Describing Mandela as a friend, the ex-Malaysian Prime Minister ,Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said it was appropriate that the South African leader was the first recipient of the award as he was truly a man of peace.
“I remember the first time I met Mandela in Zambia just after he was released from prison in Robben Island…I was expecting a broken or bitter man for he had spent 27 years in jail. Instead, I found a man who was extremely rational and who thought nothing but the welfare and well-being of the people in Africa,” he said.
The Mahathir Award for Global Peace is an international peace award by the Mahathir Global Peace Foundation, which was formed to contribute to global peace efforts.
Friday 13 September 2013 12:41
