JP\/7\/MAHATHIR<\/p>\n
The subject for today is "Trust and Governance for a New Era".<\/p>\n
Mahathir Mohamad
\nPrime Minister
\nMalaysia<\/p>\n
In the world today there is no trust or little trust and
\ngovernance, world governance that is, is not good. We have in
\nfact made a mess of the world. Two millennium of experience and
\nmountains of knowledge have not made us much more capable at
\nmanaging our affairs than stone age people.<\/p>\n
We now live in fear, every one of us. We fear the terrorists
\nand the terrorists, their supporters or alleged supporters fear
\nus. We fear flying, we fear traveling to certain countries, we
\nfear night-clubs, we fear letters, parcels and cargo containers,
\nwe fear white powder, shoes, Muslims, pen knives, metal cutlery,
\netc. They, the other side, fear sanctions, starvation, shortage
\nof medicine. They fear military invasion, being bombed and
\nrocketed, being captured and detained.<\/p>\n
People who are neutral, not involved, innocent -- they too
\nlive in fear. They are the collaterals. Just as the Afghans and
\nthe Iraqi civilians are collaterals the passengers on the
\nhijacked planes and those people working in the World Trade
\nTowers are also collaterals.<\/p>\n
Actually we are in the midst of the World War III, not the war
\nagainst terrorists but the war between terrorists and the peace
\nloving anti-terrorists alliance, the war between the Axis of Evil
\nand Satan. Both sides are convinced that they are right, that
\ntheirs is the fight against evil. Evil and Satan must be
\ndestroyed.<\/p>\n
Frightened, the world is taking measures to secure and defend
\nat tremendous cost. But the main result is not security or
\nfreedom from terror attacks. The main result is to disrupt life,
\nundermine investments and business, and generally to adversely
\naffect economic growth world wide.<\/p>\n
It is going to be a long war because hatred, anger, bitterness
\nrules our hearts. We both want revenge. We both will retaliate.
\nYou kill our people, we will kill your people. And so it will go
\non and on. Sanity has deserted both sides.<\/p>\n
The world has become small. It is said to be a village. But we
\nhave not made much progress in the management of our world
\ndespite its diminished size. Just as in the stone age the man
\nwith the biggest club rules, in our modern and sophisticated
\nglobal village the country with the biggest killing power rules.<\/p>\n
When the Cold War ended we thought that the world would see
\npeace and prosperity. After all the people who believe in peace
\nand universal justice won. The evil Empire has been overthrown.<\/p>\n
But the loss of a counter balance has resulted in the great
\nexponent of justice and fair play to become unbalanced. While the
\nCommunists were there the Capitalists curbed their greed and
\navarice. They showed a friendly face.<\/p>\n
But now there is no more other side. The friendly face of
\ncapitalism is not needed any more. Now capitalists can do what
\nthey like and what they like is simply to make more money for
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n
Why is there a need for borders? Why should countries protect
\ntheir puny inefficient economies? The world has become too small
\nto be divided into countries with different system of Governments
\nand laws. There should be just one global entity and one system,
\nthe great democratic system and the freedom that is supposed to
\ngo with it. If the new democracies do not know how to manage the
\nsystem, that is too bad. Democracy is such a good system that
\neveryone must adopt it. It is blasphemy to say anything against
\ndemocracy. If you do, if you resist then you will be considered a
\nheretic and starved to death, or bombed out of existence.<\/p>\n
In a free world there must be competition. The strongest and
\nthe most efficient will win. If you are small and weak and
\ninefficient it is best that you go. In athletics it may be
\nreasonable to have different classes of competitors. But in the
\ncompetition between countries and corporations there should be no
\ncategorization or classification, nor should handicaps be given.
\nThe biggest and the most efficient should be allowed to dominate
\nand take all. It is good for everyone.<\/p>\n
And so we see the great banks and corporations merging and
\nacquiring each other to ensure that the tiny banks and businesses
\nin the poor countries will not stand a chance, will be swept
\naside.<\/p>\n
Big is beautiful again. Big is good. Unfortunately there is no
\nguarantee that the big will not cheat, will not fall, will not go
\nbankrupt. But we must not take notice of Enron, Global Crossing,
\nArthur Anderson, United Airlines etc. They are the exceptions
\nwhich merely prove the rule.<\/p>\n
Today the disparity between the rich countries and the poor
\ncountries is greater than ever. The richest countries have a per
\ncapita of more than of US$30,000, the poorest $300. Of the
\nworld's 6 billion people one billion are underfed, underclothed
\nand without a roof over their heads. Many scrounge in rubbish
\nheaps for food, clothing and materials for their shelter.<\/p>\n
In politics, the post Cold War world is no better. The
\nmisfortunes of the weak are their problem. The strong will
\ndominate.<\/p>\n
Socially we have not advanced either. We talk a lot about the
\nsanctity of human lives and human rights. We are opposed to death
\npenalties. But actually whole populations have been sentenced to
\ndeath and in many instances the sentence has been carried out.
\nWhen war is declared against a country a death sentence is passed
\non the people and when war is executed the sentence is carried
\nout. And still we talk glibly about the sanctity of life.<\/p>\n
The exploitation of the world by the greedy, the double
\nstandards and the hypocrisy about human rights and respect for
\nhuman lives, the oppressions of the weak by the strong, the
\ndisregard for human sufferings; the expropriation of other
\npeoples' land and the expulsion of the people, all these have
\nbeen aggravated by the ending of the Cold War and the victory of
\nthe righteous over the evil.<\/p>\n
The worm finally turned. The weak have now hit back in the
\nonly way they can. Groping for the enemy, the strong hits out
\nblindly in every direction, in every part of the world. No one is
\nfree. Fear rules the world.<\/p>\n
With the onset of this World War III, the world is in a state
\nof turmoil. We now live in fear, even the rich are not as
\nprosperous any more, while the poor are actually poorer.<\/p>\n
We have not made such a good job managing this Global Village
\nof ours. There is no trust and no good governance.<\/p>\n
So how do we create trust and good governance in the new era?
\nI don't think it can be done by seeking for a military defeat of
\nthe enemy and forcing them to submit. The forces against the Axis
\nof Evil are not going to win because the target is wrong. All
\nthat can happen if they are defeated is to create more anger and
\na call for more revenge and retaliation by the people who are
\nincensed by the injustice they believe they are experiencing.<\/p>\n
On the other hand the other side are not going to win either.
\nThe enemy is just too big and too powerful.<\/p>\n
The only solution is through compromise. Trust must be built.
\nThe initiation must come from the good people. They must
\nrecognize that people do not tie bombs to their bodies or crash
\ntheir planes for the fun of it. They must have a reason for it.
\nWe have to remove the reasons. Out terrorizing the terrorists
\nwill not work. But removing the causes for terrorism will.<\/p>\n
Good governance is simple if we curb the greedy and forget
\nabout self-regulating markets. Governments are not yet
\nanachronistic. They have a role to play.<\/p>\n
We need a paradigm shift, we need a new mind-set if we are
\ngoing to put an end to this World War III. We need victory for
\nboth, a victory where both sides will benefit.<\/p>\n
The world is big enough and rich enough for everyone. There is
\nno need to take everything for ourselves. A win-win solution is
\npossible.<\/p>\n
If we can overcome our anger and hatred, our craving for
\nrevenge, our unlimited greed, we can manage the world and achieve
\ntrust and eventually good governance.<\/p>",
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