NEW YORK, Sept 27 — The United Nations (UN) must move from reacting to crises to preventing them, with the task particularly urgent in Gaza, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said.

He said the UN should not merely respond after disasters had occurred by counting the dead, delivering supplies and rebuilding what had been destroyed, only to wait for the next crisis.

“This cannot be the future of multilateralism. We must move from reaction to prevention,” he said in his national statement at the General Debate of the 81st UN General Assembly here on Saturday.

Mohamad said nowhere was that task more urgent than in Gaza.

He said Malaysia and many other member states had exhausted every effort in the pursuit of justice for Gaza, including consistently calling for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted supply of aid.

“We have supported humanitarian work in Palestine. We have pushed for punitive action towards Israel. And we have advocated for full Palestinian membership in this Hall,” he said.

However, he said the collective will of the General Assembly had repeatedly encountered the silencing effect of the veto.

“Malaysia will speak plainly: We are sick of it,” he said.

Mohamad said Malaysia would continue to support efforts to strengthen the multilateral system and ensure that it could respond effectively to conflicts and humanitarian crises.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 174,000 injured in Gaza since October 2023.

The foreign minister is in New York from Sept 23 to 27 for Malaysia’s participation in the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). — Bernama