APEC and The Mahathir Conundrum

M G G Pillai Malaysian prune minister Mahathir Mohamed's strident views about Asia's role and its niche in global trade, without being an adjunct to the west's or the United States' agenda, ensures him both a high profile and the image of a cassandra in western perceptions. But, as was evident at the second APEC summit at Bogor, his central questions remain unanswered THE Malaysian prune minister, Mahathir Mohamed.dominated the second APEC informal summit at Bogor, Indonesia, as he did the first in Seattle. USA. Me upstaged president Bill Clinton in Seattle by staying away, and president Suharto in Bogor by mending. It did not earn him friends. His actions riled every leader and they all but ignored his views. The Indonesian foreign minister. Ali Alatas. tetchity insists that should Malaysia not agree, she would be left out of the proposals altogether. Ear more disturbing, though, is the tension this caused between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, which is perceived even more starkly than it was during the early 1960s. during Indonesia's confrontation of Malaysia.