ReformIS
[ Berita (News) | Cari (Search) | Menu Utama (Main Menu) | Hantar Berita (Submit News) ]
From: CNN
Date: 03 May 1999
Time: 23:05:16
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warned Malaysians Saturday that their nation would be ruined if they allowed their minds to be influenced by local opposition leaders and world leaders.
Mahathir took aim at Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who met the wife of jailed dissident leader Anwar Ibrahim during her recent three-day visit to the Philippines.
"Not Estrada or leaders of foreign nations, using local puppets, have the right to decide the nation's future," the national news agency Bernama quoted Mahathir as saying.
"We will defend the country's sovereignty until our last breath," he told residents of Kubang Pasu, his home district in the northern Kedah state.
Estrada has repeatedly encouraged Anwar, whom he considers a friend, to fight for his rights after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison two weeks ago. The former deputy prime minister has denied the charges and said the case was an attempt to silence his opposition to Mahathir.
During her visit to Manila this week, Anwar's wife, Azizah Ismail, who recently became an opposition leader herself, sharply criticized Mahathir's leadership. Azizah's visit drew protests from Malaysian leaders who lashed out at her for seeking foreign help to solve internal problems.
Estrada, however, has said that Azizah's trip should not be viewed as Philippine interference in Malaysian affairs because she was not invited by the Philippine government.
Estrada, right, and Azizah Politics Malaysian-style Mahathir called on all Malaysians to defend the country's independence through the ballot box and to reject opposition parties mimicking Western-style democracy, which indulges in libel, slander, blasphemy and vulgarity.
"Let's not be too obsessed with the West," he said, urging his constituents to aim for progress without abandoning moral values.
Azizah has made repeated trips to Mahathir's home constituency, Kubang Pasu, to rally support for the reform movement launched by her husband to challenge Mahathir's 18- year leadership. Her late-night speeches have drawn crowds of tens of thousands.
Although Mahathir has until April 2000 to hold general elections, political leaders from opposition groups and the government have begun touring the Southeast Asian nation to drum up support.