Bush meeting puts Mahathir center stage
Bush meeting puts Mahathir center stage
Don Pathan, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok
Like the lyrics of one of his favorite songs, Frank Sinatra's
My Way, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in the course
of his political career, has bitten off more then he could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt, he ate it up and
spat it out. He faced it all and he stood tall and in the end, he
did it his way.
With his trip to Washington, Dr M, as he is often referred to
by the Malaysian press, has effectively put Malaysia back on the
U.S.'s radar screen -- this time for a different reason -- and
established himself as a leader to be reckoned with by the
Western world.
Gone are the days of mudslinging over human rights and the
Anwar Ibrahim incident, not to mention the vicious accusations
over who's responsible for the Asian economic collapse.
Casting aside their historic differences, Mahathir and U.S.
President George W Bush opted for a reconciliation that is likely
to translate into more co-operation in a number of areas,
including the fight against global terrorism.
The veteran Malaysian leader, who has presided over the arrest
of more than 60 militants allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaeda network, said terrorists would find no haven in his
country.
To reduce this kiss-and-make-up episode between Mahathir and
the American president to merely an outcome of changes wrought in
U.S. foreign policy in the post-Sept. 11 era is to do injustice
to the reputation of this no-nonsense leader who is not afraid to
slit anybody's throats as he consolidates his grip on power --
Anwar being a prime example.
True, Bush has made clear his desire to engage countries
deemed crucial to its war against terrorism. But Mahathir is
nobody's lapdog. Few can imagine him going into any deal without
knowing the consequences. Reconciliation with Washington comes
with it a prize that Mahathir has longed for -- Malaysia's
rightful place in the global community as a nation of
consequence.
Like it or not, Mahathir has turned his one-party-dominant
system into an attractive option for many leaders of developing
nations, including Thailand and Cambodia.
And for better or for worse, his model has shown that this
system can make headway in creating stability to pave the way for
growth and prosperity. The trade off is that this so-called
growth and prosperity has to come at the expense of civil society
-- a free press and democratization, to name but a few.
On regional affairs, Mahathir has shown that a little patience
can go a long way. His proposal for an East Asia Economic Caucus
(EAEC) was shot down by Japan some years ago for fear that it
would antagonize the West. The then Thai prime minister Anand
Panyarachun also objected to the idea because it could undermine
the making of the ASEAN Free Trade Area.
Today, the ASEAN-plus-three (China, Japan and South Korea)
arrangement is an EAEC except in name.
In an apparent bid to underline his status as a key Asian
statesmen, Mahathir went to the U.S. with the UN special envoy to
Burma, Razali Ismail.
Razali, a retired Malaysian diplomat, was instrumental in
brokering a dialogue between Burma's military government and pro-
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Perhaps it was a sense of
responsibility on Mahathir's part that the UN job went to a
Malaysian.
Mahathir and other ASEAN leaders had initially objected to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal that the special envoy be
a Malaysian. They saw the move as an effort by the West to induce
ASEAN members to fight one another.
Mortality is catching up with the man who has ruled Malaysia
for more than two decades. While all agree that he will leave big
shoes to fill, the question is: Whose feet are as big as his?
But the same cannot be said of Malaysia. This is the dilemma
the Malaysian leader has to live with -- coming up with a
replacement who is strong enough to keep the country intact. If
he is not careful, he could end up being remembered as the man
who left Malaysia in a mess.