Kuala Lumpur: Developing nations should sign
the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) only after properly studying
its impact on the economy to avoid losing out, veteran
Malaysian leader and former premier Mahathir Mohammad said.
He said the lopsided FTAs should not be initialled and
fine prints must be scrutinised before signing any agreement,
Mahathir, who was premier for 22 years noted.
The United States-Singapore FTA was used as a model on
how other countries could benefit from borderless trade
without tax, but Singapore did not need to give up anything
when it signed the agreement as it was a freeport and it does
not impose tax anyway, Mahathir said.
However, he cautioned countries like Malaysia would have
to give up many things for such an agreement that is more
beneficial to the United States.
Speaking at the inaugural discourse series on 'Strategic
Positioning of the Malays in a Borderless World', Mahathir
said that bilateral FTAs were merely "lateral" tactics that
would eventually help the Westerners achieve a borderless
world and subsequently monopolise the global economy.
"I am not saying that we shouldn’t sign FTAs," he said
adding "but we must reject clauses that will put us at the
losing end."
"Without political power, the Malays would be
marginalised just like the American Indians in United States,
Aborigines in Australia and Maoris in New Zealand," he said.
"Central America, for example, is actually controlled by
American banana plantation operators, hence it is called
Banana Republic," he observed.
Mahathir said Malaysia could have lost its grip on the
economy if it gave in to Western-prescribed measures to
overcome the economic crisis of 1997.
"We took unprecedented measures to protect our
interest, and we have succeeded", the former premier said, who
was widely credited for stabilisation of Malaysian economy
during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
He pegged the local currency Ringgit to the US dollar
and did not allow it to free float, a move that protected the
currency and Malaysia was not hard hit as Thailand.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 12:22