Mahathir's Achievements : LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
International Herald Tribune
January 11, 2000

Regarding the report "Investors Grow Impatient with Mahathir's 'Way"' (Dec. 7):

The writer appears to have decided that nothing the Malaysian government does is right.

Even the election, in which the Barisan Nasional Party won a comfortable 77 percent of parliamentary seats, is described as reflecting "growing impatience with Malaysia's failure to take the kind of financial and corporate medicine that the International Monetary Fund has prescribed for Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea."

The election is better interpreted as a sign that democracy is alive than as an indictment of Malaysia's failure to adopt IMF measures. The public made their electoral decisions based on their understanding of issues and sentiments, but gave the Barisan Nasional alliance a strong mandate to lead the country into the next millennium.

The Malaysian government has begun a process of reform in the banking and corporate sectors to prepare them for greater competition. These efforts have been duly recognized by various international bodies, including the World Bank and the IMF. Indeed, it has often been mentioned that Malaysia's banking and corporate restructuring is far ahead of similar programs in other crisis-hit countries. These reforms certainly require strong political commitment and support, and the mandate given to the government can be read as electoral support to finish these tasks.

ABDUL AZIM MOHD ZABIDI.

Kuala Lumpur.

The writer is chairman of the international affairs committee of the United Malays National Organization Youth Movement.

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