Oleh/By  	:	DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue	:	DAVOS, SWITZERLAND
Tarikh/Date	:	23/01/2003
Tajuk/Title 	:	THE PLENARY SESSION ON "TRUST AND 
			GOVERNANCE FOR A NEW ERA"
Versi 		:	ENGLISH
Penyampai	:  	PM  
	    

  The  subject  for today is "Trust and Governance  for  a
   New Era".
   
   2.    In  the  world today there is no trust  or  little
   trust  and governance, world governance that is, is  not
   good.   We  have in fact made a mess of the world.   Two
   millenium of experience and mountains of knowledge  have
   not  made  us much more capable at managing our  affairs
   than stone age people.
   
   3.    We now live in fear, every one of us.  We fear the
   terrorists  and  the  terrorists,  their  supporters  or
   alledged  supporters fear us.  We fear flying,  we  fear
   traveling to certain countries, we fear night-clubs,  we
   fear  letters,  parcels and cargo  containers,  we  fear
   white   powder,   shoes,  Muslims,  pen  knives,   metal
   cutlery,   etc   etc.   They,  the  other   side,   fear
   sanctions, starvation, shortage of medicine.  They  fear
   military  invasion,  being bombed  and  rocketed,  being
   captured and detained.
   
   4.    People  who are neutral, not involved, innocent  -
   they  too live in fear.  They are the collaterals.  Just
   as  the  Afghans and the Iraqi civilians are collaterals
   the  passengers on the hijacked planes and those  people
   working in the World Trade Towers are also collaterals.
   
   5.    Actually  we are in the midst of the  Third  World
   War,  not the war against terrorists but the war between
   terrorists   and   the   peace  loving   anti-terrorists
   alliance,  the war between the Axis of Evil  and  Satan.
   Both  sides  are  convinced that they  are  right,  that
   theirs  is the fight against evil.  Evil and Satan  must
   be destroyed.
   
   6.    Frightened, the world is taking measures to secure
   and  defend at tremendous cost.  But the main result  is
   not  security or freedom from terror attacks.  The  main
   result  is  to  disrupt life, undermine investments  and
   business,  and  generally to adversely  affect  economic
   growth world wide.
   
   7.   It is going to be a long war because hatred, anger,
   bitterness rules our hearts.  We both want revenge.   We
   both  will retaliate.  You kill our people, we will kill
   your people.   And so it will go on and on.  Sanity  has
   deserted both sides.
   
   8.    The  world has become small.  It is said to  be  a
   village.   But  we  have not made much progress  in  the
   management  of  our world despite its  diminished  size.
   Just  as in the stone age the man with the biggest  club
   rules,   in our modern and sophisticated global  village
   the country with the biggest killing power rules.
   
   9.    When the Cold War ended we thought that the  world
   would  see  peace and prosperity.  After all the  people
   who  believe  in peace and universal justice  won.   The
   evil Empire has been overthrown.
   
   10.   But the loss of a counter balance has resulted  in
   the  great  exponent of justice and fair play to  become
   unbalanced.   While  the  Communists  were   there   the
   Capitalists  curbed  their  greed  and  avarice.    They
   showed a friendly face.
   
   11.   But now there is no more other side.  The friendly
   face  of  capitalism  is  not  needed  any  more.    Now
   capitalists can do what they like and what they like  is
   simply to make more money for themselves.
   
   12.   Why  is  there  a  need for borders?   Why  should
   countries  protect  their  puny  inefficient  economies?
   The  world  has  become too small  to  be  divided  into
   countries  with  different  system  of  Governments  and
   laws.   There should be just one global entity  and  one
   system,  the  great democratic system  and  the  freedom
   that  is supposed to go with it.  If the new democracies
   do  not know how to manage the system, that is too  bad.
   Democracy   is  such  a good system that  everyone  must
   adopt  it.   It  is  blasphemy to say  anything  against
   democracy.   If you do, if you resist then you  will  be
   considered  a  heretic and starved to death,  or  bombed
   out of existence.
   
   13.   In  a  free world there must be competition.   The
   strongest and the most efficient will win.  If  you  are
   small  and weak and inefficient it is best that you  go.
   In  athletics  it  may be reasonable to  have  different
   classes  of competitors.  But in the competition between
   countries   and   corporations  there   should   be   no
   categorisation  or classification, nor should  handicaps
   be  given.  The biggest and the most efficient should be
   allowed  to  dominate  and take all.   It  is  good  for
   everyone.
   
   14.   And  so  we  see the great banks and  corporations
   merging  and  acquiring each other to  ensure  that  the
   tiny  banks  and  businesses in the poor countries  will
   not stand a chance, will be swept aside.
   
   15.    Big   is   beautiful   again.    Big   is   good.
   Unfortunately there is no guarantee that  the  big  will
   not cheat, will not fall, will not go bankrupt.  But  we
   must  not take notice of Enron, Global Crossing,  Arthur
   Anderson,  United Airlines etc.  They are the exceptions
   which merely prove the rule.
   
   16.   Today the disparity between the rich countries and
   the  poor  countries is greater than ever.  The  richest
   countries have a per capita of more than of US$  30,000,
   the  poorest  US$ 300.  Of the world's 6 billion  people
   one  billion  are underfed, underclothed and  without  a
   roof  over their heads.  Many scrounge in rubbish  heaps
   for food, clothing and materials for their shelter.
   
   17.   In politics, the post Cold War world is no better.
   The  misfortunes  of  the weak are their  problem.   The
   strong will dominate.
   
   18.   Socially we have not advanced either.  We  talk  a
   lot  about the sanctity of human lives and human rights.
   We  are opposed to death penalties.  But actually  whole
   populations  have been sentenced to death  and  in  many
   instances the sentence has been carried out.   When  war
   is  declared  against  a country  a  death  sentence  is
   passed  on  the  people and when  war  is  executed  the
   sentence  is  carried out.  And still   we  talk  glibly
   about the sanctity of life.
   
   19.   The  exploitation of the world by the greedy,  the
   double  standards and the hypocrisy about  human  rights
   and  respect  for  human lives, the oppressions  of  the
   weak  by the strong, the disregard for human sufferings;
   the   expropriation  of  other  peoples'  land  and  the
   expulsion  of the people, all these have been aggravated
   by  the  ending of the Cold War and the victory  of  the
   righteous over the evil.
   
   20.   The  worm finally turned.  The weak have  now  hit
   back  in the only way they can.  Groping for the  enemy,
   the  strong  hits  out  blindly in every  direction,  in
   every  part  of the world.  No one is free.  Fear  rules
   the world.
   
   21.   With the onset of this third World War, the  world
   is  in  a  state of turmoil.  We now live in fear,  even
   the  rich are not as prosperous any more, while the poor
   are actually poorer.
   
   22.   We  have  not made such a good job  managing  this
   Global  Village of ours.  There is no trust and no  good
   governance.
   
   23.   So  how do we create trust and good governance  in
   the  new  era?  I don't think it can be done by  seeking
   for  a military defeat of the enemy and forcing them  to
   submit.   The  forces against the Axis of Evil  are  not
   going to win because the target is wrong.  All that  can
   happen if they are defeated is to create more anger  and
   a  call  for more revenge and retaliation by the  people
   who  are incensed by the injustice they believe they are
   experiencing.
   
   24.   On the other hand the other side are not going  to
   win either. The enemy is just too big and too powerful.
   
   25.   The  only  solution is through compromise.   Trust
   must  be built.  The initiation must come from the  good
   people.   They  must recognise that people  do  not  tie
   bombs to their bodies or crash their planes for the  fun
   of  it.   They must have a reason for it.   We  have  to
   remove  the  reasons.   Out terrorising  the  terrorists
   will  not  work.  But removing the causes for  terrorism
   will.
   
   26.   Good  governance is simple if we curb  the  greedy
   and  forget  about self-regulating markets.  Governments
   are not yet anachronistic.  They have a role to play.
   
   27.   We  need a paradigm shift, we need a new  mind-set
   if  we are going to put an end to this Third World  War.
   We  need  victory for both, a victory where  both  sides
   will benefit.
   
   28.   The  world  is  big enough  and  rich  enough  for
   everyone.   There  is  no need to  take  everything  for
   ourselves.  A win-win solution is possible.
   
   29.   If  we  can  overcome our anger  and  hatred,  our
   craving for revenge, our unlimited greed, we can  manage
   the   world  and  achieve  trust  and  eventually   good
   governance.

   Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri