Mahathir tells the West to leave Asia alone

Mahathir tells the West to leave Asia alone

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has told the west to let Asia resolve its own economic problems, warning in his new book that any economic deterioration might spark unrest.

In his book A New Deal for Asia launched here on Monday, Mahathir said it was the western countries, in particularly the United States, and not Japan, who have real leverage to overcome East Asia's economic malaise.

"If the situation in East Asia should continue to deteriorate, there is a very real danger of unrest, uprisings, the overthrow of democratically elected governments and even small-scale guerrilla wars," he warned.

Tensions among societies might see "urban guerrillas, saboteurs and modern terrorists" flourish, he said.

"The recipe to avoid such a situation is not all that complicated: allow us to revive our economies. Do not try to undermine our efforts and do not sabotage us. Do not ruthlessly devalue our currencies," he wrote.

The book is Mahathir's fourth after his highly controversial The Malay Dilemma, The Challenge and The Way Forward. The premier, who has ruled Malaysia for 18 years, stated that the key player in the global economy was not Japan but western countries, in particularly the United States.

"It is only the United States which has the combined political, economic and military clout to bring about structural changes in the present system of global finance and economic transactions," he said.

The U.S. government could outlaw speculative currency trading if they wished but this will never happen as there were "too many vested interests that will fight to maintain the status quo," he added.

In his book, Mahathir took a swipe at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which he described as "a doctor with only one pill for every illness" and ruled by a "bunch of yuppies with no sense of history of human responsibility."

"The IMF has been digging graves, both for itself and for the countries where it has been most massively involved," he said.

The premier also defended drastic capital controls he imposed in September last year, saying he decided to "take the bull by the horns" after getting no response to his calls to regulate currency speculators.

Following the curbs, capital flight was arrested, interest rates fell and reserves rose, he added. Malaysia expects 1.0 percent economic growth this year after a 6.7 percent contraction in 1998, its first in 13 years.

Mahathir, who has blamed rogue currency speculators for Asia's economic woes, wrote at length on the need to force the traders "out in the open."

"Ideally, currency trading which is purely for speculative purposes should be completely banned," he said. "If this cannot be achieved, such transactions must at least be heavily taxed and regulated."

"It must be registered and licensed in the countries where traders operate, and taxes must be paid to the countries whose currencies are being used to generate profit.

"The amount that can be traded per day should be limited and any currency should only be allowed to fluctuate within a certain margin before trading is stopped."

The Malaysian leader pleaded for a concerted and determined effort to build a "single global commonwealth of common wealth and co-prosperity."

"As we approach the third millennium, many people again see the coming of apocalypse," he said. "We must now focus not only on the end but rather on forging a new beginning."

Some 10,000 copies of the 155-page book, which focuses on rebuilding Asia after the economic turmoil, are being sold here at 25 ringgit (US$6.6) in softcover edition.

Officials said another 18,000 copies of the Japanese edition would be launched in Tokyo next week, to coincide with Mahathir's one-week visit to Japan.