Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : DHAKA, BANGLADESH
Tarikh/Date : 13/02/93
Tajuk/Title : THE CIVIC RECEPTION HELD AT NORTH
PLAZA, BANGLADESH JATIYO
SANGSHAD (PARLIAMENT)
Your Excellency Begum Khaleda Zia,
Prime Minister of Bangladesh;
Excellencies;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to be in this historic city
of Dhaka again. I wish to thank Mayor Mirza Abbas for host-
ing this grand civic reception and for his kind words. It
is a great honour indeed for me to receive the key to Dhaka
city as a symbol of the close and brotherly ties that exist
between our two countries.
2. In standing before you here today, I am deeply con-
scious of the simple yet majestic Jatiyo Sangshad Building
behind me. Our gathering in the shadow of your magnificent
parliament is indeed significant in manifesting our respect
for the 'house of the people' and commitment to the princi-
ples of democracy.
3. Our two countries have a common faith in democratic and
representative government. We believe in elections and the
rights and freedom of the common man to choose leaders and
governments of his own. Through blood and tears, through
pain and frustration and, frequently, through trial and er-
ror we have evolved our own democratic systems to meet the
aspiration and the ideals of our societies.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
4. The democratic system is, however, only a means to an
end. The ultimate goal is social and political stability
for the pursuit of economic development and well-being. De-
mocracy cannot exist for the sake of democracy alone. De-
mocracy is meaningless if it fails to enhance the well-being
of the people and if turmoil and disorder becomes the way of
life. Legitimacy in government attained through the demo-
cratic process should lead to the promotion rather than the
regular disruption of legitimate social, political and eco-
nomic activities. It is essential therefore that democracy
and development in all fields go hand in hand without the
former being a liability to the latter.
5. No developing country however, could be expected to
practise the so-called 'perfect democracy', as is understood
by the West. Indeed even for the West what is perfect today
will be defective tomorrow. The basic priority should be
the rapid economic development for the benefit of the peo-
ple. Expecting developing countries to forego development
in favour of an alien concept of a perfect democracy can
lead to the actual demise of democracy itself. Exercising
absolute democratic rights should not outweigh the need for
stability and the general well-being of the people. In all
things there must be moderation and accommodation.
6. The provisions of a democratic system are no guarantee
for success. Each democratic nation therefore, big or
small, developed or developing, has still to shape its own
destiny and find its own place in the international commu-
nity. It has to live with all the strength and resources
that it has and the weaknesses that it inherits. It has to
be guided by the wisdom and vision of its leaders, the ad-
ministrative skills of its bureaucrats, the entrepreneurial
dynamism of its private sector, the discipline of its stu-
dents and workers, the loyalty of its armed forces, and most
importantly perhaps, the support of its people. Hard work
of course remains the key ingredient without which no poli-
cies, however sound, could be successfully implemented.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
7. In a world of inequitable distribution of wealth and
opportunities it is only fair to see those who are better
off giving to those in need. Many a time however, donors
can be most patronising. Worse still, donors can sometimes
be unnecessarily severe in their criticism of the policies
and practises of the recipients. It is as if the ability to
give is also a licence to preach and to arrogate to the do-
nors the right to shower advice that are not solicited.
Frustrations therefore arise on the part of the recipients
when the sheer need for aid means having to accept
conditionalities and priorities determined by the donors.
8. For this reason Malaysia has struggled hard to free it-
self of economic dependence in order to make political inde-
pendence gained in 1957 meaningful. It has not been easy or
completely successful, but then nothing that is worthwhile
is easy to come by. We accept the need to exercise self re-
strain and discipline in order to free ourselves from sub-
mission to the will of others. Independence has a price.
Nothing in this world or the next is free.
9. Malaysia believes that its strength could only come
from deep within itself including the radical mobilisation
of whatever resources it has. It has to have a clear vision
and be able to look to the future while drawing upon the
lessons of the past. It has to devise its own formula for
success bearing in mind its peculiar circumstances, histor-
ical experiences, socio-cultural condition and level of eco-
nomic development. It believes that in the final analysis
each nation has to fend for itself and that respect from
others could only be won if it can manage itself better than
when it was governed by others.
10. I believe that Bangladesh too has the same aspiration.
You now have the opportunity to strive for the good of your
people. Their voices could now be heard loud and clear
through the Jatiyo Sangshad. With the strong commitment of
a fair government and the support of its industrious and
peace-loving people, rapid development would certainly come
about.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11. Malaysia is a developing country like Bangladesh. We
feel we have much to learn from each other's experience. We
fully appreciate the many problems confronting the
Bangladeshi Government as it tackles the various impediments
including natural hazards and calamities in the process of
creating a progressive nation. Since establishing diplo-
matic relations our two countries have developed a strong
foundation for mutually beneficial collaboration in all
fields. Malaysia would continue to play its part in consul-
tation with the Bangladeshi side. I am confident that the
brotherly relations between Malaysia and Bangladesh will go
from strength to strength in the years to come.
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