APEC: Mahathir's 'last hurrah'?<\/p>\n
By Edward Neilan<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister may be snubbed by Clinton at
\nKuala Lumpur meeting<\/p>\n
TOKYO (JP): Next month's meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic
\nForum (APEC) was supposed to be a crowning moment for host
\nMalaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.<\/p>\n
Instead it is likely to turn out to be a soiled \"last hurrah\"
\nfor the 72-year old controversial leader who is Asia's most
\noutspoken anti-American.<\/p>\n
Mahathir is under heavy criticism for abruptly sacking Deputy
\nPrime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, 51, on Sept.
\n2 and arresting him 18 days later under the Internal Security Act
\nafter leading 30,000 demonstrators through the capital calling on
\nMahathir to resign.<\/p>\n
\"We must rid the country of corruption, cronyism and
\nnepotism,\" Anwar said. \"We must save the country from being
\nexploited by a handful of individuals out to manipulate the
\neconomy to amass wealth for themselves. It is time for a change.\"<\/p>\n
Anwar was released from detention under the security act but
\nis being kept in custody on 10 criminal charges of sodomy and
\ncorruption, which he has denied. His trial on four of the five
\ncorruption charges begins Nov. 2<\/p>\n
His case drew international outrage after he appeared in court
\nwith bruises and a black eye and said he had been beaten by
\npolice.<\/p>\n
There have been calls in the United States for President Bill
\nClinton to urge a change in the venue of the meeting or to
\nboycott it if plans to hold it in the Malaysian capital of Kuala
\nLumpur go ahead. If he attends, he should speak out against
\nMahathir's protectionist policies and human rights violations,
\nthe critics said.<\/p>\n
In a letter to Clinton dated Oct. 16, Republican Congressmen
\nBen Gilman and Doug Bereuter said the U.S. President's attendance
\nat the APEC summit Nov., 17-18 could be perceived as support for
\nMahathir.<\/p>\n
Their letter said Clinton should either have the meeting moved
\nout of Malaysia or use the sessions to \"speak out forcefully
\nabout the economic policies and human rights practices\" of
\nMahathir.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdulah Ahmad Badawi called the
\ncomments by the American congressmen \"arrogant\" but U.S.
\nadministration sources were quoted Oct. 21 as saying Clinton
\nwould attend the APEC meeting but won't meet the Malaysian prime
\nminister.<\/p>\n
Edwin Feulner, president of the Washington based Heritage
\nFoundation think tank, said \"Bill Clinton should boycott the
\nmeeting -- or at the very least register America's unhappiness once
\nhe gets Kuala Lumpur.\"<\/p>\n
Writing in the Asian Wall Street Journal Oct. 22, Feulner said
\n\"Malaysia's recent actions to close her markets make her unworthy
\nof hosting a forum dedicated to the expansion of free trade.\"<\/p>\n
Mahathir, who claims he was going to step down next month but
\nwill stay on because of the crisis, has never been enthusiastic
\nabout APEC because its membership includes the United States and
\nother Western nations like Australia.<\/p>\n
He promoted an alternative East Asian Economic Council (EAEC)
\nfor \"Asians only.\" But it never got off the ground because of
\nJapanese indifference. His high point of notoriety among some
\nJapanese was his coauthorship of the book The Asia That Can Say
\n'No' with Japanese legislator Shintaro Ishihara. The book was a
\npatently anti-American sequel to Ishihara's The Japan That Can
\nSay 'No,' meaning \"No\" to American presence and influence in
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
Criticizing Uncle Sam can have certain political currency but
\nMahathir went too far. Now the leaders of the Philippines and
\nIndonesia are casting doubts about Mahathir's leadership and
\nempty arrogance.<\/p>\n
`Mahathir's trademark is blaming others for his own
\nshortcomings.<\/p>\n
As Mahathir correctly sensed Malaysia's self-inflicted
\neconomic weaknesses last year, Feulner wrote, \"Traders unloaded
\nthe country's currency, causing the value of the ringgit to
\nplummet. At first Mahathir blamed currency traders like George
\nSoros. He then tried to pin the blame on Jews, prompting even
\nmore investors to abandon the ringgit.\"<\/p>\n
Last week Mahathir, who has ruled Malaysia for 17 years, was
\nin Tokyo blaming hedge funds for \"depreciating currencies at
\ntheir own will and according to what they wish.\"<\/p>\n
Japan, which is coughing up US$30 billion to help ailing Asia
\neconomies, is fearful that Mahathir's emergency currency controls
\nand mounting political deficit will harm Japanese and other
\nforeign firms.<\/p>",
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