Malaysia tweaks Japan and U.S. on help for Asia

Malaysia tweaks Japan and U.S. on help for Asia

TOKYO (Reuters): Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim politely tweaked Japan and the United States yesterday
for not taking a more active role in helping Asia through its
financial crisis.

Muting his barbs with such appellation as "very important
friend" and "giant, friendly neighbors", Anwar said the United
States has only recently begun a public-relations campaign to
revive confidence in Asia and he accused Japan of hiding behind
its own economic woes.

As for Asia itself, Anwar told a symposium during a two-day
trip to Tokyo that the crisis-battered region cannot avoid the
effects of the globalized financial system, but he said a
"proactive stance" is needed to preserve market order, stability
and predictability.

Advocates of globalization, he said without naming names,
often "have a specific agenda up their designer sleeves. They
extol the virtues of globalization when it serves their interest
while remaining protectionist at home. The rhetoric of
globalization has become a smokescreen in trade disputes
increasingly invoked as leverage in the WTO (World Trade
Organization) to open up markets for services."

Japan, he said, should show a firmer commitment to Asia,
warning against Tokyo using its own financial problems as an
excuse.

"We can't deny the fact that we appreciate the complexities in
the Japanese economy, but Japan must take the lead," said Anwar,
who is also finance minister and the heir apparent to Malaysia's
premiership.

Japan, despite its position as a major economy in Asia, did
not have a conspicuous presence there, Anwar said, adding that
Japan should do more in the areas of trade, globalization, access
to markets and dealing with currency turmoil.

Japan "may need to reform itself economically, politically and
administratively," he said. "The fact that Japan enjoys huge
trade surpluses with the region means that it has to open up its
market to Asia and not just to others."

Asserting that Japan cannot remain aloof to the problems of
its neighbors, Anwar told Reuters before delivering his speech
that he would discuss economic measures Japan must take both
domestically and regionally during his two-day visit to Tokyo,
which ends on Tuesday.

He said he would discuss measures for Japan to boost domestic
demand and stabilize its financial system and would urge Japan to
be more active in helping other Asian nations.

Anwar met Japanese Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga later
over dinner on Monday.

"How do you expect countries like Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia to open their economies when you have your big, giant,
friendly neighbors taking a limited option or moving in the
opposite direction?" Anwar said in his speech.

Regarding the United States, Anwar said many in Asia have felt
a sense of "major disappointment" that "an important trading
partner and a very important friend" had until recently failed to
participate actively in helping the region.

Anwar said that continued U.S. support was critical, and he
issued a vague warning that perceptions of a lack of U.S. concern
and understanding could be used by ultra-nationalists in the
region.