Brunei Party Leaders At International Conference On Regional Politics

Bandar Seri Begawan - Multi-lateral relations among major political party leaderships at Asean and international levels were further strengthened during an international conference that was held in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta late last month.

Two leaders of the country's oldest and leading political parties, the Parti Perpaduan Kebangsaan Brunei (PPKB) and Brunei National Solidarity party attended the conference.

The president of PPKB, Dr Hj Mohd Hatta bin Hj Zainal Abidin and his deputy, Dr Hj Mohd Shah bin Hj Ahmad were specially invited by the chairman of the host political party of the Republic of Indonesia, the 'Golongan Karya' or GOLKAR Party, Bapak Mohd Jusuf Kalla, who is also Indonesia's vice president, and the party's secretarygeneral, Bapak Sumarsono.

The conference, with the theme: `Political Parties Role for Prosperity and Democratisation in Asean Countries', was also attended by leaders of political parties from Asean, China, Korea, Japan and South Africa.

It was the first-ever international conference of its kind to be organised in an Asean nation and GOLKAR set the stage as the host in conjunction with the party's 4l'` anniversary of its formation.

The day-long meeting on Nov 26 culminated with the official signing of the Jakarta Statement which outlined the commitments of the political parties in Asean to ensure a fair process of globalisation that can serve humankind better in addressing socio-economic issues faced by their governments and the people in the region.

The statement included an agreement among all signatory political parties to integrate the developmental strategies with concrete actions for poverty alleviation in the national agenda as well as to ensure that each government extends cooperation with respect to human resource development. Signing on behalf of the PPKB was the party's president Dr Hj Mohd Hatta.

PPKB president Dr Hj Mohd Hatta said that it was a great honour for his party to be on the same level with very prominent and more experienced political parties like the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from Malaysia, the People's Action Party (PAP) from Singapore, the Thai Rak Thai Party of Thailand, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats of the Philippines, the Cambodia People's Party, the State Peace and Development Council Communist Party of Vietnam, the Lao People's Revolutionary Party of Laos, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan, the Uri Party of South Korea, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the African National Congress (ANC) Party of South Africa.

"The international conference paved the way for greater understanding and goodwill to be fostered among all participating political leaders at the personal level as well as in the professional atmosphere of both bilateral and multi-lateral relations," Dr Hj Mohd Hatta said.

"It has undoubtedly enhanced further international cooperation and provided a platform for an exchange of ideas toward economic prosperity and development."

The problem of corruption featured highly during open discussions at the international conference but more pertinent issues of political stability, sound economic management, infrastructure development and education topped the agenda as well as transparency and responsible political governance. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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