Mahathir says he is ready to resign

Mahathir says he is ready to resign

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says he is
prepared to step down if he is the cause of "distress" to people.
"I don't think the world needs to sacrifice millions of jobs just
to flush me out because I will go if I cause a lot of distress to
so many people," he said in an interview with the Hong Kong-based
weekly Far Eastern Economic Review.

Excerpts from the interview will be published in the issue
coming out today. Parts of the interview were released yesterday.

Mahathir, 72, who became Asia's longest-serving leader after
Indonesia's president Soeharto was ousted last month, had said
earlier that he would consider quitting once the economy revives.

Mahathir also said that megaprojects like Malaysia's new
airport at Sepang and the Petronas twin towers, the world's
tallest building, are "good for the ego" of a developing country.

"It is important because small people always like to appear
tall. If you can't get tall enough you put a box under you."

Malaysia has often been criticized for spending too lavishly
on grandiose projects.

Mahathir also repeated his accusations against currency
speculators, blaming them for bringing on the crisis that had
cost the Malaysian ringgit nearly 40 percent of its value in one
year and sent stock markets crashing.

Over the weekend, Mahathir found himself defending his
government and family against accusations of nepotism and
cronyism. Some youth leaders at his United Malays National
Organization's annual convention demanded a debate on government
corruption.

These critics within the ruling party accused powerful
politicians of misusing an affirmative action program aimed at
helping Malays to benefit cronies by giving them lucrative
government contracts.

But Mahathir emerged more powerful from the convention, having
silenced his detractors.