Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR.
MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA
Tarikh/Date : 10/02/99
Tajuk/Title : THE IX SUMMIT OF THE G-15
It gives me great pleasure to be here at this
beautiful beach resort of Montego Bay. On behalf of the
Asian member states, let me congratulate you Mr Prime
Minister on your assumption of the Chairmanship of the
Group of Fifteen. I would also like to convey our
heartfelt thanks to you for the warm welcome and
generous hospitality accorded to us since our arrival in
this beautiful island. We are grateful to you for your
efforts to ensure that this Summit will be a success.
2. On behalf of the leaders of the Asian member
states, I would also like to welcome Her Excellency
President C B Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka to this Summit
Meeting. We sincerely believe that Sri Lanka's
admission into the Group of Fifteen will further
strengthen the Group. I am sure Her Excellency will
have many ideas to contribute towards this end.
3. This Summit in Montego Bay comes at a very crucial
moment in history. We are now at the threshold of a new
century and a new millennium. If what is happening to
the world today is any indication, the new century is
going to bring a lot of challenges for us in the
developing countries. We must therefore take stock of
things and examine the trends and the systems which are
being foisted on us in a unipolar world.
4. First the unipolar world itself. We had welcomed
the end of the Cold War believing that peace and freedom
would now be ours. But unfortunately we find that
losing the option to defect to the other side has
deprived us of the little leverage that we had in
defending our interests.
5. The defeat of Communism and Socialism means that
only one politico-economic creed is allowed. When
Communism and Socialism were contesting with Capitalism,
the latter modified itself in order to be more
acceptable. Today capitalism finds little need to
compete for acceptance. As a result the worst aspects
of the system have been bared. Anything done in the
name of capitalism must be accepted on pain of being
labelled a heretic.
6. In East Asia we experienced the new capitalism in
the form of the free flow of capital across our borders.
We had welcomed foreign capital in order to boost our
growth. We still do but now we realise the damage to
our economy when that capital is suddenly withdrawn.
From being miracle economies we have now become
impoverished nations.
7. The great Asian tigers are now no more. Reduced to
whimpering and begging, they are but a shadow of their
former selves. Their people are starving, rioting and
looting. Their Governments have been overthrown and
their political system so undermined that they cannot
govern effectively. They have to accept foreign
direction of their internal affairs.
8. But the assault on them is far from over. Whether
it is planned or not their impoverishment has exposed
them to the danger of losing their independence. A
condition for getting aid from such institutions as the
IMF is to open up their economies to unrestricted
penetration by foreign businesses. They may not protect
their indigenous banks and industries. These may be
taken over or shouldered aside by foreign giants.
9. As if the foreign corporations are not big enough,
they are now engaged in consolidating themselves. Banks
and industries in the developed countries are merging
into superbig entities, each bigger than the developing
countries. When these superbig giants move in, their
local counterparts will just suffocate to death.
10. I am sure it is not their intention tointerfere in
local politics but we know that in the Banana Republics
the managers of banana plantations wield more power than
the Presidents of these countries. The temptation to
interfere in local politics might be too much for the
foreign giants to resist.
11. Globalisation and a borderless world seem very
attractive in this Information Age and advances in
transportation and communication. We now live in a
global village. We will all be citizens of the Planet
Earth. But apparently we are not going to be equal
citizens.
12. While borderlessness is being interpreted as the
right of capital to flow anywhere unconditionally, the
poor people may not cross borders into rich countries
with equal freedom. For them the barb wire fences and
the border guards will remain.
13. Even as globalisation is being promoted, the
powerful are actively increasing the traditional basis
of power i.e military strength. The defeat of the
Communist was initially thought to end the arms race.
But the quest for ever more destructive weapons have not
abated. Huge sums are spent on research into
destructive weapons and equipping vast armies in the use
of these weapons.
14. To recover the money spent, the poor countries are
persuaded to buy ever more sophisticated weapons. The
result is not only tension and minor arms races but
misallocation of their limited funds. Less is being
spent on the well-being of society.
15. While misbehaviour on the part of the weak may
attract rockets and bombs, the massive violations of
human rights in such places as Bosnia Herzegovina and
Kosovo, go on with impunity.
16. Power not only corrupts but it must also be free of
any challenge. If anyone has the temerity to criticise
those with power, the result can be very painful for the
critic. Every weapon at the disposal of the power will
be employed maximally against the critic.
17. Among these weapons is the media. If anyone
criticises the actions of the mighty the media will
demonise the critic and cause him to lose credibility.
That way the abusers of power will remain free to
continue their abuses.
18. We are 16 countries scattered over three
continents. We are weak. We are poor. And we are
linked with each other only by thin and friable beliefs
that we have something in common, that we have common
problems, that we need to cooperate to enhance the
little strength that we have and to use it to enable us
to survive. I must say in all these we are not
succeeding too well.
19. On the other hand the rich and the powerful are
consolidating, forming powerful cohesive politico-
economic alliances. They meet, they plan and they
execute strategies impacting on the world. Clearly if
we want to safeguard our future we have to be aware of
the forces around us, to consult with each other more
often and to have a common stand on most issues.
20. I have painted a very gloomy picture of the future,
of the new century and the new millennium. Maybe
I am over pessimistic. Maybe I am exaggerating. I
have been wrong before and I may be wrong again. But I
was right many times also and it is possible that I will
be right again this time, if not fully at least partly.
And if I am partly right even, it is not going to be
good for us in the developing world. We may find our
newly won independence eroded away.
21. Malaysians took four centuries to liberate
themselves. We have been independent just for 41
years. We do not relish losing that independence. Just
as we struggled hard to gain independence we will
struggle equally hard or harder to retain it.
22. We have not just seen the signs but we are actually
going through a painful experience of the kind of world
the future will bring. For the time being we have been
able to retain our freedom but we are not sure that we
can successfully fend off future challenges.
23. Paradoxically the greatest catastrophe for us who
had always been anti-Communist is the defeat of
Communism. The end of the Cold War between East and
West has deprived us of the only leverage we had, the
option to defect. Now we can turn to no one.
24. As a member of the G-15 I feel a need to shout my
warnings. I know I will be ridiculed but that is a
small price to pay. The world may not see a clash of
civilisations but the disparities between the weak and
the strong is such that might will continue to be
regarded as right.
25. I do not ask to be believed. But I do appreciate
this opportunity to speak out before you, the leaders of
middle-income developing countries.
26. When I condemned the currency traders at the height
of their attack on the East Asian countries I was
punished by having the currency of my country devalued
further. I was told to cease and desist. I did not and
the currency and the stock market and the image of
Malaysia suffered. What I have said today may attract
other punitive actions.
27. That is a risk that I have to take. That is a risk
that my own country will take. But I have to say what I
have to say.
28. I hope and pray that our Summit will result in a
greater understanding of the problems which lie ahead
and greater collaboration between us.
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