Oleh/By  	:	DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue	:	NEW YORK, USA
Tarikh/Date	:	03-02-2002
Tajuk/Title 	:	GLOBALISATION: CHALLENGES AND 
			IMPACT ON ASIA
Versi 		:	ENGLISH
Penyampai	:  	PM 
		    

   1.    Globalisation is a word which seems  to  describe
   the  coming together of all the countries of the  globe
   into  one  entity.   It  is coined  by  rich  countries
   apparently  in response to technological  advances  and
   the speed and ease of travel.
   
   2.    But the emphasis is on free flows of capital  and
   trade  in goods and services.  People and other  things
   may not flow so freely.
   
   3.    Free means free of Governmental regulations, laws
   and  policies.  International institutions  would  take
   over,  enact rules and enforce them.   Looked  at  from
   the  point of view of weak countries, rules,  laws  and
   policies still exist but they would have no say in  the
   determination  or  enforcement.   For  most   of   them
   globalisation means not more freedom but  less  freedom
   from  rules,  regulations  laws  and  policies.   Worse
   still,   these  uniform  rules  etc,  disregard   their
   particular weaknesses and problems.
   
   4.    But they are being told that being poor they will
   benefit from capital flowing into their countries.   In
   fact  for  many  of  the East Asian  countries  capital
   inflows   have  brought  about  unprecedented  economic
   growth.   Even their stock markets have benefited  from
   foreign  investments.  But what they are  not  told  is
   that  the  same capital can flow out and when  it  does
   their countries can be bankrupted.
   
   5.    It  is  unfortunate that they learnt  about  this
   through  experience and they now know how terrible  the
   damage is and how difficult it is to recover.
   
   6.    The  East Asian financial crisis was precipitated
   by  the free exit of capital.  It started of course  by
   the  manipulative devaluation of the currencies of East
   Asian    countries.    Devaluation    caused    foreign
   investment  to  lose  value.   To  avoid  losses   from
   further  devaluation foreign capital  was  pulled  out.
   The  market  collapsed resulting in rapid  increase  of
   non-performing loans, deprivation from bank funding  of
   business operations, numerous bankruptcies and  failure
   of the banking system in the end.
   
   7.    With the economy in tatters the Government had to
   borrow from the IMF.  Loans would only be given if  the
   Government  surrenders economic management to  the  IMF
   and   allow  foreign  white  knights  to  pick  up  the
   devalued local banks and businesses.
   
   8.    We  are  seeing many countries floundering  about
   because the money they borrowed from the IMF had to  be
   used  to  pay off foreign creditors.  Nothing  is  left
   for  the locals.  Of course they still have to pay  the
   IMF money they had borrowed.
   
   9.    East  Asian  countries are actually  luckier  for
   some   have  made  a  fair  degree  of  recovery.   But
   Argentina is not so lucky.  Sovereign loans are not  so
   safe  after all as countries can go bankrupt  when  IMF
   imposes its policies.
   
   10.   Is  what  happened to the East Asian countries  a
   manifestation of Globalisation or not?  Clearly it  is.
   Trading  in  currencies is only possible if  Government
   abdicates  as the authority to determine the  value  of
   currency  and  leaves  it  to  so-called  international
   market  forces.   The  market  is  interested  only  in
   making profits and cares nothing for the well-being  of
   society.
   
   11.     The   market   favours   the   rich   and   the
   technologically    advanced.     Today    banks     and
   corporations  are merging and acquiring each  other  to
   become   ever   bigger.   Quite   naturally   the   big
   corporations  and  banks  are  not  going  to  be  from
   developing  countries.  When all the borders  are  down
   these  super giants will move in to gobble up all local
   businesses  and  will  ignore  the  interests  of   the
   countries  where they operate.  Their only  concern  is
   to  make  money.  If they have to pull out of a country
   in  order  to  reduce losses and maximize profits  they
   will  do  so without compunction.  It is irrelevant  to
   them   if   their  pulling  out  precipitate   economic
   turmoil, massive unemployment and bankruptcies.  It  is
   all the fault of these countries.
   
   12.    Being  big  is  all  important.   It  guarantees
   success.   It  makes  for  economies  of  scale,   more
   research  and  development, and cheaper products.   But
   we  have  seen  that size did not save LTCM  or  Enron.
   Indeed  the  bigger  they are  the  harder  they  fall,
   dragging down everyone with them.
   
   13.    Asia's  experience  of  globalisation  has   not
   convinced  it that this is the answer to economic  ills
   or  the vitamin for economic growth, at least the  kind
   of  globalisation that is being promoted  by  the  rich
   western  countries.  Globalisation need  not  be  about
   free   capital   flows  only.   There  can   still   be
   globalisation but it should not be absolutely free,  it
   should   not   be  purely  market  driven.    Regulated
   globalisation can still be compatible with the idea  of
   globalisation.
   
   14.   The  challenge for Asia is not how to manage  the
   present  concept of globalisation, to make it work,  to
   benefit  from  it.   The  challenge  for  Asia  is   to
   influence  the  thinking on globalisation,  to  reshape
   it,  to  reduce  the  chances  of  it  going  awry  and
   destroying economies and countries.
   
   15.   There is nothing sacred about the present concept
   of  globalisation that it cannot be changed,  radically
   if  necessary,  so  that it will pose  less  danger  to
   those  accepting and practising it.  Free trade is  not
   synonymous   with  globalisation.    If  we   have   to
   regulate  trade in order to benefit from globalisation,
   why not?
   
   16.   People  who play golf know that there will  never
   come  a  time  when  handicaps will be  abolished.   In
   business  too,  fair competition can  only  be  between
   entities  of  fairly  equal  strength.   Level  playing
   fields  are not enough.  The contestants must be evenly
   matched.   If  we  cannot match  them  then  give  them
   handicaps.
   
   17.   Prior  to  1997 the Asian countries were  growing
   miraculously.  Malaysia grew at 8% plus per  annum  for
   ten  consecutive years.  Today everyone of the  miracle
   economies are but shadows of their former selves.   The
   impact  of  globalisation involving the  free  flow  of
   capital and the straightjacketing of business has  been
   disastrous.     For   years   now   the   attempts   to
   resuscitate   the   economies  have   not   been   very
   successful.   There will be permanent scars.   And  the
   impact  will  not be any better, for  as  long  as  the
   present interpretation of globalisation is forced  upon
   Asia.   In fact the world is likely to fail to  recover
   if,  instead  of focusing on resuscitating the  economy
   following   Sept   11,  we  continue   to   force   the
   globalisation of capital flows on the world.

   Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri