Do we need a different and innovative way to promote world peace?

Looking at the state of the world today, it is obvious that governments, politicians, NGOs and civil society in general have failed in promoting and sustaining peace in most regions.

With the Ukraine War and other hotspots of the world threatening to explode, it would seem that the world today may be drifting towards a nuclear World War III, putting humanity in grave danger.

The late and legendary Steve Jobs once said “innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”.

The world’s richest and greatest technopreneur Elon Musk said in a 2016 interview that “innovation comes from questioning the way things have been done before…is there a better way?”

Elon Musk may know a lot more about the possible end of humanity, as he is highly focused on his SpaceX program to colonize Mars.

There is now an innovative way of promoting holistic and sustainable world peace based on social justice, harmony with nature, protection of environment, full respect for cultural diversity and heritage, and the protection of public health.

It is called IPECH Museum.

IPECH (International Peace, Environment & Cultural Heritage) Museum is the proposed (Private Funding Initiative) US$500 million world-class, innovative, multimedia and interactive museum project based largely but not exclusively on a diverse and unique collection of about 2,000 artifacts, to be located at a suitable location in Kuala Lumpur.

Tentative plans are for IPECH Museum to commence operation by second half of 2023, which would be open on a 24/7 basis to attract foreign visitors.

The objectives of IPECH Museum are to promote tourism, holistic and sustainable peace, environment and cultural diversity and heritage.

It also intends to make Kuala Lumpur the Peace & Cultural Center of Asia and the world and for our economy to benefit from such CSR-type business, much like how the economy of Switzerland has benefited from its neutrality and “peace tourism”.

IPECH Museum, if implemented and managed properly (with world-class corporate efficiency), would indeed be the largest and most unique tourism, peace, environment and cultural diversity and heritage project in the world.

The project is timely, relevant and impactful to kickstart our tourism industry in the post-pandemic period.

Kuala Lumpur badly needs a new, exciting and interesting world-class destination to attract more quality tourists here, boost our tourism industry and generate more foreign exchange earnings and other spin-offs. It will also give our local economy a much needed lift-off.

Also, the timing of our concept now cannot be more surreal with the Ukraine war taking place and with Russia and NATO seemingly escalating towards self-destructive annihilation.

Another innovative aspect of IPECH Museum project is the proposal to set up an International Advisory Council of Peace (IACOP) which will meet at least twice a year, comprising of retired, independent, non-governmental and eminent world leaders respected for their positions and efforts on promoting peace.

The plans are for IACOP to include international celebrities in the film and entertainment industry and sports (like superstars of World Cup originally organized to promote world peace).

The proposed IACOP, if it can get public support from citizens in countries involved in wars, may have a chance of delaying or even preventing the slide to global extermination of our small planet.

As not all galleries would be using artifacts or works of art, IPECH Museum is basically an innovative and hybrid public educational platform to promote holistic world peace.

Every gallery to be set up at IPECH Museum will be using world-class and the “best of the best” artifacts, works of art, cultural paraphernalia, cultural and martial arts performers, multimedia, latest technologies such as in virtual reality and hologram and other educational materials.

The idea is to amaze or awe visitors of the messages of holistic peace, environmental protection, harmony with nature and respect for cultural diversity and heritage while opposing all forms of jingoism, imperialism, racism, oppression, cultural extremism and terrorism for the sake of the long-term survival of mankind.

IPECH Museum, part of the old Asian Heritage Museum (AHM) Group, is probably the only corporation (or NGO) in the world today to be promoting the concept of holistic and sustainable peace as explained above.

It has been a long and arduous journey for the AHM Group thus far, since the group legally acquired a large collection of diverse, world class and authentic Asian, colonial, geological and old currency artifacts from the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 2010.

The group started off with the “Asian Heritage Museum” concept in 2012. Since then, it has evolved, developed and fine-tuned to become a more comprehensive IPECH Museum concept.

IPECH Museum, like the Asian Heritage Museum concept, will still promote the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Asia — artifacts, works of art, food, costumes, performing arts and martial arts.

This innovative educational platform will take visitors on a multimedia, interactive and high-tech journey back into the history of Asia and the world to discover the “good heritage” (such as Admiral Zheng He’s voyages of peace) and to learn about some “bad heritage” (such as World War II), so that humanity will not make the same mistakes again.

It will also educate the public on the various threats to peace — geo-political conflicts, cultural extremism, terrorism and environmental disasters. It will also show how promoting cultural heritage and diversity is one important area of generating international goodwill and peace.

As Steve Jobs said in his famous 1997 speech about Marketing of Values and how to think differently, “The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.”

Let us all innovate our thinking to change the world to be more holistically peaceful, environmentally cleaner, culturally harmonious, healthier and certainly a more equitable and just place for all.

(General (Rtd) Tan Sri (Dr) Hashim Mohd Ali, former Chief of Defense Force, Executive Chairman of SUKOM Ninety Eight Berhad (Organizer of 16^th 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur), Chairman of Council of Advisors of AHM/IPECH Museum Group; Dato’ Shabudin Abdul Wahab, Retired Commissioner of Police, Advisor & Associate of AHM/IPECH Museum Group; KK Tan, Former CEO of MNC & GLC, Corporate, Political & Geo-political Analyst, CEO of AHM/IPECH Museum Group.)