Mahathir warns the West of Asian power

Mahathir warns the West of Asian power

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AFP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has warned western developed nations that rapidly- developing Asia could be pushed into one united powerful and defiant grouping if bullied by the West.

"If there is to be no confrontation, if there is to be a smart partnership between Asia and the West, the foundations must be laid now," he told some 130 international corporate leaders gathered in this northern island resort for a business forum late Wednesday.

Nations, companies and individuals should really strive for partnerships which benefit both instead of one at the expense of the other, said Mahathir at the two-day historic dialogue he had initiated to boost global trade.

Investments by companies from developed countries in developing countries can be considered a form of smart partnership, Mahathir said, as he called for greater international collaboration between industries.

"By adopting an unfriendly attitude towards each of the countries of Asia, the West is unnecessarily antagonizing them and pushing them together," he said.

"Singly they are already a handful, but united they will be beyond handling," warned Mahathir, who has been a constant critic of western practices and values.

While apologizing for his frankness, Mahathir stressed that it would, however, be globally counterproductive if Asia's emergence as a powerful economic region resulted in a confrontation with the rest of the world.

"Imagine a trade bloc consisting of Japan, the world's second biggest economy, China with 1.2 billion people and has the potential for being the world's most powerful economy, together with Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, " Mahathir envisioned.

"With almost two billion hard working and skillful people and the capacity to make full use of modern technology, the confrontational potential is frightening. It will totally dominate the world," Mahathir warned.

Taking a swipe at the United States and Europe for using what he termed was a "Beggar thy neighbor" policy when trading with Japan, Mahathir said they had to render Japanese products uncompetitive to maintain their "profligate ways."

Mahathir charged that the West had forced the yen up by rendering Japanese products uncompetitive as the developed nations were unwilling to make sacrifices.

The dialogue was organized by the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management (CPTM) and its sister organization, the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT).

The CPTM counts the 51 Commonwealth governments and more than 25 private corporations as its members. while MIGHT is made up of Malaysian government bodies and 60 top companies.