Moment of glory eludes defiant Mahathir

Moment of glory eludes defiant Mahathir

By Peter Starr

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad found himself at the center of an international storm over the jailing of his ousted deputy at Tuesday's Asia-Pacific summit which should have been his moment of triumph.

Despite moves to try to keep Anwar Ibrahim out of the public eye, the focus of this year's APEC summit has shifted abruptly to the detention of ousted deputy premier following remarks by U.S Vice President Al Gore.

Speaking at a dinner Monday, Gore hailed the "brave people of Malaysia" who have been calling for democracy and saluted the "reformasi" movement launched by Anwar following his dismissal by Mahathir in September.

The outspoken remarks by Gore put the issue firmly in the spotlight as Mahathir was set to chair the sixth APEC summit and caused a diplomatic storm.

And despite reservations from other leaders, Gore found support from Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who defiantly met Anwar's wife Azizah on Monday night, and endorsed the U.S. vice president's remarks.

"As the president of a democratic country, I go along with his opinion," the Philippine leader told reporters.

The scandal surrounding Anwar's sacking and arrest had already blighted the Commonwealth Games, the first to be held in Asia, and overshadowed a state visit by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

But Mahathir brushed aside international criticism which sharpened when his former protege appeared in court with a black eye and bruises alleging he had been beaten in custody.

Mahathir has frequently asserted that foreigners are encouraging protests, which have continued since Anwar's arrest.

And Gore's remarks may encourage Mahathir's claims that foreigners are trying to "recolonize" his country, and prompted sharp rebukes from at least two Malaysian ministers.

Even as APEC ministers began their annual meeting over the weekend, Mahathir was complaining of "foreigners beginning to interfere" in Malaysia's internal affairs.

One Asian source, who asked not to be named, told AFP Gore's remarks and Malaysia's indignance reflected "cultural differences."

"It's a clash of civilizations," he said, adding that Gore's remarks would "create an anti-American feeling" in Malaysia.

"We can expect anti-American demonstrations at the US embassy tomorrow. The US move is counter-productive. It's an unnecessary fire which will fuel nationalistic feelings among Malaysians," he said.

A Kuala Lumpur-based diplomat agreed.

"All this may do is harden Mahathir's resolve," the western diplomat said. "The Anwar camp is quite jubilant at the moment. However, it may not help their cause in the longer term."

Even Malaysian supporters of Anwar's movement were reluctant to embrace Gore's speech, with opposition leader Syed Husin Ali saying it "can effectively be used by Dr. Mahathir as an opportunity to strengthen his position by whipping up the people's patriotic sentiment.

"I think in the long run it will cause considerable damage to the movement itself," the Malaysian People's Party leader said.

Among other leaders attending the APEC summit, Indonesia's President B.J. Habibie has already come out in support of Anwar.

The enthusiasm of some Asian leaders to comment on the Anwar affair follows a divisive annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila in July, where ministers failed to agree on a Thai proposal to allow members to comment on each other's affairs.

Among the first to offend his Malaysian hosts in the past few days was Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, who described Anwar as being "politically detained" after lunching with Azizah on Saturday.