ASEAN leaders

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, October 10 (IslamOnline.net) - The Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), which held its ninth Summit in Bali, Indonesia this week will continue to be a success and has a bright future, said Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, news sources reported on Thursday, October 9.

"I think ASEAN will make progress whether I am around or not. I don't think it will make a difference at all," he told a media conference before heading for home after the ninth ASEAN Summit, which ended Wednesday, October 8, Bernama and Antara reported.

The ninth Summit held in Bali to give a boost to the Tourism industry shattered by the October 12, 2002 bombing, was also full of emotional farewell from leaders of the region who attended the meeting to the Malaysian Premier who is retiring as the chief of the regional grouping when he resigned as PM in October 2003.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri was all tears when she bid farewell to the Malaysian Premier whom she considered as a father figure.

Mahathir also said the ASEAN is a collective decision group, and his departure from office will not affect the regional entity but urged the leaders of the grouping to stick to the ASEAN’s principles.

ASEAN, he said, adopted a collective approach, adding that the grouping had set their own goals and knew their directions.

"They will make progress whether they change leaders or not. They have seen many changes in leadership in ASEAN and it does not affect ASEAN's policy or progress," Mahathir said.

Mahathir, who was a practicing doctor before he became full time politician in the ruling coalition in power in Malaysia, said he has full faith in the political and economic success of the grouping that has helped the countries in South East Asia (SEA) see huge economic leaps.

He also advised the member nations not to fear the strength of China and India, two nations that are acting as observers in the regional grouping.

He said that that the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) that China and India signed Wednesday with ASEAN would bring prosperity and create a bigger market for the region.

ASEAN trade would grow by leaps and bounds as China and India provided the market with their combined population of 2.4 billion people, he said.

"We believe in prospering our neighbors. This is a concept that is accepted by both China and India," he said.

He added that their accession to the treaty would have no impact on ASEAN's external policies, as "we see eye to eye on most of the issues."

Japan was not forgotten by the veteran politician whose "look east" policy has resulted in close cooperation between Malaysia and the country of the rising sun.

"Occasionally, I will visit Japan, have a holiday there...look at Sakura...very beautiful Japan. Some Japanese are interested in hearing me say nasty things about other countries. I would do that," he said in jabs towards western nations.

“China, as a growing economic giant, would play a very important role in East Asia, and in fact, on the global level, the country played an important role as an economic power house.

"Obviously, it is going to be quite rich," he said.

He dismissed the fears that China would emerge as a defense power to rival the United States, adding that even if China were to spend a small fraction of its income on defense, it would be quite considerable.

"All countries spend some money on their defenses. I still remember the condition imposed on Japan. It may not have spent more than one percent of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on defense, but its GDP was very small then. That was in 1945," he said.

"One percent is minute. Today, Japan's GDP is huge. One percent is bigger than most European countries spend on their defenses. Japan's capability on defense would be high now," he added.

In the case of China, even if it limited its expenditure on defense, it would be big.

He felt that there should not be any fear towards China as it had no history of colonizing other countries.

"Deputy Sheriff"

Mahathir, left, shares a light moment with Indonesian President, right, and FM Hassan Wirajuda, center, before the start of the ASEAN meeting

Malaysia, he said, had been living close to China, so were the other ASEAN countries.

"We have not been conquered or colonized by China. We had been colonized, however, by countries which are 800,000 miles away from us.

"So, we should not look at it as a threat but an opportunity. Think of the amount of things people can send to a rich China. America would certainly be able to export more things to China now than the time when it was not an open economy," said Mahathir.

Taking a jibe at Australia, the Premier of Malaysia said Australia made known to the world that it wanted to be the deputy sheriff to oversee the SEA region.

"It is very difficult to get along with this "deputy sheriff" to Washington who is always looking over your shoulder.

"Australia must decide whether it is (in) Europe, America or Asia. If it is (in) Asia, there's no problem. But we see Australia as some sort of a transplant from another region," he said.

"Australia is not (in) Asia, but at the end of this month, I will not be around. People might change their minds, I don't know.

"Australians also distinguish Asians by race. We think of ourselves as Asians, but they cannot think of themselves as Asians. If they don't think about race, well they say `I am Asian'. What's wrong with saying that and behaving like Asians and not being too critical of other people," he said.