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Judy Cheng-Hopkins.
Judy Cheng-Hopkins of Loh Boon Siew Road is the highest ranking Malaysian in the United Nations (UN). Her long career in development and humanitarian work in Africa and Asia spans 32 years. Her secret is to aim “outwards and upwards”. Being “at the right place at the right time with the right gender” also help, she admits.
By Cecilia Ng
When UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Penang girl Judy Cheng-Hopkins as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support (PBSO) on April 17, 2009, she became the highest ranking Malaysian in the organisation. Judy was in Penang in July this year to deliver a keynote address at the “Gender Mainstreaming: Justice for All” conference organised by the Society for Good Governance and Gender Equality, Penang. I was her sixth form mate in St Xavier’s Institution (SXI), and we started a conversation during the conference which continued over email while Judy was somewhere in between New York and Burundi.
How did a girl from St Georges’ Girls School and SXI end up being the highest ranking Malaysian in the UN?
Would you believe while in Form 5, my goal was to be a go-go dancer? Life is funny, it takes strange turns and things pop up when you least expect it. But I would admit that the secret is to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. Yes, fate is important but so is self direction. I have been fortunate in that throughout my career, I have been at the right place at the right time with the right gender.
But I guess if I have to pinpoint three turning points in my life, first would be coming to the US in high school as an American Field Service (AFS) exchange student and living with a very progressive, politically-oriented family — relatives of Robert Morgenthau (brilliant Treasury Secretary under President Roosevelt). My social and political consciousness was developed at this stage (dropped the idea of go-go dancing!). The second was meeting my husband who was then doing his PhD at Columbia, who taught me never to “sell my typically Penang chin-chai, humble self, short.” At his prodding, I won a scholarship to do my Masters in International Affairs at Columbia University which totally prepared me for an international career. (Judy also has diplomas from Universitè d’Haute Bretagne in Rennes, France and Harvard Business School.) Thirdly, looking back, I am glad to have actively pursued the axiom: “outwards and upwards”, meaning once you believe you have done all you can in a particular job, look to move out and better yet, if it’s a promotion. Never passively remain where you are just because it’s comfortable. So as a result of “out and up”, I have worked in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia on humanitarian, development and refugee issues. With 32 years of experience behind you and if you do well and as a woman (which helps these days) you do get noticed and the chances are 50-50 that you would be plucked up for plum jobs.
What does Peacebuilding support comprise?
I am sure your readers are aware of UN peacekeepers, the so-called blue helmets. Well, in recent years the international community has felt that peacekeeping alone is not sufficient to pull countries coming out of war onto a path of sustainable peace and development. Something was missing that had to do with understanding political processes, encouraging reconciliation and political dialogue, bringing about rule of law and reforming and professionalising the army and police. Ex-combatants had to be demobilised and disarmed voluntarily and given the opportunity to reintegrate back into society. Basic services and economic opportunities had to be restored so that people see the “peace dividend” and have hope. It was critical that young men especially were not drawn back into the life of an insurgent out of economic necessity. I am sure that you notice in all the images that you see, for example in the movie “Blood Diamond”, that these combatants or “foot soldiers” tend to be very young, in fact child soldiers.
Judy in Bubanza, north of Bujumbura in Burundi, with demobilised and disarmed ex-combatants, many of whom are very young. PBSO financed programmes that included reintegrating them back into society. These include labour intensive public work, training, microcredit, start ups, etc.
This is what peacebuilding is all about. Sometimes powerful countries seem to rely on “boots on the ground” and/or have the impression that this can solve everything. The point is there must be a better balance between security and peace and development. So my office which is in the UN Secretariat in New York basically has three functions: to support an intergovernmental peacebuilding commission which works with and provides strategic advice and advocacy to countries coming out of conflict; to manage a Peacebuilding Fund of some US$340mil with a huge donor base of some 48 countries, and lastly to bring about coherence and coordination amongst all UN entities involved in peacebuilding (the peacekeepers, the political affairs, development agencies, humanitarian agencies, civil society organisations, etc.)
And have you been successful thus far? We also hear that women are often the victims and are most vulnerable in times of war and conflict.
Of course I’d be pretty dishonest if I were to say flatly, yes we have been successful. These are fragile states, so fragile that any little incident could spark new conflicts. In his book The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier states that half of all civil wars relapse back to conflict within a decade. This means that instead of “closing shop” and going home after Peace Agreements have been signed, it’d be wiser for the UN to “accompany” these countries through these difficult first two to five years. That is precisely what the Peace Building Commission does – play the role of the arbitrator, honest broker between the opposing parties or clans or ethnic groups.
Thus success for me means that while a country may move three steps forward then two steps back, as long as they are moving in the right direction or towards the path to peace and reconciliation, that’s more than we can hope for!
As for women – they are the ultimate victims of war. Did you read in the papers of the rape and assault of at least 154 Congolese women by armed elements of a Rwandan rebel group in Eastern Congo? And in Darfur and Bosnia during the civil war? In fact in Liberia, the cases of rape increased after the war ended because of the lack of rule of law, revenge taking, etc. That is why security reform is so key in the immediate aftermath of war. But women are also good agents of change… anywhere! In fact they started many of the protest movements against war because they care for sons and daughters and want a good future for them. The problem is that we do not involve them sufficiently in peace negotiations, in mediation, etc. – all considered the domain of men! But we are working hard to change that.
The Leong Eng Khean clan in Penang in the early 1900s with Judy’s mother in back row, second from right.
Before you joined Peacebuilding, you had quite a career in the UN serving in many portfolios and in various countries. What is the most satisfying job you have held and why?
I am one of the lucky ones in the UN who have held important positions in so many different organisations and fields: 20 years in UNDP, six years in the World Food Program (three and a half of which as Director of Asia and Eastern Europe) and three and a half years as UNHCR’s Assistant High-Commissioner for Refugees and now this job as head of Peacebuilding in the UN in New York. Thanks to these various jobs, I have lived for 10 years in Africa (Kenya and Zambia), three and a half years in Rome, three and a half years in Geneva with travels to almost every country in Africa and Europe, and short stints in India and China. My most interesting job is my current one. It is fascinating as it covers all the elements I have been exposed to. There is a bit of economic development, political development, security, rule of law and human rights in what I do today and it is fantastic because I get to draw on all my past experiences to apply to this current job. My job satisfaction is at an all-time high!
I believe you said all of your relatives are in the private sector, presumably making lots of money. What drew you to this quintessentially public sector job?
I do sometimes think of what it would have been like had I chosen the path of most of my family who are pretty successful in the business world. But then I quickly count my blessings that I am not in the field where one watches the stock market everyday and worries about world economic meltdown, the treachery of the board room, etc. Yes, life in the UN has its problems but for most, the very fact that we have such ambitious and noble goals – that makes it hard for anyone not to have passion in what they do! The fact that I work with people from every corner of the world, sometimes 20 or 30 nationalities in one office… nothing could be more exciting or rewarding than that!
You kindly spoke at the recent conference organised by the Society for Good Governance and Gender Equality, Penang. What is your impression of the conference? Of Penang? What made you dash in and out, and on economy class, to participate in the conference?
I was glad and honoured to have been invited to be the keynote speaker at this conference. It was really my first reconnection with Penang in a professional sense after all these years. I come back often but on holidays. In good Penang spirit, the meeting was well organised and no-nonsense, the messages focused and objectives clear, that is to put pressure on the state government to take concrete actions to promote gender equality and good governance. I also got to meet the Chief Minister, many women, professionals and politicians. It was great because I immediately felt a bond with them and would love to do more with them… but when I retire.
Judy in the field.
You have bought an apartment in Tanjung Bungah. Does this mean you will be retiring in Penang?
One never knows; as I said, life takes funny turns, but my roots in Penang are deep – my great grandfather Leong Fee had come in the early 19th century, made his fortune in Perak, and became a philanthropist including building the first girls’ school in Penang. It would be hard to imagine Penang not always claiming a part of me, and vice versa. (See photo of the Leong Eng Khean clan in Penang in the early 1900s with my mother in the back row, second from right)
What advice would you have for young Malaysians seeking a career in the UN?
First of all I would encourage Malaysians to venture to work in the international development or humanitarian field. You travel the world, you learn about cultures and meet people like you could never imagine (like going to Timbuktu in West Africa and seeing one of the oldest universities in the world, working and socialising with the great liberation movements of the 1980s – the ANC of South Africa and SWAPO of Namibia while living in Zambia.) But the real secret today to getting an entry level job anywhere is first to volunteer as an unpaid intern. If you are truly good and fit for the job you may well have found your entry. The competition is so tough these days you have to prove your worth before someone is willing to pay you a salary. Think of it as a long term investment and don’t get too hung up on getting a salary right away.
Cecilia Ng is currently a visiting professor at the Women’s Development Research Centre (KANITA), Universiti Sains Malaysia. She is also the vice-president of the Society of Good Governance and Gender Equality (3Gs) Penang.