Regional focus

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir visited China again. During this period, he would participate in the second Belt and Road summit. It was also one of the leaders of the Belt and Road countries along the Belt and Road Belt and Road.After the Malaysian -China relations have changed the ruling party unprecedentedly, in the past year, it has risen.For example, some of the major Chinese -funded projects that were originally terminated, and recently announced a resumption of work or reorganization, which is impressive.

Some observer, especially from China, have classified Mahathir as anti -Chinese parties in the past few months, thinking that he is not regarded as extremely important to the Chinese side, especially for projects related to the Belt and Road.Support (although some projects are not clearly positioned as Belt and Road projects), it is a manifestation of extremely unknown China, and in the eyes of those who have strong consciousness in the enemy, it is anti -China. This is not compromised.

However, from us who grew up in Mahathir's age and even taught their political wrist, the above -mentioned return to Mahathir's non -black -style white -style, light people can also be said to be superficial, not to be superficial, not unhappy, not.In the border, the heavy person may lead to misunderstanding to become the mainstream understanding, and the bilateral relations that affect Malaysia and China have always been basically stable.

If you have to put Mahathir on a kiss label, you can only say that he is a pro -nation, although this may not be very appropriate.Mahathir is more than 90 years old this year. We may not be familiar with modern history, but in his growth era, colonial rules such as Southeast Asia and the entire Asian, Africa, and Latin America, from the peak to a low tide.Prior to that, most of the areas of the world are still being developed by the European and American powers.

After the end of the First World War, US President Wilson proposed the concept of the so -called national self -determination in a peace plan. It is recommended that residents in one place have a strong willingness to independence under the maturity of the conditions.EssenceMahathir was born in that period of Gandhi who actively strived to India's independence and Kemal had just given Turkey from the era of corruption kingli to progress to progress.At that time, the confrontation between the major colonial clan and the anti -colonial struggle movement was in full swing.

In the Second World War, the Japanese army invaded Southeast Asia and worked very cruelly in many places in this area.However, for many Southeast Asia, especially the indigenous elites, the Japanese army was able to defeat their colonial army for many years that they had dare not resist for many years, and they also inspired their anti -colonial emotions.And the Japanese military and political authorities at that time still deliberately cultivated some indigenous elites, such as a famous scholar who had been the president of the University of Malaya and the official touting, that is, Japan completed its doctorate degree in Japan during World War II; and MalaysiaAt least one former Prime Minister of the country has also served as a local military unit established by the Japanese army.Therefore, many natives of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, have the overall impression of Japan. They have not rushed to the Japanese atrocities in the Japanese army, whether it is the negative historical burden of Chinese or overseas Chinese.

Mahathir went to Japan for the first time in the 1960s. According to him, he was deeply impressed by the spirit of meticulous and excellent work.Compared to some Malaysians who have regarded almost everything as a lazy attitude, Mahathir has been scolding from the first party to the present.Therefore, the so -called Xiangdong learning campaign in his first party was mainly included in the preservation (mainly indigenous) students to study in Japan, and asked the Malays to actively learn the serious work attitude of the Japanese.

Although the results of the movement are half effort, Mahathir is a firm personality of people who have a good victory. After the second stage, he still emphasizes that some Malaysians must learn the spirit of the Japanese in their work.Mahathir does not do so because he is particularly Harbin or his pro -Japanese, but because he sought to improve some citizens he thinks he has become increasingly sinking, otherwise the latter will be extremely difficult to survive in this intense environment of global competition.

However, even if Mahathir is a pro -Japanese, it does not mean that he will automatically anti -China; even if Sino -Japanese relations have different dreams in the same bed, it is painted because of some well -known common interests.Is the human label pro -Japanese or pro -Chinese?

Mahathir has experienced the process of continuous independence in Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, such as the so -called Wandong spirit that respects sovereignty, non -interference, peaceful coexistence in the Asian -African Conference held in Wanda, Indonesia in the 1950sIt must be inspired by Mahathir, who was young in politics.Therefore, for many years, Mahathir will refute the prejudice of the West to the rise of China such as China such as China, especially in the West.For example, he has repeatedly emphasized that China has never conducted aggression and colonies like Western powers in the millennium interaction with Southeast Asia.

After the Tiananmen incident in 1989, China's diplomatic environment was bad, and Mahathir did not avoid suspicion that Malaysia continued to communicate normally with China.Because he respects the spirit of the so -called South -South mutual assistance, that is, developing countries must support each other, so he encouraged Malaysian entrepreneurs to invest in China in the early years of reform and opening up in China, and made an indelible contribution to China's modern development.But when he saw that in Malaysia, some Chinese -owned real estate projects were developed by Chinese -funded and based on market reality, for his generation, it may be like the Shanghai foreign concession of the year. ThereforeFormulatory reflex will be extremely opposed.

Mahathir is a profound international leader with Li Guangyao's peers, and he also has a strong willingness to develop the country.The foreign investment model that Mahathir is familiar with is a foreign business -made headquarters in Malaysia or the establishment of a regional operation headquarters to create local employment opportunities and have a certain technical transfer.So he welcomes investment models such as Alibaba, Geely, etc.For the large -scale infrastructure projects in China, Mahathir is not welcome (he has engaged in many super -large infrastructure in the first party), but he believes that his new government and the Chinese party are both to a certain extentThe victims were pitted by the government of the former Malaysian Kingdom, so after the two sides re -assigned the cost, the project survived again.

I think the reason why some people seriously criticize Mahathir anti -China is that their subtext is to worry that he will be more beautiful in the environment of the two superpowers of China and the United States in the context of the global leadership.Leaving aside Mahathir for many years because of frankly criticizing the United States, he complained with the United States. Since Mahathir came to power this time, China and Japan have gone to several times.How can I get to meet with him as a repeated President Trump?Therefore, Mahathir can be said to be a pragmaticist, and the Malaysian country is eagerly looking forward to his participation in the summit, which can bring a richer fruit.

The author is the Singapore International Affairs Society (SIIA)

Senior researcher