Mahathir defends govt's mega projects

Mahathir defends govt's mega projects

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday
defended his government's strategy of building so-called mega
projects, saying they had benefitted Malaysia's people and were
not extravagant.

"We do not indulge in mega projects just to pound our chest
and show off," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the national news
agency Bernama. "They are important to national development."
Mahathir made the comments at the launch of a new township in his
home state of Kedah in northern Malaysia.

In Kuala Lumpur, the four party opposition coalition condemned
the government's decision last week to revive a multibillion
dollar dam project on Borneo island, saying it would have a
disastrous impact on the region's ecology and indigenous people.

"The physical habitat and cultural lifestyles of the
indigenous communities in the area, the size of neighboring
Singapore would be altered dramatically," opposition leader said
in a joint statement.

Since coming into power in 1981, Mahathir has ordered the
building of mammoth projects including the Petronas Towers -- the
world's tallest buildings -- a sprawling new airport and
Putrajaya, Malaysia's new administrative center which includes a
majestic residence for himself.

The 1997-98 Asian economic crisis which engulfed Malaysia and
the rest of the region slowed but did not scuttle work on more
big projects, which are often derided by the opposition as
unnecessary and waste of public funds.