Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : KYUSHU, JAPAN
Tarikh/Date : 21/10/94
Tajuk/Title : THE KYUSHU-ASIAN SUMMIT FOR
LOCAL AUTHORITIES
COEXISTENCE IN ASIA
My previous visits to Kyushu have all been very
enriching. I know today will not be any different. Kyushu
has several unique characteristics. Of Japan's four main
islands, Kyushu, geographically, is closest to continental
Asia. Culturally, Kyushu can also boast of being Japan's
first contact point for Asian and European civilisations.
2. Kyushu is also blessed with as uccession of strong
leaders at crucial stages of its history. Two of such
leaders who need no introduction are Prime Minister Murayama
and ex-Prime Minister Hosokawa. Prime Minister Murayama and
Mr. Hosokawa are men of great courage, who in their own
ways, are striving for a better future for Japan and for the
world.
3. Among the strong leaders from Kyushu is Governor
Morihiro Hiramatsu. What Governor Morihiro Hiramatsu has
done and is doing for Oita attests to his dynamic and
visionary leadership. He mooted the concept of 'one-
village-one-product'. He also propounded the idea of 'think
globally, act locally'. These concepts have not only served
as a model for the Japanese people but also excited the
imagination of people the world over. Indeed, today's
conference, which gathers together local government and
grass-root leaders from various parts of the world, is in
itself a manifestation of the concept of 'think globally,
act locally.'
4. I have been asked to speak on the theme of "Coexistence
in Asia". Admittedly, this is a wide-ranging topic, a
comprehensive treatment of which would not be possible in
one session like this.
5. Coexistence is imperative because the world is
shrinking. We are all closer to each other. The magic of
technology now enables us to see around the curve of the
globe, to look at events in distant lands even as they
happen. We are all neighbours and what happens to
neighbours affects us all as much as what happens to us
affects our neighbours.
6. The world is one and we are all the citizens of this
planet. As citizens we should care for each other.
7. But the fact of the matter is that we are still
divided, divided by geographical locations, by ethnic groups
and by culture. There is still a Europe which is peopled by
Europeans, there is still Africa peopled by the Africans and
in Asia there are a number of ethno-cultural groups which
differ from each other although they have certain common
traits which set them apart from Europeans and Africans.
8. What I am trying to say is that Asians are not
Europeans and Europeans cannot suddenly claim to be Asians.
It is not a question of deciding to be Asian or European or
African. It is not even a question of geographical
location. It is cultural. It is culture which
differentiates us. Unless and until we adopt the cultural
values and practices of a group any claim to belong to the
group will have no meaning.
9. Now Japan is Asian, more particularly it is East Asian.
Whether it likes or not it is geographically and culturally
Asian. Even in a shrunken world, it cannot disclaim the
facts. In any case the decision to disclaim does not lie
with Japan alone. The other party or parties have to accede
to the decision made to identify with them.
10. East Asia where Japan naturally belongs may not have a
claim on Japan. But that does not detract from the fact
that Japan belongs in East Asia, geographically and
culturally.
11. But very soon Japan is going to belong to East Asia
even economically if it is not already so. East Asia today
has the highest economic growth rate. It has, if you
include South Asia, and you must include South Asia for
South Asia is essentially of the East and is Asian; it has
almost three billion people, more than the peoples of
Europe, Africa and the Americas added together. And almost
all the three billion people are hard working and trainable
people, able to do and excel in almost any field of human
endeavour.
12. The picture is rapidly changing. Where once most of
Asia was socialist or Communist, today the economic theories
of the socialist and the Communist, if not the political
ideologies, have been abandoned. Most of Asia has become a
huge free market.
13. No country can really be rich if the people are poor.
It took the Russians 70 years to realise this. Their
leaders saw how rich the capitalist countries were. Even
workers owned luxuries such as cars, houses and electric
household appliances.
14. Unfortunately the Russian leaders assumed that all the
wealth was the result of democracy and the free-market
system. And so without any preparation they switched from
the centrally- planned state controlled economic system to
the free-market. With no private capital, entrepreneurs and
management know-how, they are now worse off than when they
were under the Communist system. All they have is high
inflation, high crime rates and general poverty.
15. To make matters worse they adopted the
multi-party democratic system, again without any
preparation. This is a perfect recipe for anarchy.
Democracy does not work unless there is a basic
understanding among the people in general, not just the
leaders, on the limits of democracy and the need to be
responsible.
16. However the socialist states in the East did not rush
into adopting the free-market and the multi-party democratic
system of Government. They introduced the free market
gradually, limiting it to certain areas only as in China.
They continue to have tight Government control. It may not
be very democratic but it is at least not anarchic. Rushing
into democracy is meaningless if all you get is anarchy.
17. People need time to manage economic freedom and the
responsibility needed in order to make it work. And when
they do they would demand and they should be given political
freedom in graduated doses. Democracy can then flower
without anarchy.
18. Because the socialist states in the East have not
rushed into political reforms blindly, their adoption of the
free-market system is more likely to succeed. And indeed we
see in China and Vietnam the high economic growth that we do
not see in the former Soviet republics and the Eastern
European countries.
19. Fortunately, also the East already has the capital and
the technology necessary for stimulating economic growth.
Even without Western capital, foreign investments from
countries like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and
even the other South East Asian countries, are sufficient to
make the liberalisation of the economy of the East Asian
socialist countries work. And the Far Eastern countries
have the right amount of technology and enterpreneural
expertise to inject into the economy of the former socialist
states. There is no doubt that the people in these
countries are learning the intricacies of the free market
system very fast.
20. Political stability and the careful adoption of the
free market system, assisted by foreign investments and
expertise will result in the rapid development of East Asian
countries. They will be joined by a less socialistic India
and other South Asian countries whose people are skilled in
trade and industry.
21. In a very short space of time East Asia, South East
Asia and South Asia will become one of the wealthiest
regions in the world, if not the wealthiest. The per capita
income may remain lower than Europe or America but the
purchasing power of three billion people will be very
considerable indeed. Without a doubt the region will become
a huge market.
22. Intra regional trade will bloom and will overtake the
trade with other regions. Even now the trade between East
and South East Asian countries together make up the biggest
proportion of their world trade. This trade will increase
in volume as India opens its doors. Investment flows
between all these countries will also grow. East Asian
multinationals will emerge from the rapidly developing
countries, helping to enhance trade, investments and the
transfer of technology.
23. Affluence will create greater demands for goods and
services. Shipping and air travel for business and pleasure
will grow rapidly. China, which only a decade ago had no
outgoing tourists, now provides East Asia with more than a
million tourists a year. Indians will soon be travelling in
massive numbers.
24. In the midst of all these lies Japan, the only Asian
developed country. It is rich in capital, it has
world-class technology and has almost unlimited
entrepreneural and management talents. Its strategy for
recovery and prosperity was based on the import of raw
materials, processing and adding value and then exporting
the finished products. In this it was helped by a generous
United States, intent on weaning Japan away from its
militarist past. Not only did the United States provide the
initial aid but it also opened its huge market to unlimited
quantities of Japanese goods. It was fully convinced that
Japanese products would never pose a threat to American
products either in America or elsewhere in the world's
market.
25. The Japanese have every reason to be grateful to the
United States. Not only were they aided and offered access
to the richest market in the world, but they need not spend
much on their own defence. The United States literally
undertook to defend Japan against all-comers. Thus
expenditure on defence was reduced to the minimum.
26. Japan's recovery and reconstruction was rapid and
complete. For several years it grew by 12 percent per annum
and became very rich. While it expected access to foreign
markets, its own market remained closed except for the raw
materials it did not have. Countries like Malaysia were
subjected to quotas and non-tariff barriers even for canned
pineapples. Manufactured products were and still are almost
entirely restricted except for those manufactured by
Japanese-owned industries located overseas. Today the trade
balance between Malaysia and Japan is very much in Japan's
favour.
27. Yen credits at low interest rates were extended to
developing countries like Malaysia. These were very welcome
indeed. But then the yen appreciated in value against the
Malaysian ringgit by 100 percent.
28. What this means is that in terms of Malaysian currency
we have to repay a 100 million Malaysian ringgit worth of
yen loan with 200 million Malaysian ringgit plus the
interest on this 200 million Malaysian ringgit. It was not
a cheap loan at all. It was very expensive.
29. We tried to renegotiate the loan in order to reduce
slightly our debt burden to Japan. We were not given even
one yen reduction.
30. The endaka was not caused by us. But we the developing
countries have to pay. Not only were our debts doubled but
the manufactured goods from Japan increased in price. We
have to pay more for all our Japanese imports.
31. On the other hand, the appreciation of the yen against
the US dollar means that in yen terms Japanese imports of
raw materials, including oil, cost much less. The yen
appreciation may make Japanese goods more costly and less
competitive against the same products from other developed
countries. The developed countries gained from this but
developing countries like Malaysia gained nothing. As the
yen has now appreciated by another 50 percent our losses
have increased. Malaysia has decided not to borrow any more
yen.
32. Japan owes the United States a great debt of gratitude.
I think Japan should always remember this and be loyal to
the United States. But Japan also owes East Asia and South
East Asia a great debt.
33. I do not want to rake up the past. The Japanese
conquest and occupation of the countries of East and South
East Asia and the atrocities committed then should be
forgotten. We should think of the future.
34. That was why I told Speaker Doi and Prime Minister
Murayama that I do not think Japan should continue to
apologise for her past dark deeds. I do not see the German
or Italian leaders making the rounds of European and African
countries or Israel to apologise for what they did during
the war. Not only do they not apologise but they roundly
criticise and condemn some of these countries for human
rights violation, etc. They who had committed crimes
against humanity now stand in judgement over their former
victims. Why then should every Japanese Prime Minister go
round to apologise?
35. That is why I say as much as Japan owes the United
States, Japan owes the East and South East Asian countries
more, not just for the past but for the present also. We
do not need apologies. What we need is your cooperation and
your help to develop us.
36. We called for the formation of the East Asia Economic
Caucus (EAEC) in order to enable us to discuss common issues
and to help the least developed among us to reconstruct.
The EAEC is not a trade bloc, not a free trade area or a
customs union. We have explained often enough that it is a
forum, a talk shop, for discussions only. We are not going
to mount a trade offensive against anyone. We merely want
to have a fair say in world trade affairs. We do not want
to be brushed aside as we are now, when we talk as
individual countries about our problems in world fora.
37. We are merely asking that Japan join the EAEC; Japan,
the only developed country in East Asia, the only developed
country that is not European. We are disappointed when
Japanese officials asked us to explain and explain all over
again what the EAEC is all about. Even those officials who
have served for years in South East Asia claim that they do
not know about the EAEC.
38. We are saddened by this. The only Asian country with
the ability to help fellow Asian countries refuses to do so
but instead demand to know why America is not included, why
Australia and New Zealand are not included? The answer is
obvious. They are not East Asian. We would like to be a
member of the European Union, but we are not eligible. We
would like to belong to NAFTA but we are not part of North
America. Why are people who are not Asian and in East Asia
supposed to have a right to be members of an East Asian
Organisation?
39. Are we being racist? If we are then the Europeans with
their European Union and the Americans with their NAFTA must
be more racist. We want only one Trade Zone and that is the
whole world. The EAEC will not trade only with itself. It
will not give trade privileges to its members. It only
wants a forum to discuss common problems, to solve them and
to share development expertise together. Is it so wrong for
the nations of East Asia to want to prosper? Is it so wrong
for us to look up to Japan as a model and as a leader?
40. Japan is Asian. Japan is of East Asia. You cannot run
from this geo-cultural fact. You belong here.
41. We are not asking you to aid us. We are asking you to
be a leader in this region. We are asking you to join us
and play a leading role. You have the stature and the
means.
42. The EAEC is not the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity
Sphere that you promoted during the Second World War -- the
Pacific War. It is not your invention. It is not your
creation. It is the brainchild of South East Asia. We
would not propose it if we think you are going to dominate
us. We know that Japan has foresworn war and military
adventures. We merely want you to be our partner, to be our
equal but to be also the first among equals.
43. It is a small request. While you think of the help you
have received from others, think also of us in East Asia, in
South East Asia where you test the marketability of your
products. As much as others have a claim, we in East Asia
also have a claim on you. So please recognise that claim.
44. I did not ask Mr. Murayama not to apologise because I
want something from Japan. In fact, when I dismiss the need
to apologise I also told him that Malaysia does not want the
Yen loan Japan was offering. I speak frankly and sincerely.
Japan will not be foresaking America by joining the EAEC.
America's fear of the EAEC is without basis. With Japan in
EAEC you can ensure that we will not make any anti-American
decision or policies. You can play a pivotal role. If you
really wish to make amends for your past, this is your
chance. If you think that we should coexist then the EAEC
is a step towards coexistence, towards mutual help, towards
closer and more meaningful relations among East Asians.