Dr Mahathir visits monument in his honour in Bosnia
SHAH ALAM - Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently visited the monument which was dedicated to him in the Balkan nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On his Instagram post today, he posted a picture of him with the monument, which garnered positive comments from his followers.
It was reported that the monument at Kemal Monteno Park in the capital city of Saravejo honours Dr Mahathir and Malaysia for providing "exceptional assistance and support in the most difficult days for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the later period of reconstruction and recovery." Captioning the picture, he said, "When the Serbs (Serbia) attacked Bosnia, we (Malaysia) felt that it was an unequal fight because the Serbs were more numerous and better equipped with weapons.
"The Bosnians were few in numbers, and they were not able to get any weapons because the European Union decided that Bosnia should not be given any weapons because it would cause more death.
"But we were able to send a battalion to Bosnia, and they were stationed there, and they helped strengthen the Bosnians, and eventually the war ended, and they had an agreement at Dayton that enabled Bosnia to be an independent state.
He also believed that sending Malaysian troops to Bosnia had helped them a great deal and that they appreciated the help rendered.
"They believe that it was done during the time when I was Prime Minister.
"As a token of their appreciation, they decided to put up a monument in the form of a stone, with birds on the top and a quotation taken from my speech.
"They translated the quotation, wrote it in their language, and inscribed it on the monument. It is kind of them to remember us and our contributions towards their fight for independence," he said in the post.
The monument was dedicated to Dr Mahathir and officiated in Dec 2020.
Academic sculptor Enes Sivac sculpted the monument, which featured the last line from Dr Mahathir’s speech at the International Conference of Parliamentarians on Bosnia-Herzegovina hosted by Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
The excerpt of the speech that was carved in the stone reads: "Ethnic cleansing of Bosnia-Herzegovina must be stopped, or forever must those who mouth platitudes about democracy and human rights cease and desist from their pretence at righteousness."
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali paid a courtesy call on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Friday.
The meeting lasted for an hour, and discussions were centred on what was pursued during the Kuala Lumpur (KL) Summit in 2019 and how it has panned out since.
"Pursuant to the discussion, President Erdogan said he was keen to have a similar conference, the Istanbul Summit, to further tap the potentials that had been identified and pursued in the KL Summit," he said.
Dr Mahathir also took the opportunity to congratulate President Erdogan on his success in retaining his presidency in the recent Turkish elections.
