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Mahathir hints
early election is possible
But the 76-year-old leader is undecided on whether to retire, saying he wants to finish work 'beneficial to the people and the country' KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has hinted that Malaysia could face an early election next year and says he has not yet decided on whether to retire. Dr Mahathir, whose ruling Barisan Nasional received a boost from a resounding victory against the opposition in a Perlis state by-election over a week ago, said he was happy with the status quo. 'I do not think we will call for an early election...but there's also a possibility that we will hold it one year earlier, that is in 2003,' he said in a story in Taiwan's China Times newspaper on Monday. Speculation about an early election has swirled recently following recent troubles in the main opposition alliance and amid a perceived upswing of public support for the Prime Minister's strong stance against Islamic militants. The next election is due to be held by late 2004. Asked whether he would seek re-election, the 76-year-old said: 'Currently, I have not decided yet.' Dr Mahathir, who has been Prime Minister for more than 20 years, added that he wanted to complete work 'that is beneficial to the people and the country'. There has been much speculation about his successor in political circles and financial markets since he fired his one-time protege Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister in 1998. He has said his current deputy, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, would likely succeed him. On other issues, the Premier said he would not further Islamise Malaysia, which has large Chinese and Indian minorities. He believes non-Muslims are happy with the current state of affairs, which allows them to follow their own faiths even though Islam is the official religion. As for the special privileges in education and business enjoyed by Malays and other bumiputeras, he said these would not be abolished until the bumiputeras could compete on an equal footing with the Chinese and Indians. He said it would be possible to have an ethnic Chinese prime minister in the future if that leader was acceptable to all communities. Meanwhile, at a separate function yesterday, Dr Mahathir gave a withering assessment of Malays. 'What is obvious and the truth is that they, in their own country, have to depend on other races to build up the country's prosperity, and various affairs of the community are planned and implemented by other races.' He said Malays had a tendency to take the easy way out, giving away all that they possessed. He complained that they were still prepared to sell off business facilities obtained from the government instead of using them for their own benefit. --AFP, AP |
