Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
Tarikh/Date : 03/12/96
Tajuk/Title : THE GLOBAL PANEL 1996
WORKING TOGETHER FOR A "WORLD CENTURY"
1. One thousand years ago, as Europe moved towards
the second millennium, the then `civilised world'
was in the grips of despair. The learned Christian
clerics and therefore the people of Europe were
convinced that exactly one thousand years after the
birth of Jesus Christ the world would come to an
end.
2. Doomsday was at hand. Business therefore wound
down. Politics therefore wound down. Human
enterprise and endeavour therefore wound down.
3. There was in the "civilised world" of that time
unmitigated despondency. For if mankind and the
world were coming to an end, what was the point of
planning or working for the future.As the second
millennium approached, the world that was Europe
waited for and prepared for the ending.
4. Today, as we approach mankind's third
millennium, I would like to speak of and to plead
for a new beginning. A new beginning not for
Europe, not for the Americas, not for Africa, not
for Asia. Rather, a new beginning for the world,
for all of mankind.
5. Let me plead for a new beginning for a
concerted and determined effort by Asia, by Europe,
by the Americas, by Africa,by all of mankind, to
build for the first time in world history a single
global commonwealth of common wealth and co-
prosperity, where the full dignity of all the
children of Adam will be catered to and nourished.
6. As we all know, the nineteenth century was the
century of Europe. Europe with its empires and
industrial economy dominated the world. Much of the
twentieth century was the century of America.
America with its wealth and military power dominated
much of the world. There are now many, especially
from my part of the world, who fervently believe
that the twenty-first century will be the century of
Asia and should be the century of Asia. They
believe that Asia will inherit the future, will
dominate the world.
7. I believe that this is a mirage wrapped in
incredible arrogance. The century of Asia will not
come. The era of Asian dominance over this planet
will not arrive. This will not happen. Nor should
we in Asia aspire to a new hegemonism.
8. The age of imperialism is long gone. The age
of hegemony has passed. They must be buried and
their burial celebrated. There must be no
resurrection of imperialism, no touting of
hegemonism, no glorification of dominance or
domination in the 21st century, be it political,
economic and cultural.
9. The curse of imperialism will not be any less
because it is Asian imperialism. The crushing
weight of hegemonism will be not an iota lesser
because it is Asian hegemonism. The damnation that
is domination will be no lesser if it is Asian
domination.
10. What we must work for in the 21st century is
not the century of Asia but the century of the
world, a new world characterised by "liberte,
egalite, fraternite," a new world populated by
flourishing, responsible and productive democracies,
made more remarkable by the emergence of billions
from the dark pit of poverty, a new world
characterised by much greater mutual respect, much
greater mutual appreciation, much greater
consideration of the interests and feelings of
others; and much greater concern for the global
commons which is the responsibility of all nations,
east, west, north and south.
11. It goes without saying that we cannot afford a
world buffeted by a clash of civilisations. Some
are already gleefully postulating and predicting
that the clashes between nations will be replaced by
the clashes of civilisations. Instead, we should
all want all the civilisations to co-exist. Co-
existence must be our mission. I believe that a
barren co-existence of civilisations too is
intolerable. Why must we merely tolerate
difference? Why not relish them? How rich can your
life be if all you do is live on Dutch cheese and
deny yourself the delights of the cuisine of France,
Italy, China, India, Thailand ... the Malay world?
Why not enjoy, celebrate and feast? Surely you do
not want to live in standard houses, wear standard
clothing and listen to standard music composed by
culturally correct composers.
12. I believe we must build a new world
civilisation which takes the best that each and
every one of us has to offer. We must build a world
civilisation that has been enriched by the
celebration of numerous civilisations, cultures and
value systems; Asian, European, African and
whatever. We must have a feast of civilisations.
13. What we must work for is not the century of
Asia or of Europe or of America. What we must work
for and towards is mankind's first "world century".
14. It was never possible in the more distant past
because of cultural or ideological arrogance,
because of the tyranny of geographical distances and
the limited state of technology. It was never
possible in the more recent past because the world
was divided into rival camps and camp followers and
those few who managed to escape through the cracks
of the great divide.
15. A World Century is now possible for the first
time. The constraints have removed themselves. We
must make it our mission in the new millennium.
16. No single nation, no single people and no
single region should inherit the future. All
nations, all people, all regions should have the
opportunity. I hope that all people of talent and
diligence, who earn the right, will inherit the
future. I believe the future should belong to all
who have the will and who are willing to put in the
effort. Globalisation yes; but hegemonic uniformity
and conformity; No. Let there continue to be
freedom, not just of individuals but of countries
too.
17. Please do not get me wrong. By all this, by
speaking against "the Asian Century", I do not mean
that Asia is not rising or should not rise or that
it will not go far, very far.
18. Not too long ago, we who are now seen in terms
of dragons and tigers were all regarded, without
exception, as dead ducks. We were all -- including
even Japan, including South Korea, including China,
including Indonesia, including my own country,
Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam,
Taiwan - we were all at one time or another, given
up as lost causes, as hopeless societies so
obviously destined for the dustbins of history.
19. Over the last generation especially, we have
shown the world, including those in many continents
who now despair and have lost hope, what so-called
hopeless countries and so-called hopeless peoples
can do.
20. Despite the predictions of many who cannot see
how we can continue to run at such sizzling speeds
over such a long time without losing steam or
collapsing from over-heating and sheer exhaustion, I
believe we will persevere. Despite the predictions
of those who believe that we will soon hit the wall
of resource constraints, I believe we will proceed
apace. Despite the predictions of those who believe
that we cannot make the necessary productivity and
value-added quantum leaps, I say watch and see how,
God willing, we do what needs to be done. Despite
the predictions of those who think that we cannot
surely go on for much longer without coming to blows
with each other, I believe we will not fight. We
will continue to patiently build the East Asian
Peace, the East Asian community, the web of East
Asian cooperation which we must have in order to
ensure that we can continue with our rapid march
towards a better life for our peoples.
21. We are not going to lose steam. We are not
going to collapse from sheer exhaustion. We are not
going to lose political and social discipline. We
are not going to be diverted from the primacy of
economics and our almost ideological commitment to
pragmatism. We are not now going to go down the
slippery slope towards mediocrity. Those who expect
us to do so will, I think, be somewhat disappointed.
22. Indeed, one has to be blind not to see that
even as a different and very new world has
inevitably been in the making, with the end of the
Cold War, a very different and new Asia has
inevitably been on the rise.
23. Remember the Southeast Asian dominoes which the
learned Western journalists told us would fall one
by one as soon as Vietnam falls - well, they have
not fallen. Instead they have helped a victorious
Vietnam to rebuild and made it such an attractive
place that Vietnam's defeated enemies just had to go
and invest.
24. As recently as 1980, just 16 years ago, the
total regional GDP of the East Asian regional
economy amounted to less than two third the regional
GDP of Western Europe or of North America. By 1990,
East Asia as a region was already three quarters the
size of Western Europe and of North America. There
now appears to be an overpowering consensus that by
the year 2000, all three regional economies will be
roughly the same size. Parity, if not equivalence,
will be reached.
25. Already the economies of APEC produce more than
60 percent of all the goods and services produced on
this planet. There are many who now believe that
just East Asia alone will be the same size
economically as two Western Europe or two Northern
Americas. They expect that by 2030, the regional
economy of East Asia will be the size of Western
Europe and Northern America put together.
26. I cannot see so far into the Asian future. And
my optimism does not stretch to such lengths. But I
do know that we are only seeing the beginning of the
new Asia. That beginning has been dramatic enough.
27. The IMF predicts that in the 1990s, US$5.7
trillion will be added to the gross world product of
goods and services. Half of that will be produced
by East Asia. The European Union believes that
"half of the growth in world trade up to the year
2000 will be generated in East Asia."
28. The EU expects that by the year 2000, 400
million Asians of whom 300 million would be East
Asians, "will have average disposable incomes as
high, if not higher, than their European or US
contemporaries." I wonder whether we can fully
appreciate the full import of this forecast.
29. It means that within three years or just 37
months from today, there will be many more East
Asians with a European pattern of demand and
standard of living than there will be Europeans with
a European pattern of demand and standard of living.
Can it be any surprise that for sometime now Europe
has been exporting dramatically more to East Asia
than to the United States and the United States has
been exporting dramatically more to East Asia than
to Europe? Is it any surprise if even Japan exports
more to the rest of East Asia than it does to either
Europe or the United States? As a matter of
interest, the United States exports more to my small
country of 20 million consumers than to the whole of
eastern Europe and Russia. To the United States, in
terms of exports, we are roughly three times the
size of Russia.
30. I need not cite how many telephones East Asians
will be buying and connecting over the next ten
years, how many cars we will drive onto how many
miles of new roads, how many trains we will put on
the rails, how many aircrafts we will hurl into the
skies from how many dozens of airports, how many
Pierre Cardin suits we will be putting on our backs,
how many pills we will swallow. I do not know. God
only knows. I know enough to know that the figures
are huge. And there has never before been anything
quite like it.
31. And let not anyone go away with the feeling
that the revolutionary changes which have swept East
Asia are only economics, although economics has been
the major factor which has transformed every
dimension and touched every East Asian.
32. We have also changed politically. Vast numbers
of the middle class are being manufactured by the
day. The winds of democracy, of democracy with Asian
rather than Dutch or French or Belgian or European
flavour and characteristics, have been blowing in
every country. I believe they cannot be stopped if
we continue our process of economic advancement.
Everywhere, there is much greater pluralism, but
always the stress has been and will continue to be
the good of the many rather than the selfishness of
the few or the individual. Democracy cannot mean
the will of the people if their will and their
interest can be frustrated by disenchanted groups
and individuals. The individual imposing his will
on the many represents autocracy, whether he is in
power or not. In Asia democracy will always prevail
over all forms and permutations of autocracy.
33. Never before in human history have so many
human beings moved so far or so fast in improving
their human condition. The industrial revolution in
Europe pales by comparison.
34. For the first time in world history, there is a
sense of regional consciousness rising in East Asia
and a sense of Asian pride rising throughout most of
Asia. There has been a fundamental change in
capability and empowerment. There has also been a
fundamental change in heart and mind.
35. I am reminded that there was a time in Europe,
not so long ago, when so many Europeans believed
that what was good was in Europe and what was in
Europe was good. Later the American believed and
the Europeans concurred that what was good was in
America and what was in America was good. Americans
would still like to believe this but for how long
more. The historians seem to say that Europe's
fundamental cultural shift was more or less complete
by the early Seventies.
36. Similarly, there was a time when so many Asians
believed that what was good was in "the West" and
what was in "the West" was good. But today, is it
surprising that Asia too has witnessed a fundamental
cultural shift?
37. We know that there are many fine things in "the
West" and the process of learning from "the West"
cannot come to an end. Only the blind and the
foolish - wherever they may be -- cannot know this.
But we have also discovered many invaluable things
in our own values and traditions and in the values
and traditions of Asia.
38. In East Asia, we have recovered a great deal
from the centuries of Western dominance. The much
needed sense of self worth has to a large extent
been restored to whole peoples who had lost their
self respect. For the first time in centuries, all
of East Asia is confident, with a sense of
empowerment, aware of their own potentials and
possibilities.
39. This is a new Asia. This new Asia cannot
continue to behave as it had done in the past. At
the same time, this new Asia can no longer be
treated as it had been in the past.
40. I have rejected the vision of "the Asian
Century" because it is not about to happen. Human
kind must know that there is a better goal. In the
economic realm, I see a better, much more preferable
scenario, and that is:
* Europe's re-discovery of its enormous dynamism,
arising from its enormous maturity and genius;
* America's relaunch of a massive economic spurt
coming from its incredible enterprise and
competitiveness;
* the rise of Asia springing from its unbounded
human resources, the capacity for hard work
and superhuman effort when motivated, and their
push for the comprehensive productivity of
their polyglot societies;
* the concerted and cooperative development of
the vast resources, human and geological of
Africa, by the Africans and the whole world.
No aid, no debts but shared investments in
which the Africans' willingness to share their
resources and their unbounded energy must be
fully compensated by the rest;
* And finally dropping the silly confrontations
inherited from the Crusades. Stop associating
Islam with terrorism for we all know that
Christians, Jews and Buddhists have blown up
more buildings and killed more people than
Muslims. Indeed, the methods and the means of
terror have all been invented in Europe and
America; and
* The crusade, all crusades for the destruction
of all enemies must stop. The crusade of the
future must be the crusade to mend and to
rebuild.
41. This is the vision and the mission which we all
should believe in wholeheartedly. We must work for
a rising economic tide in every corner and quadrant
of this planet - that will lift every boat, no
matter their geographical location or continental
address.
42. How is this rising tide of dynamism and
prosperity to be accomplished? Are oceans of
goodwill, foreign aid and self sacrifice needed? If
such things are needed, we should forget it.
43. I do not believe so. All that is necessary is
reasonably enlightened self interest, arising out of
even the most hazy perception of the obvious;
reasonably enlightened self interest coming from a
rationality that is able to see slightly beyond the
end of one's nose; reasonably enlightened self
interest springing from a little bit of courage and
leadership in doing what we know we must.
44. I believe that the single most important thing
to do is to ensure one single change of thought.
Just as Adam Smith stressed one single factor, the
invisible hand, in the process by which nations
create wealth, let me stress one single mind-shift
in prescribing the means by which the global
commonwealth I speak of can be actively pursued.
Let me call this the "invisible shoulder".
45. For far too long, whether we will admit it or
not, mankind and nations have been in the grips of a
basically "beggar thy neighbour" mind-set. Do we
relish the sight of others doing well, especially if
they are doing better than we are? Do we spend any
effort at all - other than by means of
psychologically satisfying charity -- in helping
others to truly progress, compared to the lengths we
go to beat others, to drag them down?
46. Imagine a world in which, instead of trying to
beggar our neighbours, we are actively engaged in
ensuring our prosperity by fostering their
prosperity. We put our `invisible shoulders' to
their wheel. Imagine the incredible results if
the whole world is in the grips not of "beggar thy
neighbour" impulses but is given the push of
"prosper thy neighbour" attitudes and policies.
47. Is this unrealistic idealism? If this is
unrealistic idealism, come to our region to see how
unrealistic we are. We persevere because we have
seen the wonders worked by this invisible shoulder
in East Asia. The boats have been pushed to sea and
all have risen with the rising East Asian economic
tide. And we, even the tiger cubs, are going abroad,
to places which western socialism had destroyed, to
put our shoulders to the wheels and to achieve the
same unrealistic miracles.
48. Many hundreds of year ago, Europe ventured
forth out of the secure confines of its small
continent and conquered the East. It brought back
silks and spices and wondrous tales. It is now time
for Europe to venture forth out of the secure
confines of its small continent to once again
conquer the East - not our lands, not our peoples,
not our pride and our faith, but our markets; not to
dominate our societies and economies but to be an
indispensable co-venturer in the renaissance of the
people who had been once the creators of great
civilisations and religions.
49. I have said that the East Asian miracle was
brought about in the old fashioned way, through
massive investments in hard work and the sweat of
our brow. Most of the countries of East Asia give
pride of place for foreign investments because we
could not have come so far without them. We will
continue to provide pride of place for foreign
investment because we cannot get to where we must go
in the decades ahead without you and without your
partnership.
50. You will have noticed that I began my address
with a plea to the political leaders of Europe who
must provide leadership to the world. I did so
because this is vitally important. I end my
remarks with an equally strong plea to the
business leaders of Europe whose contributions to
the future of mankind is every bit as important.
51. Venture forth. Help us build the new Asia.
Contribute and profit fully from the making of the
new world, the Commonwealth of the world where the
wealth is truly common.
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