Mahathir says he is ready to resign<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says he is
\nprepared to step down if he is the cause of \"distress\" to people.
\n\"I don't think the world needs to sacrifice millions of jobs just
\nto flush me out because I will go if I cause a lot of distress to
\nso many people,\" he said in an interview with the Hong Kong-based
\nweekly Far Eastern Economic Review.<\/p>\n
Excerpts from the interview will be published in the issue
\ncoming out today. Parts of the interview were released yesterday.<\/p>\n
Mahathir, 72, who became Asia's longest-serving leader after
\nIndonesia's president Soeharto was ousted last month, had said
\nearlier that he would consider quitting once the economy revives.<\/p>\n
Mahathir also said that megaprojects like Malaysia's new
\nairport at Sepang and the Petronas twin towers, the world's
\ntallest building, are \"good for the ego\" of a developing country.<\/p>\n
\"It is important because small people always like to appear
\ntall. If you can't get tall enough you put a box under you.\"<\/p>\n
Malaysia has often been criticized for spending too lavishly
\non grandiose projects.<\/p>\n
Mahathir also repeated his accusations against currency
\nspeculators, blaming them for bringing on the crisis that had
\ncost the Malaysian ringgit nearly 40 percent of its value in one
\nyear and sent stock markets crashing.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Mahathir found himself defending his
\ngovernment and family against accusations of nepotism and
\ncronyism. Some youth leaders at his United Malays National
\nOrganization's annual convention demanded a debate on government
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
These critics within the ruling party accused powerful
\npoliticians of misusing an affirmative action program aimed at
\nhelping Malays to benefit cronies by giving them lucrative
\ngovernment contracts.<\/p>\n
But Mahathir emerged more powerful from the convention, having
\nsilenced his detractors.<\/p>",
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