Mahathir faces complaint

Mahathir faces complaint

NEW YORK (Reuters): The World Jewish Congress said on Friday
it would complain to the U.N. Human Rights Commission that recent
comments by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad were
grotesque and played into stereotypes.

WJC Vice President Kalman Sultanik said he would also seek the
support of the Vatican and the World Council of Churches in
denouncing the remarks.

"Prime Minister Mahathir sounds like he is speaking in the
1940s, not the 1990s," Sultanik said, adding that the complaint
would be brought to the United Nations on Monday because the U.N.
five years ago declared anti-Semitism a form of racism and
bigotry.

In recent weeks, the prime minister has implied that Jews were
behind his country's economic woes. Sultanik said the remarks
were "grotesque and played into classic anti-Semitic
stereotypes."