Dr Mahathir Mediator In Thai Imbroglio. Slap On The Face For The Government.
No matter what the government says and does or even if it downplays Dr Mahathir's role in the unrest in Thailand's south, the fact remains that this turn of events is a terrible blow to Malaysian foreign policy as well as the credibility of our leaders.
Remember we are the current numero uno at the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and it is a great shame that the Thai Muslims have ignored the Malaysian government, the de jure leader of the Muslim world, and plumped for a leading critic of the present administration, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The trust that the Thai Muslims have placed in him and not the government must be very difficult for our leaders to swallow and digest.
Adding injury to this slight is the fact that Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej had backed a series of peace talks held by Dr Mahathir with rebel leaders from Muslim-majority southern Thailand. So what we now have is a situation that can only be described as a severe slap on the face for our government.
What are the options available to the government at this very embarrassing juncture? It can pretend that nothing has happened and carry on as usual, which is very unlikely, given that the media will be splashing the news along with Mahathir's photo on a daily basis. It can try to bask in reflected glory by attempting to get a bit of the media attention along with the Tun and implying that they were in this together. They can of course sound very official like DPM Najib when he said that Malaysia has not received any formal invitation to host talks between the Thai government and Muslim separatist groups in southern Thailand: "We have not been asked (formally). We were invited by the Philippines government to host talks between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)...but we have not received any feedback on this (Thai issue)," while desperately trying to act unconcerned.
The other real option would be to do the utmost to scuttle Dr Mahathir's attempts at mediation and insinuate its way into the peacemaker's role by cutting a deal with the new Thai leadership. Our government can be very persistent. Remember how such perseverance ensured that the UN finally approved Malaysian troops be sent to Lebanon? In fact Najib also said that Thailand's interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed to the seat following a coup in the country last month, would be visiting Malaysia soon. "Details of the visit are being currently worked out, although the agenda for the visit was not yet known." Hmmm..
Remember we are the current numero uno at the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and it is a great shame that the Thai Muslims have ignored the Malaysian government, the de jure leader of the Muslim world, and plumped for a leading critic of the present administration, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The trust that the Thai Muslims have placed in him and not the government must be very difficult for our leaders to swallow and digest.
Adding injury to this slight is the fact that Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej had backed a series of peace talks held by Dr Mahathir with rebel leaders from Muslim-majority southern Thailand. So what we now have is a situation that can only be described as a severe slap on the face for our government.
What are the options available to the government at this very embarrassing juncture? It can pretend that nothing has happened and carry on as usual, which is very unlikely, given that the media will be splashing the news along with Mahathir's photo on a daily basis. It can try to bask in reflected glory by attempting to get a bit of the media attention along with the Tun and implying that they were in this together. They can of course sound very official like DPM Najib when he said that Malaysia has not received any formal invitation to host talks between the Thai government and Muslim separatist groups in southern Thailand: "We have not been asked (formally). We were invited by the Philippines government to host talks between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)...but we have not received any feedback on this (Thai issue)," while desperately trying to act unconcerned.
The other real option would be to do the utmost to scuttle Dr Mahathir's attempts at mediation and insinuate its way into the peacemaker's role by cutting a deal with the new Thai leadership. Our government can be very persistent. Remember how such perseverance ensured that the UN finally approved Malaysian troops be sent to Lebanon? In fact Najib also said that Thailand's interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed to the seat following a coup in the country last month, would be visiting Malaysia soon. "Details of the visit are being currently worked out, although the agenda for the visit was not yet known." Hmmm..
posted by The Malaysian. at 10/12/2006 05:52:00 PM
6 Comments:
Tun Mamak Kangkang better be careful. There is more than one road to Hell and, Mamak, if I were you...I would tread very, very carefully. Hopefully your lust to be seen as LKY's equal internationally does not hamper your judgement (which is often flawed in the 1st place). I would also urge him to do a general study of the history and relationship between the Malay Peninsular and the Siamese for the past millenium.
Looks like the old dog still has some tricks left in him.
or because the not so old puppy has none to start with ?
Now the circus is moving out of our shores, how global !
Hang on for a moment.
I don't have the latest news on this issue, but it might be possible to consider the fact that the Thai government may have wanted an "honest broker", an "outsider" i.e. someone not officially connected to either governments.
I mean, the whole South Thai muslim issue has been a big potential time bomb between Malaysia and Thailand, with accusations hurled against Malaysia for harbouring Muslim separatists in the south of Thailand, right?
It would look really bad - or unbalanced to non-Muslim Thais - if an official of the Malaysian government were to step in - in an official capacity - to resolve disputes.
Also, it's not in Thailand's interests to allow an official of the Malaysian government to resolve the dispute in the first place; there are large questions about sovereignty and confidence in Thai leadership (especially after the coup) to consider, I think.
Mahathir going up north can only have happened with the Malaysian government's permission, if I'm not wrong...
So.. maybe there are larger considerations at stake?
Very good point indeed xpyre. Here is a Bernama update on the Thai issue
Ultimately, my thesis closes here. Thanks to this domain, I would now lie guaranteed that my work will be performed and having distinction. - tropical fish
Maybe they wanted an honest broker. Or maybe what they wanted was a 'fall guy' if the peace talk falls apart. Remember, it took a devastating tsunami to bring peace to Aceh.
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