Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	THE PALACE OF THE GOLDEN HORSES SG. 
			BESI, KUALA LUMPUR 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	12/01/98 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE 4TH PACIFIC DIALOGUE 



  1.    First  of  all  I would like to bid  you  welcome  to
  Malaysia,  to this 4th Pacific Dialogue.  Malaysia  is  not
  quite  what it was when you last met here.  The economy  is
  not  doing so well.  We have lost a lot of whatever due  to
  the  currency  turmoil  in East Asia.   We  are  no  longer
  growing at eight percent per annum as we had been doing  in
  the  last  nine years before 1997.  But these minor  things
  are  not  going  to affect our hospitality to  our  guests,
  something  that is a part of our tradition.   A  good  host
  would  rather  deny himself than deny his  guests.   And  I
  believe Malaysians are still good hosts.
  
  2.    However we are in the midst of our month of  fasting.
  In  the  month of Ramadan Muslims do not eat  or  drink  or
  even  think bad thoughts from sunrise to sundown. Malaysian
  Muslims  are not fanatical.  Certainly we are not extremist
  terrorists given to killing foreign tourists.   But  we  do
  take  our  fast seriously.  Even if we are not fasting  for
  whatever  reason, we do not eat in public.  We are  however
  considerate  of our non-Muslim brothers and  guests.   They
  may  eat  and  if they wish to, can think evil thoughts  as
  usual.   So  if Muslims don't join you in your lunches  and
  teas,  it is not that they mean to be rude.  You will  find
  however that Malaysian hotels and restaurants serve  lavish
  breaking of the fast spread to which all,  Muslims and non-
  Muslims,  are  welcome to partake.  Still  many  Malaysians
  are  not Muslims and they do not fast.  They can join  you.
  That  way Malaysian hospitality would be sustained even  in
  the fasting month.
  
  3.    You  have come here to discuss the affairs of Pacific
  neighbours, the countries and the peoples on the shores  of
  the  Pacific.  The aim I believe is to create understanding
  about  each other and among each other.  As we rush towards
  the  twenty-first century we want to see a better world and
  the   Pacific  Ocean,  the  divide  which  unites,  is   an
  important  part  of that world.  It is important  that  the
  peoples  of the Pacific make their contribution to building
  that better world.
  
  4.     At  the  moment  the  economic  performance  of  the
  countries  on  the  West Coast of the  Pacific  is  not  so
  great.  I am sure you will be discussing about how to  make
  it  great  again,  to restore the confidence  which  is  so
  essential  for  market  forces  to  react  positively   and
  constructively.   I  don't have much to contribute  towards
  the  restoration.  It seems that I tend to get in  the  way
  of   the  restoration.  So I will not say  much  about  the
  economy  and the finances.  I will be listening and waiting
  for your views and suggestions.
  
  5.    Other  than  this little problem  Malaysia  is  doing
  well,  bearing  up well under the strain.  We  have  always
  prided  ourselves in our rationality and our  unity.   Ever
  since  independence we, a fairly evenly  mixed  multiracial
  society,   have  been  able  to  stay  and  work   together
  remarkably well.  It has not always been easy of course.
  
  6.    In  1969 we had racial riots and people were actually
  killed  in  the  streets of Kuala Lumpur.  People  expected
  the  riots to recur periodically.  But there has  not  been
  one  since  that  1969 incident.  We have emerged  from  it
  more  conscious of the damage it can do to us and the  need
  to  avoid  it.   Since  then we have  become  more  united,
  always   having   Governments  in  which  every   race   is
  represented.
  
  7.    Malaysia  has managed to be democratic without  being
  unstable.   We believe that elections should determine  who
  should form the Government.  Once elections have done  that
  we  do  not try to topple Governments half-way through  the
  statutory  period  by  street  demonstrations  and  general
  strikes,  democratic though these may  be.   We  allow  the
  Governments to stay in power.  The Governments have  always
  been  conscious  that  their re-election  would  depend  on
  their  performance.  And so they seriously try  to  fulfill
  their  promises,  developing  the  country,  providing  the
  necessary  infrastructures and attending to the welfare  of
  the people.
  
  8.    They  must have succeeded for they keep on being  re-
  elected  again and again, embarrassingly.  Some say  it  is
  undemocratic  not to change Governments at every  election.
  We  say  it  is undemocratic not to let people  make  their
  choice.   If  they choose to return the same Government  it
  is  their  democratic right.  It is also  their  democratic
  right  to elect a substantial number of opposition  members
  and ensure lively debates.
  
  9.    And  so today more or less the same party  rules.   I
  say  more  or  less because although the policies  are  the
  same,  the styles may be radically different.  Nevertheless
  all  Malaysian Governments since independence in 1957  have
  concentrated on developing the country, every part  of  the
  country, the rural as well as the urban.
  
  10.   In  international affairs Malaysia  has  adopted  the
  universal  policy  of  'prospering thy neighbour'.   We  do
  not  believe in zero sum games in which your opponents must
  lose  if  you are to win.  Certainly we are not  interested
  in  destroying our competitors so that we can have a  small
  piece  of what they have.  We believe in a win- win formula
  in which we gain and our partners gain as well.
  
  11.   In our experience 'prospering thy neighbour', as  the
  policy  is  usually  described as,  results  in  prospering
  yourself.   When  we  were  a  two-commodity  country   the
  foreigners came to invest in manufacturing industries.   We
  didn't  believe we could manufacture anything except wooden
  clogs.    But   the  foreigners  taught   us   to   produce
  sophisticated electronic goods for export.
  
  12.  As a result of the industrialisation by foreigners  we
  prospered  and were able to buy a lot of things from  other
  countries.  The foreigners benefitted because we  bought  a
  lot  of their products.  In other words in return for their
  help  in  prospering  us we helped in  prospering  them  by
  being a good market for them.
  
  13.   On  the  other  hand  when  Vietnam  was  trying   to
  stabilise  after  the  country  was  reunified  a  lot   of
  Vietnamese decided to migrate.  The country was  very  poor
  and  the  migrants were actually economic  refugees.   They
  landed  in  Malaysia because we are so near.  We could  not
  provide  them with permanent asylum and had to arrange  for
  them  to  be sent to more hospitable countries like Europe,
  the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
  
  14.   Still  we were not able to resettle all  of  them  in
  third countries.
  
  15.   To  resolve the problem we worked with the Vietnamese
  to  help  them rehabilitate the country.  We even  invested
  in  Vietnam  though God knows we need the  investments  for
  ourselves.   But whatever may be the reason, Vietnam  began
  to  prosper a little, to have more job opportunities.   And
  eventually  we  were able to repatriate all  the  remaining
  refugees   because  they  saw  opportunities  for   gainful
  employments  in  their  own  country.   And  so  helping  a
  neighbour  to prosper help resolve the migration  of  their
  people to our country.
  
  16.    You  can  see  why  we  believe  in  prospering  our
  neighbour  and  not  beggaring  our  neighbour.   When  you
  beggar  others,  their problems will spill over  into  your
  country.  And among the problems will be mass migration  to
  your  country.   We  saw the Albanians  invading  Italy  to
  reciprocate  the  Italian invasion of  Albania  before  the
  last  World  War.  The Albanians had problem of poverty  in
  their  country.  Even though they could not very well  like
  the  Italians, they had to go to Italy to seek relief  from
  the  misery at home.  The same kind of migration  took  the
  Mexicans  to  the  United States.  We in  Malaysia  believe
  that  if  our  neighbours are poorer than us we  will  face
  this migration and other problems.  Fortunately we are  now
  as  poor  as they are.  In fact where we were once host  to
  almost  two million workers we now have to send one million
  back.  It was gracious of the CNN to report this.  It  also
  reported  that there is no more haze in Malaysia once  they
  noticed the clarity of the skies.  We are duly grateful.
  
  17.   Stability is something that Governments like but  the
  opposition  dislike.   The  Governments  of  Malaysia  want
  stability  not  only in the country but in  the  region  as
  well.   Indeed  we  want  to see stability  throughout  the
  world  -- but we cannot do much about that, not being  even
  a bit player.
  
  18.   We  have  worked hard for stability in  Malaysia  and
  despite  the opposition we have succeeded quite well.   And
  because  we are stable we can manage things quite well  and
  weather the occasional storm that strikes us.  We are  able
  to  tackle  problems  such as the one we  face  now  fairly
  well.  We will not come out of it unscathed of course.   We
  will  be bruised and battered but the Malaysians will  pull
  through  eventually.  Putting money in Malaysia is still  a
  wise thing to do.
  
  19.   In  the region we are doing quite well.   We  are  at
  peace  with  everyone and everyone is at  peace  with  each
  other.   Yes, we are all facing problems at the moment  but
  that  neutralises the problem.  If some of  us  are  facing
  problems  while  others are not, then we won't  have  equal
  capacities to work together.  Now we have and we intend  to
  use our common misfortunes to enhance our cooperation.
  
  20.   We  hope to cooperate with all the countries  in  the
  Pacific  Region  and we expect to gain from  it.   So  your
  discussions  will be very interesting to us.   We  hope  to
  get a few tips on how we can handle the problems we face.
  
  21.   Until  then I would like to wish you a good dialogue.
  Do  join in the breaking of the fast this evening and every
  evening that you are here.