Malaysia ready to help end southern conflict

By SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE 
THE NATION

 

Photo by Rachanon Intharagsa

 

MAHATHIR SAYS INJUSTICE, NOT RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM, MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INSURGENCY; CALLS FOR SELF-RELIANT ASEAN

 

MALAYSIA IS willing to help Thailand end the ethno-religious conflict in the deep South using peaceful means, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday, suggesting the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice.

 

Gratefully remembering the time when Thailand helped Malaysia end the communist insurgency in northern Malaysia in the late 1980s, he said his government would help the authorities in Bangkok solve the problems in the deep South. 

 

Malaysia has played the role of facilitator in negotiations between the Thai government and MARA Patani, a so-called umbrella organisation of insurgent groups. 

 

Mahathir, who arrived in Thailand on Wednesday on a two-day official visit after taking office for a second time in May, introduced Malaysia’s newly appointed facilitator, former national police chief Abdul Rahim Noor.

 

Thailand also introduced its negotiations chief, Udomchai Thamsarorat, who is a former commander of the Fourth Army Region.

 

However, while delivering a speech on Thai-Malaysian ties in the Asean context at Chulalongkorn University yesterday, Mahathir did not provide any details on how the peace talks will yield productive results. 

 

A spate of violence has rocked the predominantly Muslim region since early 2004, killing more than 7,000 people so far. The Thai government has struggled since then to contain the violence, which it believes is being orchestrated by separatists.

 

The peace talks, initiated since 2013, have yet to yield any significant results to restore peace as many analysts say Bangkok has failed to address the problem at its root cause and fighters on the ground do not recognise MARA Patani as their representative.

 

Asked if the violence in the deep South could be attributed to religious extremism, Mahathir said: “I don’t believe that the centrality of the conflict is religion. If you look at the source of terrorism, you will find that some elements of injustice have occurred, for example if Thailand decided Chiang Mai will belong to somebody else, not be a part of Thailand, people will fight to retain their territory. People will be angry and want to recover their own land.”

 

‘Tremendous potential’

 

As immediate neighbours, Thailand and Malaysia also have border problems, but the two have discussions to determine who has the right to cross the border and who will be treated as a national of either Thailand or Malaysia, he said, referring to the chronic problem of dual nationality. It is believed that these individuals exploit their status to create problems on either side. 

 

“We want to solve the problem through negotiations, administration or through protocol,” he said.

 

As for bilateral ties, Mahathir said Thai-Malaysian relations have been smooth as leaders on both sides are willing to solve all overlapping issues using peaceful means for mutual benefit. For instance, he said, the issue of overlapping maritime territory in the Gulf of Thailand could be turned into a joint development area, where natural gas can be exploited and shared equally through negotiation. 

 

Mahathir, who played a key role as an architect of Asean during his first tenure as premier from 1981-2003, suggested that Thailand, when it takes over as chairman next year, should consider Asean’s internal market.

 

“I believe Asean countries have tremendous potential. The population is more than 600 million, and even if [some of them] are poor, they constitute a large market. Based on this, we can increase our output, but now we are buying everything from outside. We can do all things by ourselves.

 

“If we do that, the money will remain with us and not go out. We can produce everything that the 600 million people need. If we can do it properly, I’m sure Asean countries will grow much faster,” he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30357208

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-26

Religion not central to southern conflict: Dr M

By SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE 
THE NATION

 

 

Malaysian PM attributes ‘elements of injustice’ to ongoing insurgency; urges Thailand to push for self reliant ASEAN.
 

MALAYSIA IS willing to help Thailand end the ethno-religious conflict in the deep South using peaceful means, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday, suggesting the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice.

 

Gratefully remembering the time when Thailand helped Malaysia end the communist insurgency in northern Malaysia in the late 1980s, he said his government would help the authorities in Bangkok solve the problems in the deep South. 

 

Malaysia has played the role of facilitator in negotiations between the Thai government and MARA Patani, a so-called umbrella organisation of insurgent groups. 

 

Mahathir, who arrived in Thailand on Wednesday on a two-day official visit after taking office for a second time in May, introduced Malaysia’s newly appointed facilitator, former national police chief Abdul Rahim Noor.

 

Thailand also introduced its negotiations chief, Udomchai Thamsarorat, who is a former commander of the Fourth Army Region.

 

 

However, while delivering a speech on Thai-Malaysian ties in the Asean context at Chulalongkorn University yesterday, Mahathir did not provide any details on how the peace talks will yield productive results. 

 

A spate of violence has rocked the predominantly Muslim region since early 2004, killing more than 7,000 people so far.

 

The Thai government has struggled since then to contain the violence, which it believes is being orchestrated by separatists.

 

The peace talks, initiated since 2013, have yet to yield any significant results, with many analysts saying Bangkok has failed to address the problem at its root cause while most separatist fighters do not recognise MARA Patani as their representative.

 

 

Asked if the violence in the deep South could be attributed to religious extremism, Mahathir said: “I don’t believe that the centrality of the conflict is religion. If you look at the source of terrorism, you will find that some elements of injustice have occurred, for example if Thailand decided Chiang Mai will belong to somebody else, not be a part of Thailand, people will fight to retain their territory. People will be angry and want to recover their own land.”

 

‘Tremendous potential’

 

As immediate neighbours, Thailand and Malaysia also have border problems, but the two have discussions to determine who has the right to cross the border and who will be treated as a national of either Thailand or Malaysia, he said, referring to the chronic problem of dual nationality. It is believed that these individuals exploit their status to create problems on both sides. 

 

“We want to solve the problem through negotiations, administration or through protocol,” he said.

 

As for bilateral ties, Mahathir said Thai-Malaysian relations have been smooth as leaders on both sides are willing to solve all overlapping issues using peaceful means for mutual benefit. For instance, he said, the issue of overlapping maritime territory in the Gulf of Thailand could be turned into a joint development area, where natural gas can be exploited and shared equally through negotiation. 

 

Mahathir, who played a key role as an architect of Asean during his first tenure as premier from 1981-2003, suggested that Thailand, when it takes over as chairman next year, should consider Asean’s internal market.

 

“I believe Asean countries have tremendous potential. The population is more than 600 million, and even if [some of them] are poor, they constitute a large market. Based on this, we can increase our output, but now we are buying everything from outside. We can do all things by ourselves.

 

“If we do that, the money will remain with us and not go out. We can produce everything that the 600 million people need. If we can do it properly, I’m sure Asean countries will grow much faster,” he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30357209

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-26

1 hour ago, webfact said:

the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice

Sure, and there his qualifications for his position went out the door.

Allow Malaysia to absorb the 3-4 provinces in question, as it should've been done 100+ years ago when the annexation treaty was at issue.

 

Problem solved.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

MAHATHIR SAYS INJUSTICE, NOT RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM, MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INSURGENCY;

just terms of use at the moment by one party or the other ; religious extremists call their cause 'injustice'

Brought to mind that episode early 2000's when those 70 or so Muslims were packed into truck and died from heat exhaustion. General who ordered that was reassigned, no punishment. I'd say those sorts of responses would be called "injustice". I'm an atheist, but if I were living down there at the time I'd consider joining "the other side"

6 hours ago, webfact said:

“I don’t believe that the centrality of the conflict is religion. If you look at the source of terrorism, you will find that some elements of injustice have occurred, for example if Thailand decided Chiang Mai will belong to somebody else, not be a part of Thailand, people will fight to retain their territory. People will be angry and want to recover their own land.”

BINGO!

4 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

when the annexation treaty was at issue

The problem was the treaty was never "at issue."

It went unchallenged, except objected by the Muslim inhabitants of the Kingdom of Patanni who were not in any position to militarily oppose the Kingdom of Thailand nor Britain. They were in effect conquered and colonized.

 

The Federation of Malaysia got Muslim territories to the west of the Kingdom of Patanni - not a good time to voice opposition to Britain's annexation deal with Thailand.

 

If instead there was a referendum for annexation of the Kingdom of Patanni areas into the Kingdom of Thailand, then there would have been an issue. Malay Muslims would have no doubt voted against the annexation and probably found their way into the Federation of Malaysia as well.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

“We want to solve the problem through negotiations, administration or through protocol,”

Protocol is something the military insists on determining unilaterally. It appears to be non-negotiable.

Historically the military insists that insurgents disarm and identify themselves individually as a precondition to peace talks....right. The military even objected to BRN calling itself BRN and must integrate itself into Mara Patanni for purposes of peace talks.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday, suggesting the root cause of the problem was not religion but injustice.

So don't expect this to be resolved anytime soon.

6 hours ago, YetAnother said:

just terms of use at the moment by one party or the other ; religious extremists call their cause 'injustice'

I don't know whether that's true or not, but it's irrelevant. This was brought up when former Prime Minister Anand Wossisname conducted his investigation back in 2005 or so, when the violence first broke out. There's a lot of tsuris among Moslems because many government officials in the South actually do deal with them unfairly. Anand also pointed out that some of the killings have to do with "business" conflicts and drug deals gone wrong (sometimes involving government officials). Many Army officers don't want to change business as usual because they benefit from it. If Prem had been put in charge of an Army command charged with correcting the situation he would have done it. He was the guy who developed the plan that led to the end of the "Communist" insurgency in both the Northeast and the South, and I can tell you that when he was Prime Minister government officials did not dare ask for "gifts." Been trying to remember the name of the general who replaced him as Army Commander

Very 'noble' gesture of Mahathir but does the Thai Govt, have the will to deal with the problem? 10 years or more of violence and deaths have been allowed to take place by successive Thai governments who appeared to have no will or no ideas how to bring peace to the Southern states.

 

Now is one of their best chances to do something meaningful for people outside of Bangkok! Give a little and get much in return? ????