`Abandon arrogant views of Asia'

`Abandon arrogant views of Asia'

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Europe must change its arrogant attitudes toward Asia if it is to improve ties with the region, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday.

"There can be no real movement towards 'a partnership of equals' until there is a greater equalization of humility and the disappearance of what some will call incredible arrogance," Mahathir said at a Europe/East Asia economic conference here.

"The age of hegemony has not yet quite passed. It should die away," he said. "Fundamental to the new partnership of equals that the European Commission talks about is a mental revolution," he said.

Europe, anxious for a share in Asia's rapidly growing economies, said last week it has proposed a "coordinated program of public relations" to raise the European Union (EU)'s profile in Asia.