Mahathir steals Summit spotlight

Mahathir steals Summit spotlight

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

The retiring Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has
dominated the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN)
summit, revealing his seniority and statesmanship in his last
public appearance at the regional forum.

When asked whether the fate of former Indonesian president
Soeharto, who was deposed from office in disgrace, overshadowed
his decision to quit the leadership, he said: "I don't want to
stick around until the people kick me out."

He expressed his confidence that ASEAN would continue to grow
even after his departure.

"ASEAN will make progress whether I am around or not, I do not
think that it will make a difference. ASEAN has a collective
thinking, they know where they are going and they will make
progress," the prime minister remarked.

"ASEAN has seen many changes of leader and it will not affect
ASEAN policy or its progress ... people do not know how big
Southeast Asia is," he added.

The senior leader noted that many achievements had been made
by ASEAN and he considered this week's summit to be one of the
most successful as it had managed to secure many new agreements
for security and prosperity in the region.

Mahathir defended the softer stance that the regional grouping
took on the Myanmar issue, saying that pressuring the military-
ruled country would not do any good for the people of Myanmar.

"We have to be patient because when we impose sanctions we are
punishing the people. We are depriving them of medicines, etc.
Democracy should not be imposed," Mahathir said.

"We would like to see, of course, Myanmar move towards
democracy, but we also understand the problems faced by Myanmar.
There are hundreds of differing ethnic groups, many of the people
are armed and they are used to fighting against the government,"
Mahathir said.

The ninth ASEAN Summit in Bali is his last official appearance
as Malaysian prime minister at a regional grouping event as he is
slated to resign later this month after 22 years leading the
majority Muslim country.

Earlier, Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri as the
chairperson of the regional grouping delivered a tearful farewell
speech to the senior leader and presented a token of gratitude
from his ASEAN colleagues.

At the press conference, Mahathir also called on Asian
countries to fight for their rights to determine their own
beliefs and stop being dependent on superpower countries such as
the United States.

"It is up to us whether we are going to allow them (to occupy
us)," Mahathir said. As expected, his retirement plans have done
little to tame his acerbic tongue, and he lashed out at Australia
for seeking to be one of the dialog partners of the regional
grouping, along with China, Japan, South Korea and India.

"Australia has make known to the world that they are America's
deputy sheriff in Asia. It is very difficult to get along with
the deputy sheriff, when he is looking over your shoulder," the
prime minister remarked, when asked about the chances of
Australia joining ASEAN summits.

"Australia must decide whether they are Europe, America or
Asia. If they are Asian then there is no problem, but as far as I
am concerned they are not Asian," he said commenting on the
Australian request.

"It was the Australians (who) distinguished us by race, not
we. If they think of themselves as Asian, they will not be
critical of other nations ... but of course by the end of this
month I will not be around anymore, people will change their
minds," Mahathir added.

He said that he would enjoy his retirement by visiting many
beautiful places around the world. However, he also issued a
warning: "Many people will continue hearing me making nasty
comments about other countries."