APEC: Mahathir's 'last hurrah'?

By Edward Neilan

Malaysian Prime Minister may be snubbed by Clinton at Kuala Lumpur meeting

TOKYO (JP): Next month's meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) was supposed to be a crowning moment for host Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Instead it is likely to turn out to be a soiled "last hurrah" for the 72-year old controversial leader who is Asia's most outspoken anti-American.

Mahathir is under heavy criticism for abruptly sacking Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, 51, on Sept. 2 and arresting him 18 days later under the Internal Security Act after leading 30,000 demonstrators through the capital calling on Mahathir to resign.

"We must rid the country of corruption, cronyism and nepotism," Anwar said. "We must save the country from being exploited by a handful of individuals out to manipulate the economy to amass wealth for themselves. It is time for a change."

Anwar was released from detention under the security act but is being kept in custody on 10 criminal charges of sodomy and corruption, which he has denied. His trial on four of the five corruption charges begins Nov. 2

His case drew international outrage after he appeared in court with bruises and a black eye and said he had been beaten by police.

There have been calls in the United States for President Bill Clinton to urge a change in the venue of the meeting or to boycott it if plans to hold it in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur go ahead. If he attends, he should speak out against Mahathir's protectionist policies and human rights violations, the critics said.

In a letter to Clinton dated Oct. 16, Republican Congressmen Ben Gilman and Doug Bereuter said the U.S. President's attendance at the APEC summit Nov., 17-18 could be perceived as support for Mahathir.

Their letter said Clinton should either have the meeting moved out of Malaysia or use the sessions to "speak out forcefully about the economic policies and human rights practices" of Mahathir.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdulah Ahmad Badawi called the comments by the American congressmen "arrogant" but U.S. administration sources were quoted Oct. 21 as saying Clinton would attend the APEC meeting but won't meet the Malaysian prime minister.

Edwin Feulner, president of the Washington based Heritage Foundation think tank, said "Bill Clinton should boycott the meeting -- or at the very least register America's unhappiness once he gets Kuala Lumpur."

Writing in the Asian Wall Street Journal Oct. 22, Feulner said "Malaysia's recent actions to close her markets make her unworthy of hosting a forum dedicated to the expansion of free trade."

Mahathir, who claims he was going to step down next month but will stay on because of the crisis, has never been enthusiastic about APEC because its membership includes the United States and other Western nations like Australia.

He promoted an alternative East Asian Economic Council (EAEC) for "Asians only." But it never got off the ground because of Japanese indifference. His high point of notoriety among some Japanese was his coauthorship of the book The Asia That Can Say 'No' with Japanese legislator Shintaro Ishihara. The book was a patently anti-American sequel to Ishihara's The Japan That Can Say 'No,' meaning "No" to American presence and influence in Asia.

Criticizing Uncle Sam can have certain political currency but Mahathir went too far. Now the leaders of the Philippines and Indonesia are casting doubts about Mahathir's leadership and empty arrogance.

`Mahathir's trademark is blaming others for his own shortcomings.

As Mahathir correctly sensed Malaysia's self-inflicted economic weaknesses last year, Feulner wrote, "Traders unloaded the country's currency, causing the value of the ringgit to plummet. At first Mahathir blamed currency traders like George Soros. He then tried to pin the blame on Jews, prompting even more investors to abandon the ringgit."

Last week Mahathir, who has ruled Malaysia for 17 years, was in Tokyo blaming hedge funds for "depreciating currencies at their own will and according to what they wish."

Japan, which is coughing up US$30 billion to help ailing Asia economies, is fearful that Mahathir's emergency currency controls and mounting political deficit will harm Japanese and other foreign firms.