‘Coalition of Moderates’
Malaysian Prime Minister Speaks at the Sheldonian

HE Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia

In May 2011, HE Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, presented a lecture in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. Speaking on the subject of ‘The Coalition of Moderates and Inter-Civilizational Understanding’, the Prime Minister called for ‘a vanguard of moderates’ from all faiths to ‘stop being a silent majority and start reflecting the courage of our conviction’, in order to ‘dissipate the pull’ of terrorism. This follows in the wake of His Excellency’s call for a ‘Global Movement of the Moderates’ at the United Nations last September.

In the light of Malaysia’s cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity, national unity ‘continues to be the overriding objective’ of his government. The Prime Minister stated that Malaysia had managed its plurality by capitalizing on it: ‘By leveraging the robustness and dynamism of our diversity, we have created a foundation for our national resilience.’

At the conclusion of his lecture the Prime Minister took questions from the audience, after which the Rt Hon. Jack Straw MP offered the vote of thanks. Beforehand the Prime Minister and his delegation toured the Centre’s new building, taking particular note of the Malaysia Auditorium.

Further information to follow.