That old Malay magic
UNITED NATIONS — It was déjà vu all over again as the adage goes. A return to the jaded slogans of the 1970’s or 1980’s when Third World leaders addressing the UN General Assembly brought with them a fanciful hit list of the West’s wrongdoings. So when Malaysia’s mercurial Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad spoke before the General Assembly, everybody fastened their seat belts for the rhetorical roller coaster ride down memory lane.
The warm up was clever, “We the small nations have much to be grateful for. From being the colonies of the Europeans we are now independent, and we are granted membership of the United Nations with the right to speak, albeit with proper restraint and decorum at this august assembly.”
Dr. Mahathir continued “Today we are seeing the resurgence of European Imperialism At first we thought the colonization would be virtual. Merely by economic strangulation and financial emasculation, the newly independent countries would be brought to their knees…but today we are actually faced by the old physical occupation by foreign forces. Puppet regimes are installed, dancing as puppets do.”
Speaking of the UN, ”This Organization is today collapsing on its clay feet, helpless to protect the weak and the poor. This United Nations can just be ignored, pushed aside.”
“The world has lost its way,” he continued ,”Now the Cold War is over but the resultant unipolar world and the ascendancy of capitalism have brought about new threats. No country is safe from marauding currency traders who in a few days can demolish the patiently nurtured economies of the developing world. Far from curbing these highway brigands, they are lauded for their philanthropy. Robin Hood at least stole from the rich to give to the poor. These highway men steal from the poor and give a paltry sum to assuage their sense of guilt.”
Mahathir brimmed when he told the press he was glad the recent Cancun global trade talks had collapsed. In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian economic crisis, the Malay Premier lashed out at a wide range of issues from bankers to Israel as being responsible for his nation’s malaise. He cautioned, “Don’t take advice from the IMF!”
As one would imagine, his harshest shots were thinly veiled slams at the US, “The unipolar world dominated by a democratic nation, is leading the world to economic chaos, political anarchy, uncertainty, and fear.”
His solution includes expansion of the UN Security Council and as importantly, a way to deal with the single veto power which can block resolutions.
Needless to say, Mahathir is highly critical of the Iraq operation and warned that there had never been an instance when the UN had been totally ignored. This of course supported what he views as a wider domination of the UN by the major powers.
All of this may sound pedantic but Dr. Mahathir was hardly the predictable political radical. During the 1980’s Mahathir was the poster boy, if you will, of what the West liked; a tough, no nonsense, moderate Muslim, pro-business politician who literally worked magic turning the once resource-dominated Malaysian economy into a diversified high tech powerhouse. On the business and investment front, there was a time when it seemed Mahathir could do no wrong—he was the darling of foreign investors who transformed his multi-ethnic nation into one of Southeast Asia’s Tiger economies.
During the 1990’s for example Malaysia’s economic growth regularly topped 8% until the regional economic crisis in 1997; foreign investment inflows were and are still impressive. Trade with, and investment from the U.S. played a key role in the development.
Sadly now at 77, he has slipped into the crackpot world of conspiracies and cabals.
Yet after twenty-two years in power, Mahathir’s increasingly authoritarian and eccentric rule will be coming to an end in November — he quipped with correspondents that he is the “only dictator about to resign.” Hopefully.
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.
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