H.E. Dato’ Seri Utama Rais YATIM Minister of Information, Communications and Culture (MICC) Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, The Constitution of the Union is an instrument which gives the ITU varied powers and functions. It is the cor-nerstone of everything that we do as a Union, which di-rectly affects our respective actions as sovereign nations in the development of telecommunications and ICT. Telecommunications and ICT have made such rapid ad-vancements in recent years that whilst Governments promote the latest technology and innovation to transform the lives of its citizens. We also have to en-sure that the very fabric of society is protected from threats brought by its misuse and abuse. At a time when the Internet is no longer a mere tool to gather knowledge and communicate, but is now shap-ing public opinion and gaining influential ground, to the extent that our cultures, values and traditions are being eroded, we must look back to our Constitution to see if it provides the means for us to take collective measures to counter this. Mr Chairman, Mr Secretary General, Article 1.1.f of the Constitution states that one of the Union’s purposes is: to harmonize the actions of Member States and promote fruitful and constructive cooperation and partnership between Member States and Sector Members in the attainment of those ends. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, On behalf of the Malaysian Administration, I thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished au-dience We must act swiftly to preserve the commonality of cul-tures among us and protect society from threats brought by the abuse of technology and innovation. We must re-visit our role and augment it – today, it is not enough for us to be the ITU and address infrastructure development, Universal Access, resource management, standards and the development of ICT. We must also consider the good-ness at the 18th Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU. I also express Malaysia’s appreciation to the Government and the people of Mexico and the state of Jalisco for the hospitality and excellent arrangements accorded to all delegates since our arrival. Further, I congratulate you, Mr. Chairman on being elected to this position. of society. We need not be a regulator in the extreme, but the concern for mankind must always be there, par-ticularly so because it is the ITU which promotes the use and adoption of technology, ICT and the Internet. 36