KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The 2020 Commonwealth Observance Day was marked here Monday night with calls for renewed commitment to see through the transformation needed in various areas including environment to ensure a better and common future for all societies across its member nations.
Hosted by the Royal Commonwealth Society of Malaysia (RCS) and the British High Commission, the event brought together High Commissioners and Honorary Consuls of the Commonwealth countries, key corporate and public sector figures, RCS Council members as well as guests at the RCS Clubhouse here.
This year’s theme – Delivering A Commonwealth Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming – is aimed at how the modern Commonwealth, with its network of eighty organisations, can connect and innovate to transform the whole Commonwealth into societies underpinned by the values of democracy, multilateralism, sustainable development, the protection of the environment, and the empowerment of women and young people.
In his speech at the event, British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay, who is also Chair of the Commonwealth, detailed some of the work the UK has been doing in Malaysia, particularly in the area of environment protection with the former ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change.
“With the UK jointly hosting with Italy the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November this year, we want to do more with Malaysia – particularly in our race to mitigate temperature rise, protect the oceans and stop plastic pollution.”
He also commended the success and efforts taken towards the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project, the protection of the Raja Musa Forest Reserve. The 23,000 hectare site is part of the second largest contiguous peat swamp forest in Malaysia.
Also present at the event were Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry Deputy Secretary General Datuk Nadzirah Osman, RCS President Tony Kassim, RCS Chairman Bernice Narayanan and Founder of Plastic Oceans UK, Jo Ruxton.
