SHAH ALAM, Aug 18 — Two well-known speakers of International standing will provide their views on how to deal with the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings today.
Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore, Prof Tommy Koh, and Head of the Department of Malay Studies and Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Dr Syed Farid Alatas, will pay tribute to Gandhi at an event to be held at the Royal Lake Club on Oct 2.
Gandhi Memorial Trust (GMT) chairman, S.Radhakrishnan said the event, which will commence at 5pm, is held in rememberance of the the 144th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which is celebrated as the International Day of non-violence.
“The presentations of the two well-known speakers especially Tommy Koh, who was Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations for many years, is apt at a time when the world is beset with wars and other ethnic and religious conflicts,” he told Bernama.
Radhakrishnan said the session will be chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria.
The event, he said, to be launched by the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, will also include speeches by prominent personalities like former GMT chairman and retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar.
Gandhi’s birthday declared as International day of Non-violence
Radhakrishnan said the United Nations General Assembly on June 15, 2007, unanimously adopted a resolution to declare Gandhi’s birthday on Oct 2, as the International Day of Non-Violence.
The late Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who was born on Oct 2, 1869, led India to independence in 1947 and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Gandhi was on his way to a prayer meeting when he was shot three times in the chest and died on Jan 30, 1948. His unique strategy of ‘satyagraha’ or passive resistance earned him the admiration of millions throughout the world.
Admission is free for the event and those interested can send an email to radhakrishnan@shearndelamore.com.
— BERNAMA
