Mahathir packs his Asian values baggage for Burma

August 19, 2002

Those who have done business in Malaysia, and other parts of Asia to differing extents, would know that business negotiations are based on building personal relationships. More attention is given to power relationships rather than the actual mechanics of a business deal. Recognizing or courting any courtesy of an associate's competitors marks a sure path to failure.

It is therefore absolutely no surprise that meeting Aung San Suu Kyi would play no part in Mahathir's visit to meet the Burmese junta that seized power from a democratically elected party and imprisoned their leaders. Reports just in mention that the junta itself blocked Mahathir meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, and Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar would meet her instead. Regardless, Mahathir would be unhappy upsetting his hosts. He believes that full democracy is not in the interests of developing countries, and a certain measure of authoritarianism is best for development. His disgust for those he sees as "Western lackeys" has been demonstrated many times, both in Malaysia, and outside.

Interestingly while the Western press focuses on the fact that Malaysian PM Mahathir will not be visiting recently freed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his current Burma/Myanmar visit, Xinhua's report - Malaysian PM begins visit to Myanmar does not think it worth a mention. For Mahathir's approach to bilateral relations is no different from that of those who rule China.

Aung San Suu Kyi did request a meeting, and Mahathir, self appointed champion of the developing world, has never met perhaps one of the most well known leaders in Asia.

But Mahathir is also a strong exponent of Asian values.. and where bilateral issues are concerned this means not debating differences in public. As far as ASEAN is concerned, of which Burma is one of the newest members, the principle of "non-interference" in each other's affairs or "constructive engagement" which is the other term to describe mates chatting in private among themselves, may well be the glue that keeps the bloc together. Burma's admission to ASEAN - as reported by the Rat way back then, was a triumph for the ruling junta - as they could be assured that the 9 other ASEAN partners would keep their comments on politics and democracy to private rooms.

On the other side, CNN's own blinkered values interprets Mahathir's decision as evidence of his support for the authoritarian Myanmar government. That takes ajump of faith of course. It could be expected that Mahathir supports the junta given his generally anti-Western and independence views, but there is no unequivocal evidence to support it. Simple, the Western style is to visit opposition parties, the Mahathir view, is to ignore them. To Mahathir, decision making is the role of the elite - borrowing fron the Confucian concept of the intellectual elite class. And there is greater respect for those who have power, rather than how they acheived it, and less for those who challenge it.

It will be interesting, at this crucial stage for Myanmar, whether constructive engagement can acheive results. Mahathir is behaving very much in character, and it is, to be fair, a strategy that has acheived him much popularity in Malaysia and respect in neighbouring countries.

Chao Phraya River Rat in Politics and Government on August 19, 2002 04:15 PM

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