Mahathir to keep his word: Analysts

Mahathir to keep his word: Analysts

By Barani Krishnaan

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is criss- crossing Malaysia dangling promises the opposition claims are only meant to win votes in upcoming polls, but analysts say the economy is strong enough for him to deliver the goods.

With voting for the ninth general elections six days away, Mahathir has been visiting up to two of Malaysia's 13 states in a day, making promises ranging from the building of a university to creating the world's biggest financial center.

Opposition parties scoff at the pledges but analysts believe the 70-year-old premier, who is widely credited with transforming Malaysia into an industrial dynamo from an agricultural backwater in his 14-year rule, could deliver on most of the promises.

"There are certain things he can do and certain things he can't, but most are within his reach," said Chandra Muzaffar, a political analyst who has monitored Mahathir and the country's progress for over two decades.

Spearheaded by a booming manufacturing sector and strong investment inflow, the economy has been growing robustly under Mahathir's rule, averaging eight percent a year since 1987.

Growth is projected at 8.9 percent this year, up from 8.7 percent last year.

Mahathir has pledged to set up a university in the northeastern Kelantan state, where chances of his National Front wresting power from the fundamentalist Parti Islam (PAS) are nil, according to political pundits.

"If we return to power, we will make sure that Kelantan is at the forefront of development," Mahathir promised at a rally in the sole opposition-led state, where he also announced plans to build more industries and infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Mahathir said he would strive to turn the Labuan island, still a fledgling offshore financial center off the eastern Sabah state, into the biggest monetary center of its kind in the world.

Mahathir reasoned this was possible with the anticipated exodus of financial institutions from Hong Kong after its return to Chinese rule in 1997.

In its election manifesto last week, the National Front promised to improve development throughout Malaysia and enhance industrialization, financial management and quality of life, while preserving peace and religious freedom.

The party pledged to maintain an average economic growth of seven percent for the next 25 years, double per capita income every 10 years to 16,000 dollars by 2020, and reduce taxes and government fees.

"Our pledges are reasonable unlike the opposition, who make all sorts of promises," Mahathir said.

Opposition politicians, however, said Mahathir was just harping on the economic boom to entice voters while using draconian laws to suppress democracy.

"Malaysia's progress is not purely a result of the National Front. It is because we are situated in a rapidly developing region," said Razaleigh Hamzah, a former minister and now political foe. He is the president of the opposition Parti Semangat Melayu 46.

Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general of Malaysia's largest opposition, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), charged the country was now "less democratic" than before independence in 1957 owing to laws which suppress information and provide for detention without trial.

As though to lend credence to Lim, Mahathir warned Wednesday the government would not hesitate to arrest him if he went against the law while campaigning in the polls.

Mahathir has also told voters in northern Penang, a wealthy state and strong base for the DAP, that they could not expect the same cosy ties with the National Front if they voted his party out.

"If you decide to change your government and have a different form of government, everything will come to a stop. Penang will be finished," Mahathir said.