PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA
Press Briefing
PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA
19990929Reports of killings in East Timor were being exaggerated and there seemed to be attempts to vilify Indonesia over its handling of the situation there, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahatir Mohamad, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.
The Prime Minister was asked whether he accepted the analysis that what had occurred in East Timor after the referendum was a massive violation of the human rights of the East Timorese people by the militias, possibly supported by the Indonesian military. If he did not, would he suggest another way of handling its aftermath, other than by the introduction of a strong military force?
The Prime Minister said that Indonesia should not have been forced to hold a referendum at a time that it was very weak and was facing problems. He said Indonesia had not been given a chance to campaign, while other political forces had been promised all kinds of support for their pro-independence vote. Those who supported integration with Indonesia felt cheated, and reacted the only way they know, the Prime Minister said. The issue had to be handled properly. Sending a big army to deal with the unrest could be one of several solutions. Television cameras were always around whenever attempts were made to deal with mobs, even in his country. The force being used now in East Timor was not receiving negative publicity compared with similar incidents elsewhere.
Replying to further questions, he said that he had raised with the Secretary- General at their meeting earlier today the issue of Australias rather heavy- handed way of dealing with the East Timor crisis. The Prime Minister felt it was necessary for Australia to scale down its forces there and to be replaced by Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The ASEAN States felt threatened by the use of Western forces.
Responding to a comment that the ASEAN countries had not taken any initiatives over the question of East Timor, the Prime Minister said they had. That did not, however, mean that they should send out a a big military force. There were other ways of settling the problem than just to point guns at people, he said.
The Prime Minister told another correspondent that before the crisis had erupted in East Timor, people were not being killed. Today, however, he said, many were dying because the situation was being incorrectly handled. Even if you want to give the East Timorese their independence, what is the hurry? Why is it that when Indonesia is in a very weak position, Indonesia is literally forced to hold a referendum - a referendum in which Indonesia had no say and could not even explain its side of the equation to the East Timorese? he asked.
He told a questioner that the ASEAN countries had not had a formal discussion over the dispatch of peacekeeping forces to East Timor, but they had an understanding that if any member State faced a problem, it should be assisted. They were ready to send troops to East Timor to try to keep the peace there, and had no objection to Australia doing so first. Australia had the money to do so, he
Malaysia Press Conference - 2 - 29 September 1999
said. The ASEAN countries would participate in a United Nations peacekeeping force because the cost would be borne by the Organization.
On a different subject, the Prime Minister was asked whether Malaysia had overcome the economic crisis which had hit the region in 1997-1998, and what should be done to prevent its recurrence. He said his country had gone through the worst and was turning the economy around. He was not so certain about the situation in the rest of the region. Some currencies had recently come under attack again. If that kind of attack reached the scale of 1997-1998, there would be a repeat of the currency turmoil of those years.
How should that be avoided? he was asked. He said the international financial architecture should be changed so that currency traders would not be free to handle huge sums of money to destabilize governments and economies of countries.
Asked how Australia had been belligerent, he said he had seen pictures of Australian troops pointing guns at almost everybody. Is it necessary to point guns at people who are obviously unarmed? he asked.
On the reform of the United Nations, a correspondent asked whether he had any ideas to make the Organization more democratic. The Prime Minister said a lot of things needed to be done but could not be carried out because those who pulled the strings would not surrender their power. The thing to do is to remove that veto power of theirs, he said. The results of the last world war, 50 years ago, should not determine the composition of the United Nations forever, he stressed.
What was the Secretary-Generals response to the Prime Ministers suggestion that Australia should scale back its involvement in East Timor? a correspondent asked. He said the Secretary-General had replied that there had been a need for Australia to send forces there because others had not provided troops initially. If there were more troops for the peacekeeping operation, Australia would have to scale down its presence.
The Prime Minister said western liberals were always trying to stir up feelings against so-called authoritarian governments. The result was that people suffered, and that was happening in many countries. It had become an almost standard procedure for those opposed to governments to be given the Nobel Peace Prize, he said It seems that we encourage people to go against whatever government is in power. Whether it is dictatorial or not is another matter, he said.
A correspondent, remarking that he had been following the development of opposition parties in Malaysia over the years, asked whether the arrest of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had been a setback. He also asked when Mr. Anwar would be released. The Prime Minister said that Mr. Anwar was not a member of the opposition, but of the Government party. He had decided to oppose the Government when he left the governing party. Others who had lost ministerial positions had not followed suit, the Prime Minister said. He added that Mr. Anwar had alleged that the Government was plotting against him because of his legal problems.
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The Prime Minister said that Mr. Anwar was not in detention without trial. His trial was open and was being observed by the foreign media and diplomats. He did not know what else his Government could do to assure people that that was the case. He also said he had no authority to order Mr. Anwars release and that the Government had no authority over the courts. Mr. Anwar had appealed against his conviction and sentence and that was his right.
Asked to give an assessment of the United Nations, the Prime Minister said there were several things that needed to be said. If you keep quiet, they will continue in their good old ways and nothing will ever change.
Asked again whether the 1997-1998 South-east Asia financial crisis could repeat itself as far as Malaysia was concerned, he said it would be difficult for that to happen because his country had regained control of its currency. The Malaysian currency was no longer legal tender outside the country, and could therefore not be devalued. However, other countries in the region could be affected again.
Would he recommend the Malaysian formula to countries whose currencies were threatened? a correspondent asked. The Prime Minister replied that they could consider the Malaysia model an alternative, but should not just accept International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposals. He said the IMF usually prescribed one solution, but, as a doctor, he normally gave different medicines for different diseases. Countries could consider imposing exchange controls, but perhaps not in the way it was being done in Malaysia. Well be happy to tell anybody all our secrets, he said. There was interest in the stability of the country and its potential to grow, he observed, adding that people were still keeping their money in the country.
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