PUTRAJAYA: A prominent figure from a Muslim country should be appointed as the United Nations (UN) secretary-general to ensure the peace and unity of Islamic nations, especially in the Middle East.
Middle East Technical University senior professor Prof Dr Huseyin Bagci said a Muslim representative in the UN driver's seat would also help Islamic countries voice out their views, especially those from the Middle East which are facing conflicts and terrorism issues.
"The UN does not reflect the reality of the world. None of the permanent members would give up their privileged position just because the Islamic world wants this.
"There must be political will by countries which are permanent members of the UN.
"My expectation in the long run is to have someone from the Islamic world to be the UN secretary-general. I would suggest that Turkish former president Abdullah Gul hold this position," he told reporters after the delivering his presentation at the Putrajaya International Security Dialogue (PISD) 2018 at the Marriot Hotel, here.
Huseyin was reffering to the UN Security Council which has no represention by any Islamic country. The UN Security Council's five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
He said a representative from Islamic countries in the UN may change the world's perspective on the Islamic nations.
"If this happens, the world will no longer reject the fact that the Islamic world's demands are increasing. It doesn't matter whether this in the sense of combating terrorism, upholding democracy, development or for future peace and prosperity,"
"We have 1.5 billion Muslims in the world but they are unrepresented (in the UN). This is not good," he said.
Earlier, Huseyin delivered his talk at the first plenary session titled 'Islam as an instrument of moderation and security'.
In his talk, Huseyin said Turkey has spent about USD200 billion (RM798 billion) to fight terrorism.
"We have been fighting the Kurdistan Workers' Party for over 40 years. We have lost more than 42,000 people including civilians and soldiers.
"We have spent USD200 billion, probably more, to combat terrorism. Terrorism is indeed a big problem for any country as it affects the economy, democracy, infrastructure and education.
"The money could be spent on many other things such as education, healthcare and transportation. The civilisation in Turkey would be even better," he said.