Skip to footer

Why Japan's crown prince holds up Malaysia as a 'model for the international society'

'Diversity and tolerance are the words that come to my mind in describing my image of Malaysia today,' he said in a rare news conference.

|
Issei Kato/Reuters
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito (r.) and and his wife Crown Princess Masako wave as they send off Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko boarding a special flight for their visit to Vietnam and Thailand, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan February 28, 2017.
  • By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press

| Tokyo

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito said Tuesday that he believes Malaysia's success is based on its diversity and tolerance, and the country can be a model for a world faced with conflicts.

Naruhito, the oldest son of Emperor Akihito, is first in line to the Chrysanthemum throne. Ahead of his visit to Malaysia beginning later this week, he said at a rare news conference at his palace that he looks forward to learning from the country's experience in using its ethnic, religious and cultural diversity as a source for development.

"Diversity and tolerance are the words that come to my mind in describing my image of Malaysia today," he said. The country has generated energy and unity as a nation while the people of Malay, Chinese, and Indian roots have come to respect each other's differences and coexisted, he said.

"I would like to observe and hear from the people of Malaysia from the viewpoint that Malaysia's example can be a model for the international society, which is still faced with conflicts for various reasons, in terms of how a world can be," the soft-spoken Naruhito said.

This vote of confidence in Malaysia's democracy comes amid a massive, months-long corruption scandal involving the country's sovereign wealth fund, and its prime minister, Najib Razak. Last November, The Christian Science Monitor reported that protests demanding Mr. Razak's resignation were met with government crackdowns.

Despite these challenges, Naruhito said that Malaysia's contribution to regional cooperation, especially through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is also an important asset for the rest of Asia and the world.

Naruhito, the father of only daughter, Princess Aiko, 15, said he hoped exchanges and activities during his visit would foster friendship and understanding between the two peoples, especially the young generations.

During his four-day trip to Malaysia, Naruhito is scheduled to attend a state banquet hosted by British-educated Sultan Muhammad V, meet with Prime Minister Najib Razak, as well as Malaysian students and Japanese residents.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Why Japan's crown prince holds up Malaysia as a 'model for the international society'
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2017/0412/Why-Japan-s-crown-prince-holds-up-Malaysia-as-a-model-for-the-international-society
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe