Mahathir still on the Western warpath as Singapore sobers up 22nd August 1997 Back to News Menu Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine Join the APMF email list Monthly updates on new content

There once was a time when then Singapore Prime Minister and architect of Singapore's growth to a major power, Lee Kuan Yew, travelled the world getting in digs such as calling Australia "the white trash of Asia", and comparing the Confucian value-driven Singapore society to the "moral delinquency" of the West. The tightly controlled Singapore press reported daily on increasing violence and "moral decay" in Western countries and the achievements of "Asian values". Quietly but swiftly, Singapore spokesman seem to be declaring a truce and leaving it up to their Northern compatriot, Mahathir Mohamad to do the mud slinging.. Nowadays, Mahathir is the major voice for Asian values and has added another sling to his bow.. conspiracy theories... Precipitated more recently by assaults on Asian currencies by global markets, Mahathir has consistently suggested that Western governments are at the heart of present economic woes in Asia, from the attack on currency trader George Soros, to G7 policies and the UN Declaration on Human Rights. While there is no doubt that the Malaysian government is working on internal reponses to Malaysian economic trends, publicly it is a full on 100% shifting of blame to others. Malaysia's national news agency Bernama quoted Mahatheir as saying this week that the country's economy is not overheating and in fact needs to grow faster. This is despite the classic signs of over heating such as a very tight labour market, a high current account deficit, lagging infrastructural development, and inflation that must be higher than the official figures regularly released, based on the informal and admittedly casual Rat's Nasi Ayam inflation index. The unofficial Nasi Ayam inflation index compares the price of a plate of "Chicken Rice" at test market street stall vendor over the years. This index has soared from 75c US 2 years ago to $1.40 US today in KL. As well as "not believing in the economy overheating", Mahathir also believes that "certain parties" are trying to slow Malaysia's growth.. What is clear, they are frustrated we did not listen to their advice to slow down our economic growth... Subsequently they resorted to irresponsible acts to curtail our economic performance. By rights they should only worry about their own countries. They are ignorant of Malaysia. They can write articles about Malaysia, but they dont have any practical experience whatsoever in running the country like we do.. ..they are foreign press - the local press cannot do that.. because according to the foreign press, the local press is under government control.... Meanwhile down South in Singapore, the trend is to quietly accept the realities of globalization and more importantly for American investors to ignore their idealism and concerns about the Singapore system and simply get down to improving the world economy by working in the centre of what is still the world's most dynamic economies. It is almost as if both sides have agreed to disagree and work on a win-win solution. Singapore, if anything, is increasing the gap betweens itself and other Asian countries as being the most comfortable place to do business in the region, with corruption almost eliminated, an extremely efficient public and private transport system, decreasing red-tape, English as the almost universal international business language, and office and expat residential accomodation and facilities of the highest order. If companies can afford the admittedly high costs, Singapore is the natural business centre for those serving the region. Fulsome praise was bestowed on Lee by Madeline Albright earlier this month for his prescience and forward thinking, while comments on Mahathir Mohomad were far less gracious. The USA has a large stake in Singapore and growing all the time, and Singapore is well aware of the threats to its' power and economic strength coming from fellow Asian tigers and tiger cubs The master pragmatist is teaching his successors well. Ideology may inspire the masses but it is no guarantee of material well being. And that is the deal Lee always offered the Singapore populace in return for some restriction in individual freedoms. And the ability to deliver material well being is how the succession of leadership will be judged. Meanwhile,.the US press, while not having any experience in running an Asian country, does have some useful ideas from time to time. For one example see Business Week's present call for a new Asian economic model. As for the Rat, he needs as many friends as he can get, and it may well be that we still can learn from the West, as much as the West learns from us..

© Asia Pacific Management Forum 1997
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