Kuala Lumpur: India, which made the "mistake
of being too democratic", will grow at a slower pace than
China in the 21st century which belonged to Asia, Malaysia`s
outspoken former Premier Mahathir Mohamad has said.
"Democracy can be a hindrance to progress because you
spend so much time politicking that you don`t have time to
develop your country," Mahthir, who was at the helm in
Malaysia for 22 years, said.
Singling out India, the veteran 84-year-old politician
said that the country, "of course, will grow, but more slowly
than China. It has the numbers but is not making use of them
well. In China, there`s not much politics. So, they can spend
more time developing their country."
In a democracy, everybody has a voice and vote, he noted
while addressing a seminar here yesterday. "But, in Malaysia,
they sell their votes, which is not good at all."
Asserting that the 21st century belonged to Asia,
Mahathir said the change would be led by China, Japan, South
Korea, Taiwan and to a lesser extent by India, which he felt
made the "mistake of being too democratic."
His views on India were an echo of thoughts by Singapore`s
statesman Lee Kuan Yew, who had said a decade ago that India`s
total democracy sometimes got in the way of fast development.
However, Mahathir said India would emerge as a key player
in IT, but it would take some time because of bureaucracy in
the country. "They will make tremendous progress in the IT
world because everything is now going to be digitalised.
Indian software is extremely good."
Mahathir, credited with making Malaysia join the ranks of
the Tiger economies with fast accelerating growth, said the
West`s focus on democracy, civil rights and individual
liberties was the reason behind its economic flaccidity.
"The British believe a lot in so-called freedom. Their
workers must be allowed to go on strike all the time. So, they
have the problem of being a very unproductive population.
They must be free of everything. When you do that,
productivity will drop. When productivity drops, you cannot
compete," he said.
Mahathir said East Asia`s emerging economic dominance
over the West was due to its productivity and strong work
ethic, `New Straits Times` reported.
Dismissing strife-torn West Asia`s chances of becoming a
meaningful global player, Mahathir called it "the failed part"
of the continent.
"They are not going to make much progress, unfortunately.
They are not going to contribute to the Asia of the 21st
century. But it doesn`t matter because Asia is such a big
place," he said during a talk on `Asia and the 21st Century`,
organised by University Malaya`s Asia-Europe Institute.
Mahathir also spoke about the increasing trend among
young people to ape Western culture.
"Today, there are places in Tokyo where you see young
people with multi-coloured hair. They look like Red Indians.
These are the young Japanese who have adopted Western values.
"They want to be free and be able to change the place
they work, hop from one place to another and take marijuana.
This is what the Europeans do," he said.
Bureau Report
