to prevent Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT).
“Every Asean country is now trying to promote tourism as there are tourists who come to Asean countries to exploit children in sexual acts. So, we discussed how to prevent tourists from inside and outside from exploiting our children while continuing to aggressively promote tourism,” said Wan Junaidi. — DayakDaily
