Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been awarded the Lifetime Campaigner for Peace and Freedom of the Mahathir Award for Global Peace.
Mandela, 95, a global icon for peace and freedom, is the first recipient to receive the recognition under the Mahathir Award for Global Peace for his lifetime struggles to bring freedom to his people and continues to inspire people across the world.
Mandela, who played a key role in bringing apartheid to an end, is now hospitalized in Pretoria. He was admitted to a hospital on June 8 for a recurring lung infection.
South African President, Jacob Zuma, who is on three-day working visit to Malaysia, received the award on Mandela’s behalf from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Dr Mahahtir’s wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamed Ali, the Chairman and Board of Trustees of Mahathir Global Peace Foundation, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing were present at the award ceremony.
Earlier, in his speech, Najib said Mandela was a leader who brought a nation together when others would tear it apart.
“Faced with a choice between setting scores and healing wounds, President Mandela demonstrated that peace should begin at home. The practice of peace begins with a personal commitment to forgiveness and to compassion,” he said.
Najib said Mandela rallied the people to think of the opportunities that were available when a country was united.
“His words and his actions, particularly when tensions were at their highest, were chosen with a wisdom born of experience, and the generosity of spirit that equalled the occasion.
“At a time when dark flames of revenge flickered in the background, President Mandela showed that his commitment to his country burned brightest of all. In doing so, he gave hope to the world, hope that national reconciliation - a long and arduous journey, one that may not ever be fully complete - is nonetheless worth every single step,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said Mandela was really a man of peace who struggled for peace in the South after the apartheid and also struggled for peace in the world.
“I remember the first time I meet Mr Mandela in Zambia, just after he was released from the Robben Island, I was expecting a broken or bitter man for spending 27 years in the prison. I found a man who was extremely rational who thought of nothing else but the welfare and wellbeing of the people of South African,” he said.
The Mahathir Award for Global Peace is an international peace award endowed by the Mahathir Global Peace Foundation established to contribute to worldwide peace efforts.
The Mahathir Award for Global Peace is the brainchild of Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing who has worked closely with two of the world’s most well-known statesmen - Dr Mahathir and Mandela. Lim was motivated by their achievements for peace and freedom and it has inspired him to create the vehicle that will continue their efforts for peace.