Dr M still in his element

Outspoken PM handles international issues with ease

TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad pulled no punches in the Big Apple as he returned to the international stage for the United Nations general assembly.

He was direct in his views on domestic and international issues that ranged from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho to US President Donald Trump.

Outspoken as ever, the Prime Minister spent nearly an hour fielding questions at a meeting with the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Saying he did not agree with Trump’s policy of imposing tariffs on China, Dr Mahathir said a US trade war against it would not hamper the Asian giant’s rise.

Asked for his advice to Trump, Dr Mahathir replied: “Be consistent. If you want to fight us, say you want to fight us.

“If you don’t want to fight us and you want to be friends, then say so and be friends.”

Whether the world liked it or not, China would be playing a bigger role in world affairs, he said.

“One has to learn to live with China. Malaysia has lived with China for 2,000 years and we know a little bit about them,” Dr Mahathir told the audience, which included advisers to US policy-makers.

Asked whether the Pakatan Harapan government’s push to probe the graft cases of Umno leaders could create political instabili- ty, Dr Mahathir predicted that it was the party itself that would collapse.

“Umno is fragmented now; it is going to collapse. There is no future for Umno anymore because the people detest Umno; that is why they supported the (then) opposition so strongly,” he said.

Attending the Bloomberg Global Business Forum later, Dr Mahathir promised an all-out war on corruption.

“The first thing we need to do is to make sure leaders are not corrupt. If the leaders are, there’s no way we’re going to stop corruption from spreading,” he said.

He reiterated his promise to hand over the reins to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“I made a promise that I would not stay long as Prime Minister. Maybe two years, maybe more, maybe less,” he said.

Asked if it was his desire and expectation that Anwar be the next Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir said: “That is my promise.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the questions posed at the CFR event were directed towards Dr Mahathir not just in his capacity as Prime Minister.

“They were seeking advice from a very experienced leader,” Saifudddin said.

Dr Mahathir’s political comeback as Prime Minister wowed the moderator and fellow speakers at the Bloomberg forum, who included the prime ministers of Holland Mark Rutte and New Zealand Jacinda Ardern.

Asked by forum moderator Fareed Zakaria on his secret to staying healthy, Dr Mahathir said he kept to a strict diet, exercised and got six hours of sleep every night.

“This means you and I can still be Prime Minister at 90,” Rutte said to Ardern, drawing laughter in the room.

Fareed ended the forum by complimenting Dr Mahathir on his political return.

“This is the ultimate political comeback. In my 25 years of watching politics, I don’t think there’s another like it,” he said.

Dr Mahathir later met with representatives of US companies that have expressed interest in raising their investments in Malaysia.

Among the companies at the roundtable were Coca-Cola, Merck, Eastman Chemical Company, Western Union and FedEx.

Dr Mahathir is scheduled to speak at the UN general assembly today at about 11pm Malaysian time.