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.