Malaysia lagging behind regional neighbours, says Anwar
(The Edge) – Malaysia may not be a failed state but it has fallen far behind other regional nations such as Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, said former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
And as far as he was concerned, Malaysia could well be close to becoming a failed state.
"I was finance minister during those great years of economic development with the then prime minister. Since 1998, we've not been able to recover and corruption has gotten worse. Political repression is the norm of the ruling clique but I wouldn't say it is a failed state although it's close to becoming one," said Anwar during an interview with France 24 in Paris on Wednesday night.
The Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader was responding to a question on the irony of him opposing the ruling government which has been credited with turning the country into a "beacon of economic development in the region".
"I don't believe it's correct to compare Malaysia to Somalia or Chad but it must be compared with our neighbours. We were at the same threshold as Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. But we've gone down the ladder compared to these countries.
"It is not objective to compare Malaysia to poorer countries but countries in the medium range," he added.
Anwar was defensive too when responding to a question on whether the country practised apartheid.
"I wouldn't go to the extent of calling it apartheid or brutal oppression against the ethnic minorities but clearly there is discrimination and clear intolerance."
He said there were cases in the past where the ruling government demolished Hindu temples and basic demands from the Christian community were summarily dismissed without proper discussions and the national economic policy which was discriminatory in favour of the Malays.
"But I would argue against that by saying it doesn't favour the Malays. It only favours the cronies and families of the rich Malay political clique.
"So, we say that we can continue with affirmative action based on needs and not on race. We can craft a Malaysian Economic Agenda which can propel the economy and attract investments and allow for all races to move up the ladder."
On his secular party's cooperation with Islamic party, PAS, Anwar said he saw no problems there.
"We have to acknowledge that Muslims are the majority in the country. Many Muslims opt to accept the moderate stance of Islam and accommodate the feelings, sentiments and culture of non-Muslims.
"The Islamic party represents a moderate stance. The parameters of our understanding are a freedom of conscience, religion and a new economic agenda.
"There are many minor issues which we have to grapple with but I don't think that should be a factor which would hinder our understanding," he said.
Anwar said Islam, democracy and development were very compatible but the problem was when people viewed the religion from the perspective of certain extreme elements.
Citing Muslim-majority Indonesia as an example, Anwar said its transition from authoritarianism to democracy was largely peaceful and that it was now a full fledged democracy. Anwar was in Paris to speak on Islam and the West.
