The Oct. 6 interview conducted by EIR editorial board member Mike Billington with former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad is now posted on the Schiller Institute site.
It is an extraordinary event, as Dr. Mahathir, who is now 99 years old, was Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years, from 1981-2003, during the so-called “Asian Crisis,” and uniquely stood up against the efforts of the IMF and the hedge funds, especially George Soros, to loot and destroy the economies of Asia and much of the developing sector nations of the world. In the interview he addresses his role in imposing currency controls, and accusing Soros as the culprit, thus saving the Malaysian economy.
He also addresses the root of the current war on Russia, rooted in the West’s decision to build (and expand) NATO against Russia, even though they had collaborated in defeating Nazi Germany. He says that the genocide in Israel is only possible because the U.S. has fully supported their criminal acts, threatening anyone who questions Israel’s action with having to confront the U.S. He also blames the potential conflict with China on the U.S. pushing Taiwan to confront Beijing, while telling the ASEAN countries to take sides, which they do not want to do.
Dr. Mahathir points to the origin of the current global financial crisis in the 1971 policies which unleashed the “floating exchange rates” and destroyed the Bretton Woods system. But, he adds, the dollar has been massively devalued as a result, and can no longer function as the world reserve currency, and says that we must return to a gold standard and fixed exchange rates. He stresses the need to end the permanent wars around the world so the economy is able to recover.
He refers to a “new imperialism”—a term he credits to former Indonesian Prime Minister Sukarno—in which the currency traders weaken a nation and then impose their policies. He describes his decision to impose currency controls in order to prevent the currency traders from doing that to Malaysia. Billington read a quote from a famous Asian Wall Street Journal article at the time which identifies LaRouche as the source of Mahathir’s naming of Soros, and Mahathir explains how he figured out that it was Soros and the hedge funds running the operation. His policy worked, he said, and even the IMF had to eventually admit it.
He commented on Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s “new security and development architecture” as needed to stop rogue nations from using sanctions and financial warfare on weaker nations. He also commented on Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche’s Ten Principles, especially the tenth on the goodness of man. He blames the veto power of the UN Security Council for making the UN virtually powerless, and calls for dramatic reform or an entirely new system based on non-alignment. He notes that the BRICS are trying to find a new approach to non-alignment, and supports Malaysia joining the BRICS.
He also describes his conflict with the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, with whom he has been in conflict since the 1990s when Anwar backed Soros and the IMF against his policy of currency controls.
Dr. Mahathir concluded that “this confrontation between East and West should stop,” and that we need a “workable United Nations that has no veto power,” but has the power to stop such crimes as those of Israel today.
