Word: mahathir
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...Malaysia's Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is revealing that beneath his smooth exterior is a shrewd politician who just might play rough. Last week, Abdullah told reporters that two costly infrastructure projects awarded to businessman Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary, one of the favorite industrialists of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, might be renegotiated. In the case of the Bakun dam, a huge hydroelectric project on Borneo, Abdullah said he was "not sure" whether the government would resort to privatization. (Syed Mokhtar's GIIG Capital signed an agreement last August to buy 60% of the dam operator from the government...
...Mahathir Misses the Target Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's anti-Semitic comments deserve scrutiny [Oct. 27]. He said, "Today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them." If his comments weren't so pathetic, we should thank Mahathir for revealing precisely the mentality of the Islamic leaders he was addressing. Even if the Prime Minister's assertions were true, they largely missed the point. If so many Jews were in influential positions, it would show the ability of Jewish communities to adapt to their environment and grasp what modernity is about...
RESIGNED. MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, 77, autocratic Malaysian Prime Minister; as expected, after a 22-year tenure during which he spearheaded the largely Muslim nation's rapid transformation from a tin-and rubber-producing backwater to a high-tech exporter but also diminished the judiciary, censored the media and intimidated the opposition. He promoted a moderate brand of Islam, but his last days in office were overshadowed by his statements disparaging Jews...
...Malaysian Farewell Your account of the mixed legacy of Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as he steps down after 22 years in power was an informative report on the country's changes under his leadership [Oct. 20]. Despite all the criticisms leveled against him, it is undeniable that Mahathir truly put Malaysia on the world map. I can still remember when my parents, while traveling abroad, would have had a hard time explaining that Malaysia was located north of Singapore and south of Thailand. Those days are over. Despite Mahathir's sometimes controversial remarks about certain ethnic groups...
...Mahathir should be praised for leading a once backward nation toward first-world standards of living. He also made the developing world proud when he stood up to international financial institutions and imposed capital controls. Further, his unflinching criticism of the U.S.'s unilateral and pre-emptive policy vis-?-vis "rogue states" should stand as a warning to sycophantic countries. Still, despite Malaysia's success, one has to wonder if it might have been possible for Mahathir to achieve all that he did without resorting to strong-arm tactics, like jailing his political rival Anwar Ibrahim. If development could...