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Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it was unwise for Asean, including Malaysia, to take a confrontational stance against China. "That is why Malaysia has a slightly different attitude towards this. We accept that China is a powerful nation and we cannot go to war with China. "So we need to have some diplomatic ways of negotiating with China," he said in an interview with ThaiPBS on wide-ranging international issues. Asked if this includes US warships, Mahathir said yes, stating there should be no distinction. However, he noted the US' penchant to provoke China, a position Malaysia does not favour....

In January, 2000, Malaysia’s capital was where key members of Al Qaeda held their “Kuala Lumpur summit” to plan the bombing of the USS Cole that October, as well as the later attacks of 9/11/01. In light of this, and other facts pointing to Kuala Lumpur playing host to a hotbed of Islamic terrorists over the years, the baffling mystery of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 provokes renewed scrutiny of Kuala Lumpur in fostering international terrorism to date. In this context, Malaysia’s Islamic government and prevailing majority Mohammedan culture comes across as either grossly incompetent, or even somewhat...

DIRE STRAITSTerrorists under the bed By Anil Netto PENANG, Malaysia - As United States troops pour into the southern Philippines to help in tracking down the armed Abu Sayyaf group, focus in the war against terrorism has clearly extended to Southeast Asia. The US troop deployment coincides with a Newsweek magazine report citing secret Federal Bureau of Investigation data that apparently showed that Malaysia was a primary operational launch-pad for the September 11 attacks on the US. Ironically, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, where more than 40 alleged militants have been detained without trial since last May, forcefully denied ...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government. Mahathir told reporters he was aware a payment was made to Abramoff, but he didn't know who made it. He said he had been persuaded by the U.S. think tank Heritage Foundation to meet with Bush at the time. "It is true that somebody paid but it was not the (Malaysian) government," Mahathir said. "I understood some people paid a sum of money...

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Muslim countries are inadvertently helping the United States kill fellow Muslims in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan by trading and investing in the U.S. dollars, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday. The 82-year-old, who is well-known as a strident U.S. critic, is championing the return to the gold standard through the use of a gold dinar instead of the U.S. dollar, which he said is actually "worth nothing." "Today, the Muslims are richer than they had ever been before, that is, in terms of their earnings of U.S. dollar. But they have not...

Marina Mahathir lived a privileged life in Islamic Malaysia. Her father was prime minister. But she has created a firestorm. She writes a regular column for a newspaper and one essays she wrote has been attacked. The column had actually been held back by the paper for several days, no doubt as they tried to decide what to do. The reason for the uproar is that she said new religious laws in Malaysia are attempting to make women second class citizens. The laws, proposed by Islamic groups, impose stricter controls on women. When attacked for prejudice the authoritarian always resorts...

FORMER Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has launched a lawsuit against one-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamad for accusing him of being a homosexual. "We have filed a defamation suit against Tun Mahathir today. Anwar has a very good case and we remain confident," said his counsel Sankara Nair. "We reiterate that our client is neither a homosexual nor a sodomiser." Mr Anwar said he had intended to "move on with my life" after being acquitted in 2004 of the sodomy charges which triggered his sacking and imprisonment in 1998. But Mr Mahathir remains "defiant in repeating his allegations. I am...

Since September 2001 the struggle between militantly radical and progressive or democratic tendencies—between “ungentle” and “gentle” Islam—has become a matter of urgent importance not only among Muslims but to others beyond their faith community. Some observers suggest that the course taken by this contest in Malaysia may be of more than local significance: because Malaysia has demonstrated singular success among Muslim-majority nations in achieving economic growth and the various worldly attainments associated with it; and because, in opposition to the new militant Islamism, its rulers have promoted and identified themselves with modern, progressive, and liberal forms of Islam. Islam Hadhari...

Former Malaysian prime minister upset after border crossing guards delay entourage By Ali Waked TEL AVIV - IDF soldiers delayed former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at a border crossing before allowing him to enter the Palestinian Authority, sources at the former leader’s entourage charge. Mahathir, who arrived from Jordan Sunday for meetings with senior Palestinian officials, said guards at the Allenby Bridge humiliated him and his associates and performed humiliating searches through their belongings. Sources close to Mahathir said the delay caused by guards interfered with the visit’s schedule. Mahathir was slated to meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed...

Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has taken his family on a month-long annual holiday to Malaysia despite the loss of life caused by Sunday's disastrous tsunami wave, which devastated resorts there and along the coasts of many nations bordering the Indian Ocean. State radio reported on Tuesday the 80-year-old head of state and his delegation were seen off at Harare airport by vice-presidents Joseph Msika and Joyce Mujuru and members of his elite policy-making body, the Politburo. Mugabe, who formed a close friendship with former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamed, has vowed to develop economic, political and tourism ties with...

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Close Where is that gold dinar? by Jude Wanniski Wednesday 24 November 2004 11:01 AM GMT When Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Muhamad last November retired from his 22 years in power at age 77, I had hoped he would devote his energies to a monetary reform of the Islamic world built around a gold dinar. But after a few speeches and press releases on this subject, he has disappeared, practically dropping out of sight.With the dollar price of gold now soaring and the US dollar sinking against the euro, the whole world could now make good use of Mahathir's idea,...

If you are an American Jew and are inclined to vote for Sen. Kerry, you will be doing what al-Qaida and all of Israel's enemies want you to do: Get rid of George Bush. While many Muslims voted for Bush in 2000, this year they are going to vote for Kerry. Why? Because Kerry is against the war in Iraq and may not "stay the course," as we know that Bush will. Israel's enemies want Kerry to win, and that includes Yasser Arafat, plus the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad who said that "Jews rule the world by proxy."...

Malaysia's controversial former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has urged Muslim voters in the U.S. to support Sen. John F. Kerry "in the name of Islam" in next month's election. Mahathir, whose retirement last year came amid a row over comments deemed anti-Semitic, said in an open letter to American Muslims that President Bush had been "the cause of the tragedies" across the Muslim world. The letter, dated Oct. 15, said Kerry may not be much better, "but we have a duty to ensure that Bush will not be able to determine our fate for four more years." Mahathir accused Bush...

Mahathir blasts Americans, Bush From correspondents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 19oct04 AMERICANS were "very ignorant" and would almost certainly re-elect a "liar" as their president, Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said in an interview published today. The trademark tongue lashing directed at US President George W. Bush also took in his allies - Prime Minister John Howard and Britain's Tony Blair. In an interview with Malaysia's The Star newspaper Dr Mahathir also did not spare Mr Bush's rival, Senator John Kerry, saying both politicians were "in total denial" about the root causes of terrorism. Dr Mahathir stepped down as...

WASHINGTON: Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohammad has appealed to American Muslims not to vote for George Bush on November 2. In an open letter sent to the community, believed to number seven million, the former prime minister said during the past four years of the Bush presidency, the Muslims and their countries had suffered oppression and humiliation as never before in the history of Islam. “There is an obvious connection between the sufferings of the Muslims and the policies and thinking of Bush. We cannot expect much change to the policies of the United States of America towards Islam and...

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's former prime minister has urged Muslims in America to vote for US Senator John Kerry in the Nov 2 presidential election, saying President George W. Bush has been 'the cause of the tragedies' across the Muslim world.

Mahathir asks Muslims to vote out Bush By Khalid Hasan WASHINGTON: Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohammad has appealed to American Muslims not to vote for George Bush on November 2. In an open letter sent to the community, believed to number seven million, the former prime minister said during the past four years of the Bush presidency, the Muslims and their countries had suffered oppression and humiliation as never before in the history of Islam. “There is an obvious connection between the sufferings of the Muslims and the policies and thinking of Bush. We cannot expect much change to the...

THE Palestinians reacted angrily yesterday after US President George W. Bush threw into doubt a 2005 target date for their promised state. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat accused Mr Bush of torpedoing the Mideast peace road map drawn up by the US, the United Nations, European Union and Russia. "President Bush's position removes any substance from the roadmap by calling into question the timetable for its implementation, which is an essential element of it," Mr Erakat said. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was more measured with his criticism, saying that any delay to statehood was "unrealistic". "One ought already to have...

Foreign leaders’ apparent infatuation with John Kerry raises two disturbing questions voters need to consider before November: Why do these leaders prefer Kerry to President Bush, and what does their endorsement say about Kerry? These questions are quite apart from the flap over whether Kerry actually had private endorsements from other foreign leaders, whom he still refuses to identify. Those anonymous endorsers, Kerry says, told him they, “can’t go out and say this publicly but, boy, they look at you and say, ‘You gotta win this, you gotta beat this guy, we need a new policy.’”Far more important than whether...