Mahathir credited and criticized
By Rafael D. Frankel, Globe Correspondent
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - He has been described as an Islamic leader who fights Islamic fundamentalism, as a critic of the West who emulates Western
development, and as a strongman who espouses democracy.
For 22 years, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has confounded critics and delighted supporters with such contradictions. That duality frames the legacy he leaves as he hands over power to his deputy today, according to diplomats, politicians, and analysts here and in Bangkok.
Mahathir, 77, is known for speaking his mind, regardless of whom it might offend, but also for helping to modernize Malaysia.
"Mahathir is a visionary, no doubt about it," said Steven Gan, editor of an opposition-leaning Malaysian news Web page. "But he has a Machiavellian streak in him, and in the process of taking us from where we were to where we are economically, he has destroyed some of the institutions we cherish most like independent courts and police and a free press."
Even his detractors say that the economy under Mahathir's prodding is a success story, as this bustling capital attests. Kuala Lumpur boasts three modern rail systems and the soaring twin Petronas Towers, until recently the world's tallest buildings.
In 1981, when Mahathir took the reins, tin mines and rubber plantations operated a mile outside the city center. He aggressively pursued direct foreign investment, especially in information technology. The industrial component of the country's economic output doubled under Mahathir, from 19 percent to 38 percent.
While he has courted their investment, Mahathir also has alienated many Westerners with frequent anti-Western rants.
Outspoken to the last, he accused Western countries last week of "economic terrorism," saying their trading practices had hurt and killed people in the developing world in the same manner as terrorists had killed innocent people in the developed world.
Such rhetoric has elevated Dr. M, as the trained physician is affectionately known here, to hero status among many Malaysians and throughout much of the developing world.
"He is recognized as someone who speaks for the Third World, and is not afraid to take on the world powers in the West," said Ong Kian Ming, a policy analyst for the main ethnic Chinese party in Malaysia's governing coalition. "He has made a lot of people in this part of the world feel proud."
In the same way, speeches roundly condemned in the West as dangerously anti-Semitic have won him praise in the Muslim world. On Oct. 16, he received a standing ovation from delegates of the Organization of Islamic Countries when he said, "The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy."
His speech to the organization also assailed Muslims who resort to violence, saying that 50 years of fighting Israel had only worsened conditions for Palestinians.
But he stirred further controversy yesterday, when he was asked at a news conference if he had a parting message for Jews.
"They must never claim they are the chosen people who cannot be criticized at all," Mahathir said.
"We sympathize with them. We were very sad to see how the Jews were so ill-treated by the Europeans," he said. "The Muslims have never ill-treated the Jews, but now they [Jews] are behaving exactly in the way the Europeans behaved toward them against the Muslims," referring to the way Israel treats Palestinians.
At home, Mahathir has come under criticism for overseeing curbs on free press and freedom of assembly. Journalists and opposition politicians have been jailed. Police raided Gan's offices in February after his website, Malaysiakini.com, published a letter criticizing government policies.
Sankara Nair, the lawyer for the deposed deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, accused Mahathir of "raping the judiciary" in favor of his own career. The leader is "a puppet master behind what are supposed to be independent courts," Nair said.
Anwar was arrested and convicted of sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he lost a power struggle with Mahathir, who had once picked Anwar as his successor. He remains incarcerated.
"The tragedy of Mahathir is the erosion of freedom of thought and democracy," said Wan Azizah, Anwar's wife and the head of an opposition party formed by her husband before his arrest. "You shouldn't just build physical structures, you should enhance civilization and human development."
Mahathir himself told reporters in Bangkok recently that "democracy is not a monopoly of certain countries. It is open for interpretation. . . . When you force democracy on some countries that have never known it, it can cause anarchy," he said, alluding to the current situation in Iraq.
Since Sep. 11, 2001, Mahathir's interpretation of democracy was largely accepted, if not condoned, by the White House. The Bush administration held up Malaysia as the kind of secular Islamic state it wants to see more of.
When Malaysia shared intelligence with the United States and arrested Al Qaeda suspects, the White House ceased its criticism of Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which Mahathir has used to indefinitely detain alleged militants and political opponents without charging them. The human rights group Amnesty International estimates 200 people are currently in detention under the act.
Still, "[Mahathir] has done what he needs to do for his country," said one Asian diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mahathir has been given credit for keeping the peace between Malaysia's many ethnic communities. Ethnic Malays account for about half of the population, with ethnic Chinese around 25 percent, Indians at 8 percent, and indigenous people the remainder.
©2003 Globe Newspaper Company
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Strides on North Korea, Iraq at forum
US-China ties gain; reconstruction aid gathers support
By Rafael D. Frankel, Globe Correspondent
BANGKOK - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum ended yesterday with calls for jump-starting world trade, but the most significant developments occurred on the sidelines of the summit in discussions on North Korea and Iraq.
Separate meetings in Bangkok between President Bush and Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, produced new momentum in dealing with North Korea's nuclear program.
At the meeting, Bush offered multilateral security assurances for North Korea in exchange for nuclear disarmament. Last night, Pyongyang insisted that it wanted a bilateral agreement with the United States.
Bush was successful in persuading some APEC members to contribute aid to rebuild Iraq, ahead of a donors' conference that begins tomorrow in Madrid. Both South Korea and Japan have said they would donate money, and other APEC countries such as New Zealand also appeared supportive.
In a visit to Singapore yesterday, Bush stressed regional cooperation in the war on terrorism. Today he goes to Bali, Indonesia, the site of a terrorist attack in October 2002 that killed 202 people.
Although ostensibly dedicated to economics, the 21-nation APEC summit was dominated this year by security and terrorism issues.
"There is broad agreement within APEC that economics and security now go hand in hand," a senior US official said Monday.
In a final four-page statement, the leaders emphasized their collective belief that last month's World Trade Organization conference in Cancun, Mexico, represented a missed opportunity to further multilateral trade. The talks collapsed amid disputes between poor and wealthy nations.
Throughout the meetings, a growing partnership was on display between the United States and China, a sign of improving US-China relations two years after a diplomatic tussle over the fatal collision of a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet.
Relations between the two nations have improved to the point that US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell twice referred to "our Chinese friends" in a speech Monday to APEC delegates.
"In the past 2 1/2 years, we have worked to achieve a candid, constructive, and strong relationship of the kind that might not have been imaginable just a few years ago," Powell said.
After meeting with Hu, Bush said the two had a "very constructive dialogue," and thanked the Chinese leader for his help on North Korea.
Hu also referred to the Chinese-US relationship as "constructive and cooperative" and said their two meetings this year represent "the very sound momentum of the development of our bilateral relations."
China, however, remains wary of American support for Taiwan, and the United States would very much like to see the Chinese re value their currency, which is kept artificially low.
"It is a sign of a mature relationship between two nations where you don't hold one issue hostage to another issue," Powell said Monday.
Though the United States was not directly involved, momentum also appeared to build toward resolving the political deadlock in Burma, where the military government is holding democracy leaders under house arrest.
©2003 Globe Newspaper Company
By Rafael D. Frankel, Globe Correspondent
BANGKOK - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum ended yesterday with calls for jump-starting world trade, but the most significant developments occurred on the sidelines of the summit in discussions on North Korea and Iraq.
Separate meetings in Bangkok between President Bush and Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, produced new momentum in dealing with North Korea's nuclear program.
At the meeting, Bush offered multilateral security assurances for North Korea in exchange for nuclear disarmament. Last night, Pyongyang insisted that it wanted a bilateral agreement with the United States.
Bush was successful in persuading some APEC members to contribute aid to rebuild Iraq, ahead of a donors' conference that begins tomorrow in Madrid. Both South Korea and Japan have said they would donate money, and other APEC countries such as New Zealand also appeared supportive.
In a visit to Singapore yesterday, Bush stressed regional cooperation in the war on terrorism. Today he goes to Bali, Indonesia, the site of a terrorist attack in October 2002 that killed 202 people.
Although ostensibly dedicated to economics, the 21-nation APEC summit was dominated this year by security and terrorism issues.
"There is broad agreement within APEC that economics and security now go hand in hand," a senior US official said Monday.
In a final four-page statement, the leaders emphasized their collective belief that last month's World Trade Organization conference in Cancun, Mexico, represented a missed opportunity to further multilateral trade. The talks collapsed amid disputes between poor and wealthy nations.
Throughout the meetings, a growing partnership was on display between the United States and China, a sign of improving US-China relations two years after a diplomatic tussle over the fatal collision of a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet.
Relations between the two nations have improved to the point that US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell twice referred to "our Chinese friends" in a speech Monday to APEC delegates.
"In the past 2 1/2 years, we have worked to achieve a candid, constructive, and strong relationship of the kind that might not have been imaginable just a few years ago," Powell said.
After meeting with Hu, Bush said the two had a "very constructive dialogue," and thanked the Chinese leader for his help on North Korea.
Hu also referred to the Chinese-US relationship as "constructive and cooperative" and said their two meetings this year represent "the very sound momentum of the development of our bilateral relations."
China, however, remains wary of American support for Taiwan, and the United States would very much like to see the Chinese re value their currency, which is kept artificially low.
"It is a sign of a mature relationship between two nations where you don't hold one issue hostage to another issue," Powell said Monday.
Though the United States was not directly involved, momentum also appeared to build toward resolving the political deadlock in Burma, where the military government is holding democracy leaders under house arrest.
©2003 Globe Newspaper Company
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Bangkok readies for economic summit
By Rafael D. Frankel, Globe Correspondent, 10/19/2003
BANGKOK -- It's not every city that has to issue an order for elephants to stay off the streets. But this freewheeling metropolis has done just that amid preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting this week.
Leaders from 21 countries will convene in Bangkok tomorrow and Tuesday. President Bush, who arrived in Thailand late yesterday, will be on hand as the heads of state discuss improving cooperation on counterterrorism and security issues, and expanding economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Even before the meetings began, some Pacific Rim ministers expressed reservations yesterday about a US drive to put the fight against terror on an equal footing with economic issues. Still, the foreign ministers agreed to a US proposal that would impose new limits on the production, export, and brokering of shoulder-fired antiaircraft rockets, which are capable of bringing down airplanes.
Reports surfaced this month that 10 such missiles were smuggled into Thailand from Cambodia, setting Thai police on a fruitless search for the weapons.
Security precautions have been stepped up amid fears that the forum represents a high-profile terrorist target in a region of the world where terrorists have struck repeatedly in the past few years.
Twenty-thousand Thai police and separate contingents of security forces from each member country are assigned to protect the heads of state and their envoys. An American security official in Thailand said 1,000 US security agents would be in Bangkok to protect Bush, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, and the 500 staff and 200 media members accompanying them.
Meanwhile, the Thai government has gone to great lengths -- some say too far -- to beautify Bangkok for the conference and discourage protests.
Among the more controversial moves was the deportation of more than 600 Cambodian beggars from Bangkok. They were flown back to Phnom Penh by Thailand two weeks ago and told they faced arrest if they returned.
In addition to the warning about elephants, which are seen often on the streets, the government also shipped off thousands of homeless people and thousands of stray dogs from Bangkok for the duration of the meeting. The homeless are being put up at army camps, while the dogs were sent to northern Thailand.
At Phantip Plaza, a five-story mall known for carrying the best selection of pirated software, music, and videos, the same vendors who two weeks ago sold the contraband are now hawking Thai beer, T-shirts, and trinkets.
But security has received the most attention. Although no terrorist attacks have occurred in Thailand, as they have in Indonesia and the Philippines, high-profile terrorists have infiltrated this predominantly Buddhist country of 60 million people.
Al Qaeda's suspected chief of operations for Southeast Asia, Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, was caught an hour north of Bangkok in August in a joint US-Thai operation. In June, a sting operation in Bangkok captured a suspect accused of trying to sell radioactive material fit for use in a so-called dirty bomb.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra issued an order banning demonstrations during the forum but has retreated somewhat by allowing peaceful, approved protests. He has threatened "long and painful consequences" for groups that cause trouble. Thai embassies around the world have been collecting information on certain groups for months to determine who to blacklist from travel visas, singling out groups that have protested against governments of APEC member states and Thailand's neighbors. The groups include Falun Gong sect members and prodemocracy activists from Burma.
But local human rights groups said they will hold protests against free-trade policies and against Bush over the Iraq war.
"Our position is that the people have the right to peaceful assembly and the right to express their concerns," said Somchai Homlaor, secretary general of the pan-Asian human rights group Forum Asia. "I don't think the government has the power to prohibit that; it's a right under our constitution and under international law."
Along the sidelines of the APEC meeting, Bush is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of China, South Korea, and Mexico. The encounter with President Hu Jintao of China will be the first ever face-to-face between the two since Hu assumed the post. They are expected to discuss efforts to dissuade North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and the possible revaluation of the Chinese currency.
©2003 Globe Newspaper Company
BANGKOK -- It's not every city that has to issue an order for elephants to stay off the streets. But this freewheeling metropolis has done just that amid preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting this week.
Leaders from 21 countries will convene in Bangkok tomorrow and Tuesday. President Bush, who arrived in Thailand late yesterday, will be on hand as the heads of state discuss improving cooperation on counterterrorism and security issues, and expanding economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Even before the meetings began, some Pacific Rim ministers expressed reservations yesterday about a US drive to put the fight against terror on an equal footing with economic issues. Still, the foreign ministers agreed to a US proposal that would impose new limits on the production, export, and brokering of shoulder-fired antiaircraft rockets, which are capable of bringing down airplanes.
Reports surfaced this month that 10 such missiles were smuggled into Thailand from Cambodia, setting Thai police on a fruitless search for the weapons.
Security precautions have been stepped up amid fears that the forum represents a high-profile terrorist target in a region of the world where terrorists have struck repeatedly in the past few years.
Twenty-thousand Thai police and separate contingents of security forces from each member country are assigned to protect the heads of state and their envoys. An American security official in Thailand said 1,000 US security agents would be in Bangkok to protect Bush, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, and the 500 staff and 200 media members accompanying them.
Meanwhile, the Thai government has gone to great lengths -- some say too far -- to beautify Bangkok for the conference and discourage protests.
Among the more controversial moves was the deportation of more than 600 Cambodian beggars from Bangkok. They were flown back to Phnom Penh by Thailand two weeks ago and told they faced arrest if they returned.
In addition to the warning about elephants, which are seen often on the streets, the government also shipped off thousands of homeless people and thousands of stray dogs from Bangkok for the duration of the meeting. The homeless are being put up at army camps, while the dogs were sent to northern Thailand.
At Phantip Plaza, a five-story mall known for carrying the best selection of pirated software, music, and videos, the same vendors who two weeks ago sold the contraband are now hawking Thai beer, T-shirts, and trinkets.
But security has received the most attention. Although no terrorist attacks have occurred in Thailand, as they have in Indonesia and the Philippines, high-profile terrorists have infiltrated this predominantly Buddhist country of 60 million people.
Al Qaeda's suspected chief of operations for Southeast Asia, Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, was caught an hour north of Bangkok in August in a joint US-Thai operation. In June, a sting operation in Bangkok captured a suspect accused of trying to sell radioactive material fit for use in a so-called dirty bomb.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra issued an order banning demonstrations during the forum but has retreated somewhat by allowing peaceful, approved protests. He has threatened "long and painful consequences" for groups that cause trouble. Thai embassies around the world have been collecting information on certain groups for months to determine who to blacklist from travel visas, singling out groups that have protested against governments of APEC member states and Thailand's neighbors. The groups include Falun Gong sect members and prodemocracy activists from Burma.
But local human rights groups said they will hold protests against free-trade policies and against Bush over the Iraq war.
"Our position is that the people have the right to peaceful assembly and the right to express their concerns," said Somchai Homlaor, secretary general of the pan-Asian human rights group Forum Asia. "I don't think the government has the power to prohibit that; it's a right under our constitution and under international law."
Along the sidelines of the APEC meeting, Bush is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of China, South Korea, and Mexico. The encounter with President Hu Jintao of China will be the first ever face-to-face between the two since Hu assumed the post. They are expected to discuss efforts to dissuade North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and the possible revaluation of the Chinese currency.
©2003 Globe Newspaper Company