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.