|
|
Article: Dr Mahathir's noxious remedies.(highly questionable economic policies by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 26, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Unless he quickly changes his prescription, Malaysia's prime minister risks being
remembered for autocracy and economic failure, not for his earlier achievements
EVEN a few months ago, comparisons between Malaysia and Indonesia could be dismissed as over-excited imaginings. Malaysia's economy, though creaking, was not collapsing. Corruption and cronyism, though serious, were far less extensive than in Indonesia. Racial tension, though it existed, was not expressed through raping, burning and looting. The banking system, though over-extended, was not paralysed by foreign debt. And the prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, though criticised abroad, could point to a ...