Britain Should Be Firm
International Herald Tribune
March 1, 1994
Gerald Segal     

What began as a parochial British scandal about whether funds for an aid project in Malaysia were linked to arms sales has become a nasty diplomatic fracas. Malaysia now says it will not approve any more government contracts with British companies.

Mahathir bin Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, has a chip on his shoulder. The sooner it is knocked off, the better relations between East Asia and the West will be.

Mr. Mahathir has reacted angrily to suggestions in the British press that arms and other business deals with Malaysia involved kickbacks. Yet such allegations have been around for years, and they ring true for foreign businessmen in many Southeast Asian countries.

Malaysia's overreaction to the normal investigative activities of the Western press is similar to its overreaction when Paul Keating, the Australian prime minister, described Mr. Mahathir as "recalcitrant" for not attending the informal summit in Seattle late last year of leaders from countries in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Despite his reputation as a political street fighter, Mr. Keating essentially capitulated to the Malaysian demand for an apology.

Appeasement does not pay, for clearly Mr. Mahathir is now emboldened to take on a bigger power.

Britain's initial reaction is soggy. It is not surprising that British firms with business interests in Malaysia are anxious. But taking out a full- page advertisement in the weekend press that grovels to Malaysia is hardly a dignified way to proceed. The Labor opposition has joined in the attacks on the government rather than standing up for the rights of an independent press.

Britain is seeking a behind-the- scenes settlement. That is understandable. But the time has come for a more robust and candid response.

Many East Asian officials were privately critical of Mr. Mahathir for failing to attend the Seattle summit and for his previous attempts to sabotage APEC. These officials could not say so publicly, but they were cheering for Mr. Keating, hoping that he would cut the Malaysian leader down a peg.

The main reason for Britain to take a more robust line has to do with the debate about a supposed East Asian right to deviate from internationally recognized covenants when it suits authoritarian regimes. A free press that investigates official malfeasance is a core part of a democratic system. Britain and the rest of the West should be defending that right with gusto.

Now that the Japanese and South Korean press are playing an active part in their countries' democratic politics, it is hard to argue that a free press is not part of Asia's cultural values. Much as Singapore hides behind such civilizational arguments when it overreacts to critical comments in the international media, so Malaysia is trying to hide the arbitrary actions of its government.

Britain, whose imports from Malaysia are nearly 50 per cent higher than its exports, could respond with counterthreats of a "Buy Malaysian Last" policy. Kuala Lumpur should be threatened with international action through GATT if it persists in its unilateral sanctions against Britain.

Only by establishing a more straightforward basis for dealing with Malaysia will Britain put its relations with East Asia on a stable footing for the longer term.

The writer, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and editor of The Pacific Review, contributed this comment to the Herald Tribune.

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