IT HAS BEEN OBVIOUS FOR SOME TIME THAT the comments of Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, on matters relating to India have upset the Narendra Modi government. Ever since the multiparty coalition led by the veteran politician scored an upset victory in the Malaysian general election two years ago, it has not been business as usual in Kuala Lumpur. The new Mahathir Mohamad-led government has been implementing an assertive foreign policy even against powerful and influential countries. He renegotiated the previous government’s trade deals with China and even took a tough stance on the South China Sea dispute, reasserting Malaysia’s claim with greater vigour.
Mahathir Mohamad has called a spade a spade during his long stint in the political limelight. The 94-year old, who came out of retirement to defeat the “Barisan Nasional” government that had been in power since Malaysia gained Independence, has never shied away from voicing his opinions, whether in or out of power. He is a vocal critic of the United States’ policies in West Asia and has few nice things to say about U.S. President Donald Trump. He has refused to meet Trump on his visits to the U.S.
Unlike his Indian counterpart and most other world leaders, he condemned the “immoral” killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, called it a violation of international law and compared it with the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Malaysian Prime Minister has angered the Saudi monarchy in many other ways too. His government highlighted how Saudis and Emiratis helped the previous government cover up the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, one of the biggest corruption deals in modern history. In a speech delivered at the United Nations in 2018, he blamed the creation of Israel as the root cause of the spread of terrorism and the anti-Islamic sentiment being fuelled across the world.
This story is from the February 14, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the February 14, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
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