Kuala Lumpur Is Determined To Get an Australian Apology : Malaysians Fuming Over Keating's Jab 
International Herald Tribune
December 8, 1993
Michael Richardson  

Prime Minister Paul Keating of Australia has a sharp tongue, which he frequently uses on political opponents at home. His colorful invective is accepted, although sometimes criticized, in the rough-and-tumble of Australian politics.

But when Mr. Keating called Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia "a recalcitrant" for boycotting last month's meeting of leaders of the 17 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, it hit a sensitive nerve of nationalism in Malaysia.

The Malaysian cabinet will meet in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to decide how the government should respond, after a number of ministers asserted that Mr. Keating had failed to show he was sorry.

Some Malaysian officials are calling for tough economic sanctions against Australia and a downgrading of diplomatic relations.

"The cabinet decision could have far-reaching effects on the bilateral relations between the two countries," Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Malaysian foreign minister, warned.

Analysts said that while Malaysia appeared to be overreacting, Mr. Keating's intemperate comment had enabled Mr. Mahathir to rally support following party elections in which he was reported to have lost ground to younger leaders.

Clive Kessler, a professor in the Asian studies center at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said the incident had also given Mr. Mahathir an opportunity to divert attention from his miscalculation in boycotting the forum meeting, a decision that left Malaysia virtually isolated in the region.

Even Malaysian critics and opponents of Mr. Mahathir - who has offended some of his Asian neighbors and many Western nations with his own abrasive conduct in the past - have rallied behind him on this occasion, suggesting that Malaysian national pride is at stake.

Musa Hitam, a former deputy prime minister who resigned some years ago after clashing with Mr. Mahathir, said that Mr. Keating's behavior was "quite symptomatic of how insensitive Australians are" toward Asia as it seeks to develop closer economic, political and security ties with the region.

Official relations between Malaysia and Australia have deteriorated sharply in recent days.

But Australia insisted Tuesday that there was nothing more it could do to settle the dispute following a letter sent by Mr. Keating to Mr. Mahathir last week. The text has not been published.

Gareth Evans, Australia's foreign minister, said in Parliament that the Malaysian prime minister had been told that no offense was intended.

"We can't state it any more clearly than that," he added.

Najib Razak, the Malaysian defense minister, earlier said that it might end all arms deals with Australia unless Mr. Keating "explicitly showed repentance."

Such a ban would preclude Australia from winning a contract to build 27 offshore patrol vessels for Malaysia.

Malaysian officials said that the Australian company had put in a strong bid for the contract, which would be worth about $1.6 billion.

Mr. Najib said that the Five Power Defense Arrangements, under which the armed forces of Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore exercise together regularly, would not be affected by sanctions against Australia.

He said that these arrangements were "in the interest of the whole region" and "cannot be compromised simply because we have bilateral problems."

Copyright © 2006 The International Herald Tribune