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From: Washington Post
Date: 04 May 1999
Time: 15:29:41
"Mr. Mahathir's Disgrace" [editorial, April 19] claimed that Malaysia's stability and prosperity "seems to be stuck in reverse." But economic indicators show Malaysia to be among the first countries in the region to experience early signs of recovery, with positive growth of about 2.8 percent for the last quarter of 1998.
The Asian Development Bank in its Asian Development Outlook 1999 estimated that Malaysia's gross domestic product will grow 0.7 percent in 1999. At the same time, Goldman Sachs stated recently that Malaysia's GDP will grow at 2 percent in 1999 and 3.9 percent in the year 2000. The U.S. investment house went on to add that it should not be difficult for Malaysia to achieve a growth of 0.9-1.0 percent in the next six months and 3.0-4.0 percent in the second half of 1999. These figures are consistent with Malaysia's own projections. What is more gratifying is that the major elements of our economic prescriptions have now been employed by other affected economies in the region, which has led to similarly encouraging results.
The chief architect of Malaysia's progress and development for 18 years has been the government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and of which Mr. Anwar Ibrahim had been a prominent member from 1982 until September 1998. The achievements of the Malaysian government have been recognized by many, and Malaysia is the only country to have formulated a comprehensive economic recovery plan to address the economic downturn, known as the National Economic recovery Plan. By all accounts, this plan has proven to be effective.
The editorial also dismissed the judicial process in Malaysia by suggesting that Mr. Anwar was not permitted a serious defense in court and the media. The facts speak for themselves: The case is the longest trial in Malaysia's legal history, held over 78 days with 44 witnesses called to testify for the prosecution and defense; Mr. Anwar was represented by nine lawyers of his own choosing; the hearing was open to the public, as well as to foreign observers and media; the trial was reported verbatim by the international and local media; and the judgment ran to 394 pages. Clearly, the trial had gone through the due process of law, and the principles of natural justice were steadfastly upheld at all times.
The fact that Mr. Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, has been able to form a political party to promote her political agenda is a testimony to the vibrancy and vitality of Malaysia's democratic system.
DATO' GHAZZALI
SHEIK ABDUL KHALID
Ambassador
Embassy of Malaysia
Washington