Mahathir aims to retain post for his 'Vision 2020' plan<\/p>\n
By Bill Tarrant<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
\nMohamad once joked at an international business conference in
\nKuala Lumpur: \"If you can't be famous, at least you can be
\nnotorious.\"<\/p>\n
He had just been asked if his well-publicized spats with major
\ntrading partners like Australia and Britain, and his bashing of
\nwestern-style democracy, human rights and trade policies had had
\na chilling effect on investment.<\/p>\n
In fact, foreign investment has poured into Malaysia over the
\npast decade -- more than $40 billion worth -- as Mahathir has
\nturned a plantation-oriented economy into an industrialized
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
His disdain for diplomatic niceties stand in stark contrast to
\nthe etiquette of deference and reticence among Malays, the
\nmajority community in this multi-racial country.<\/p>\n
\"I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when
\npeople are nice and polite they never get anywhere,\" he once
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Mahathir has boasted at campaign rallies for the general
\nelections on April 24-25 that the World Bank praises Malaysia as
\na model of development, and he appears to delight in western
\napproval of his policies.<\/p>\n
But he bristles at the first hint of criticism.<\/p>\n
He took Malaysia to the brink of a trade war with Australia,
\nafter Prime Minister Paul Keating called him \"recalcitrant\" for
\nboycotting the first summit of the Asia Pacific Economic
\nCooperation (APEC) forum in late 1993.<\/p>\n
Soon after that row was patched-up, he launched a seven-month
\nban on government contracts for British business in retaliation
\nagainst British press reports alleging that Anglo-Malaysian trade
\nwas tainted with corruption.<\/p>\n
During the election campaign, Mahathir has promoted his
\nblueprint for turning Malaysia into a fully-developed country
\nover the next 25 years -- a plan he calls \"Vision 2020\".<\/p>\n
Its symbol is the Proton Saga, the national car and Mahathir's
\nbrainchild. Launched in 1983, it has become the pride of
\nMalaysia's 20 million people.<\/p>\n
The 69-year-old Mahathir, who underwent heart bypass surgery
\nin 1989, has shown no sign of retiring.<\/p>\n
Some analysts say he wants to stay at the helm at least until
\n1998, when Malaysia hosts the Commonwealth Games -- the first
\nAsian nation to do so -- and the APEC summit.<\/p>\n
He introduced a \"Look East\" policy soon after taking office in
\n1981, trying to emulate Japanese economic development.
\nMahathir's forceful -- critics say autocratic -- style has
\nsometimes spawned tensions within UMNO. In April 1987, he barely
\nsurvived a challenge to unseat him at a party convention.<\/p>\n
Later that year, Mahathir arrested 100 government critics in a
\ncrackdown he said was aimed at quelling racial tension.<\/p>\n
In the current election campaign he has threatened to arrest
\nOpposition Leader Lim Kit Siang for allegedly stoking racial
\ntensions.<\/p>\n
Mahathir took on the country's monarchy in 1993, introducing a
\nconstitutional amendment curbing their powers and stripping them
\nof their immunity from criminal prosecution. Malaysia's nine
\nsultans take turns every five years at being a largely ceremonial
\nking.<\/p>",
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