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."