KUALA LUMPUR, 7 November — Mahathir Mohamad, prime minister of Malaysia, has warned that US aggression against Iraq will not solve any problem in the Middle East.
In a meeting with journalists yesterday, Mahathir emphasized: "In fact if the US uses its power to remove President Saddam Hussein from power, I don’t think it will help solve problems in the Middle East. On the contrary, it will fuel more terrorism."
He also said: "There is another major issue in the Middle East which is the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel. The Palestinians can do nothing because Israel gets total support from the US. Unless the root causes of problems are addressed, I don’t think there will be any changes in the Middle East." He pointed out that unless injustice were corrected and Palestinians given their rights, terrorism would continue.
Responding to a question about the Sept. 11 attacks, Mahathir said the US was angry but so were Muslims and that it was important to find "the reasons behind so tragic an action."
According to Mahathir, Islamic banking and finance will face problems due to what he calls the continued policy of revenge by the US government. Nevertheless, Mahathir urged the Muslim world to unite and accept the idea of a gold dinar or trading among themselves. "If you have the gold dinar, you will lessen the dominance of the US dollar."
He also regretted that Muslim countries were not serious in solving their political and economic problems even though some of the countries have enormous wealth at their disposal. He believes that Muslim countries should attract foreign direct investment (FDI) which would help stimulate their economies.
When "speculator" George Soros wreaked havoc in Southeast Asia in 1997, Malaysia was badly affected. Its economy was in shambles and there was also a major drop in tourism. Mahathir emphasized: "We are taking stringent measures and keeping records of all currency transactions so it would be very difficult for any speculator to invade our country."
When asked about playing any role between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, Mahathir gave a straight negative answer, a flat no. He said that India does not welcome third party interference in its internal affairs. At the same time, he urged the United Nations to implement its resolutions pertaining to Kashmir.
Asked if he would accept the chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) after his retirement in November 2003, he said he would like to spend his time with his grandchildren but that he would always be available to serve Islam and Muslims.
