Our news portal Investvine.com on October 31 published an interview with Tun Dr Mahatir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister who held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003.
Mahatir is still a critical observer of Malaysian politics and not shy of voicing his opinion. The interview was quoted a number of times in several media and online platforms, and Mahatir’s opinions received their fair share of consent, but also rejection.
Below some excerpts:
Q: During your time as prime minister of Malaysia, there was a lot of stability. But in the recent elections, the opposition came very close to the ruling party. Do you think there are issues in Malaysia that have not been properly addressed by the current government?
A: I always thought that after I stepped down policies would change and with it the economic strategy. As a result, there was lots of support for the government at the beginning. But in the 2008 elections, for the first time the ruling party could not achieve a two-thirds majority, and in the 2013 election it was even worse. I think the government should restudy its financial policy and see where it should put the money. Currently, there is money given to people practically for nothing – for the people it’s a small amount but for the government it’s big. This is hurting the balance.
Q: In Malaysia, people are now saying that the country has run into a bit of an economic mess as the economy slowed down in 2013. What are your views on that?
A: Frankly, I think that the management of the finances of the country is not done quite well. It’s not what we would expect. Government spending has gone up, borrowings have gone up, there is still growth but mainly through government spending alone. The growth rate is relatively high, but there is a deficit both in our trade balance, as well as in the government’s budget.
Q: Where do you see Malaysia in ten, fifteen years?
A: I hope that the opposition will not win and change the policy. However, if the ruling party is unable to sustain the support of the people, then the future of Malaysia may see a lot of instability.
Q: How can the people be brought back?
A: I don’t see that happening. The current policies of the government are not such that would make confidence return easily.
Q: There were recent studies that said corruption is still prevalent in Malaysia. Has something gone wrong with the government’s anti-graft drive?
A: There has always been corruption, but these days it seems to be more than at other times. The government is trying its best to stop it, but they need to take certain measures other than just punish people after they committed their crime. There should be more preventive measures.
*Our columnist Dr Arno Maierbrugger is editor-in-chief of www.investvine.com, a news portal focusing on Southeast Asian economic topics as well as trade and investment relations between Asean and the GCC. Investvine.com updates its clients on current business news and financial market data and publishes interviews with prominent business people as well as government officials. The related website www.insideinvestor.com is currently being developed as an online platform connecting investors with investment opportunities.