Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said he hopes to shame the powerful countries in the United Nations into agreeing to reform their outdated veto powers in the UN.
Dr Mahathir made the remarks while addressing the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Friday, reports the Straits Times.
Tun Dr Mahathir said the powerful countries needs to be reminded that they cannot urge regime change in other countries when they will not even hold up the same democratic values in the world body.
"It's not a nice thing, it's hypocritical. On the one hand you [superpowers] say they all must be democratic, you cause regime change and lots of civil wars in order to achieve democracy," he said.
"But here (in the UN) all you have to do is to give up your veto power but they are not happy to do so," Dr Mahathir said at a media conference at the United Nations headquarters after delivering his address the UN general assembly on Friday.
In his address at the UN general assembly, he had called for an end to the dominance in the world body of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely China, France, Russia, Britain and the US, each having veto powers.
Dr Mahathir said he had suggested that the veto should not be by just one permanent member but by at least two powers backed by three non-permanent members of the Security Council.
