HYDERABAD, 18 October — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday any attack on Iraq would not contribute to the global war on terror or be productive.
He made the comment as Washington readied a draft UN Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq if it does not cooperate with UN weapons inspectors and grant them full access to all sites.
“Our view is that any attack on Iraq is not going to be productive. It is merely going to increase the animosity between Muslims throughout the world and the Americans and the European Union,” he told reporters here.
“We have today because of the act of a small group of crazy extremists and the rage of an unfettered giant, the prospect of a radically new world,” he said without elaborating.
Mahathir also felt that there is immense potential for cooperation between India and Malaysia in the IT sector. Already, a number of Indian IT companies have their operations in Malaysia and similarly, Malaysian companies would like to set up their operations here.
“Some of the companies here feel that Malaysia can serve as a back-up place for their operations. In case of problems here, the Malaysian centers can serve as back-up. It is good to have two centers instead of one. Some of the companies have started work on their back-up centers,” he said.
Mahathir said he visited Satyam Computers‚ facility this morning and Infosys campus yesterday. “The Satyam already have their presence in Malaysia. They wish to expand their operations. We have assured them full government support,” he added.
He said his visit to Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) was very important. It gave him first-hand knowledge of this place. “I am very much impressed with the progress made here. There is immense potential for cooperation with Malaysia, particularly in the IT sector. I hope that our good relations with the government of Andhra Pradesh will lead to greater cooperation between companies here and in Malaysia, and will catalyze Malaysian investments in Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Asked about specific projects mooted in Andhra Pradesh, he said: “We are looking into several things. There is the possibility of assembling or producing our Proton cars here. A number of Malaysian companies are working here, mainly in construction and infrastructure sectors such as ports. We have faced very few problems. We get along well with the government of AP.”
