(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
Japan which was so successful before has become a victim of this new system. Until
now the Japanese cannot resurrect their ailing economy.Japan, and the prosperity and
the peace after the Second World War has been brought to an end because of the
attempt to improve on what was already working well.With the introduction of new
approaches in the development of the economy of the world, with the frenzy to
acquire wealth, with the disregard for the poverty and sufferings of so many in this
world, with allowing the seizure of territories here and there, all the progress that had
been made before has been destroyed.
While addressing the Malays and the nation, Dr. Mahathir also at the same time addresses
the West. While admitting that “democracy is the best system of government ever invented
by man
(B)ut it is not free from defects. For those who do not understand the limits of
democracy, the likelihood is that governments which are weak, or corrupt will rule. At
time anarchy will result from practising liberal democracy.
Dr. Mahathir warns of the how democracy can go wrong.
Democracy depends on popular support. This support can be obtained because the
candidate or the party is skilled at governing and developing the country. But popular
support can also be obtained because of racialism, because of deliberate
misinterpretation of religion, or through bribing the voters.
Revealing major defects in democracy, Mahathir cautions voters in a democratic system that
they can also make use of racialism, religious injunctions or bribery. Hence the winner
which forms the government will not be the qualified and able, but those “with thick
racialism, or those who misinterpret religion or those who are corrupt. Government by such
people will ruin the country, while the able and clean party will lose.
Dr. Mahathir is cognizant of the good intentions of the West “to force the acceptance of
democracy” amongst the non-European nations. He acknowledges that Europeans’ belief that
democracy will help “the developing countries they way it helped their own countries.”
But they forget the long period of time they took to understand and get benefits from
this system. The struggle for power in a newly democratic developing country has
caused hundreds of parties to be formed. A strong Government cannot possibly be
formed if the electorate is divided by hundreds of parties. There will not be a party
which will get enough representatives to form a strong Government.
Dr.Mahathir accuses the West for not being happy with Malaysia because they want “to see
frequent changes of Government.” “We in Malaysia have succeeded in practising
democracy” but their (the West) new slogan is ‘Regime Change.” Because there has been
no change, and Malaysia remains “peaceful and successful they accuse us of being
undemocratic and dictatorial.”
Dr. Mahathir questions the West on the accusation that the Malaysian government is
dictatorial: “Who are they to accuse our Government as dictatorial? Referring to the West as
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