Asia Times: Southeast Asia


	June 28, 2002	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Mixed feelings over Mahathir move

JAKARTA - Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) has lauded Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's intention to resign from his post next year.

"The process of regeneration everywhere cannot be stopped despite a person's good performance. Moreover, Mahathir has been in power too long - 21 years," said Ibrahim Ambong, chairman of the House Commission on Defense, Information and Foreign Affairs.

Mahathir has announced plans to step down from his post after Malaysia hosts a summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference scheduled for October 23-24, 2003. Expected to take over his seat is deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Ambong said Mahathir's surprise announcement might trigger some political instability in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, as had happened when former Indonesian president Suharto announced his resignation. But he went on to say that while Mahathir has a reputation as an authoritarian leader, he has not been tainted by corruption as Suharto was.

"To be stern in leading a country is indeed important. Anyway, Mahathir is cleaner than Suharto in terms of corruption, collusion, and nepotism," he said.

Meanwhile in Manila, the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed surprise at Mahathir's announcement but said it is confident that the change in national leadership will not seriously affect Malaysia's relations with other ASEAN members.

Philippine acting press secretary Silvestre Afable Jr said officials of the Arroyo administration "are somewhat surprised by his [Mahathir's] decision. We all know that President Arroyo enjoys very close personal relations with Prime Minister Mahathir and he has been very helpful to us, especially in the peace process in Mindanao," Afable said.

Despite this, Afable said the Arroyo administration is confident that in "regard to the continuity of leadership in Malaysia, we have to doubt that Malaysia is a very stable nation. Its stability and its relationship with the ASEAN will not be affected by this."

Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has welcomed Mahathir's decision to maintain his position as Malaysian prime minister for now, saying that it would be difficult for Southeast Asia to have more political uncertainty at the moment.

(Asia Pulse/PNA/Antara)