Abhisit, Mahathir Offer Ideas On Bringing Peace Back To South

[Samedeepwaterasyou]

They are both enemies of democracies so they should get along well .

[Ricardo]

Mahathir is an evil, evil man. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and when he was in power denied basic civil rights to a large portion of his nation. Ask an an ethnic Indian or Chinese what their lives were like under this horrible hateful man. And thre is Abhisit being linked to the man. What was Mr. Abhisit thinking? Another example of poor political judgement. Mr. Abhisit impairs his standing by allowing himself to be associated with Mahathir. No civilised person of any integrity should go anywhere near Mahithir.

Mahathir was the Politician most looked up to by Thaksin. Thaksin said this in an interview when he was PM. EVIL, absolutely!

But did the former-PM admire him, even more than his "best friends" Bush & Blair, or his "old friend Prime Minister Vladimir Putin" who he meets "very often" ? The competition is tough, at the top, for a world-famous statesman like him !

[Payboy]

the state religion of Thailand is Buddhism.

Incorrect.

Thailand has no official state religion.

Even on the unofficial list, Buddhism is a distant 2nd, behind money.

[geriatrickid]

Mahathir is an evil, evil man. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and when he was in power denied basic civil rights to a large portion of his nation. Ask an an ethnic Indian or Chinese what their lives were like under this horrible hateful man. And thre is Abhisit being linked to the man. What was Mr. Abhisit thinking? Another example of poor political judgement. Mr. Abhisit impairs his standing by allowing himself to be associated with Mahathir. No civilised person of any integrity should go anywhere near Mahithir.

Would those racist policy's you refer to be Malaysia's Bumiputera policy designed to lift up ethnic Malays to the same socio economic level of the Chinese immigrant population, something like Americas affirmative action.

Or would your dislike for Mahathir stem from his his support for the Palestinian people.

You need only look at Mahathir's domestic policies to see my point. Here are some examples.

May 1991: The Home Ministry required two opposition newspapers to restrict circulation to their party membership. Against basic freedom of the press.

Dec 1991: The government refused an application by the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International to establish a Malaysian branch. AI had been advocating on behalf of Indian and Chinese ethnic groups human rights.

Aug 1992: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad explained his discriminatory policies against theMalaysian Chinese, a population that had been in Malaysia for centuries, that the government policy of spreading wealth to the Malay Muslims was a chance to "share business skills"

July 1993: Mahathir's attempt to impose Sharia style laws throughout the land bubbled up in Kelantan when the MCA was and other groups ammounced "liquor parties" to protest against the government's ban on drinking at parties.

Aug 1993: The President of the DAP Youth and an opposition MP Lim Eng charged that the government's discriminatory policies in education and employment opportunities have, over the years, led to low birth rates among the Malaysian Chinese. The Chinese population ratio in peninsular Malaysia has dropped from 32.8% in 1983 to 31.1% in 1989 (The Department of Family Planning, Annual Report 1989).

Feb 1994: Malaysian police and Islamic officials broke up a Chinese New Year's concert at the Chinese Assembly Hall in Kota Baru because it breached a local entertainment code that bars alcoholic drinks in public places. The State of Kelantan, controlled by opposition Islamic applied "Sharia" law, a strict Islamic penal code, with Mahithir's blessing.

Mar 1994: Chinese secondary schools in the country that use Chinese as the medium of instruction depend on donations from the Chinese community because they do not qualify for government grants as Mahathir wishes to restrict the teaching of Chinese.

Mar 1995: Malaysia starts to lift some of the travel restrictions on Malaysia Chinese in respect to visiting China

Apr 1995: Political harrassment of ethnic Chinese continues with the DAP filing a complaint with the police alleging that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad broke the law when he wrongfully accused its Secretary General Lim of insulting police and challenging them to arrest him at a rally last week (Agence France Presse, 04/20/95).

Jan 1996: Systemic abuse of refugees continues with Vietnamese boat people, primarily of ethnic Chinese origin, residing in the Sungei Besi "transit" camp outside Kuala Lumpur rioting

Feb 1996: Without providing any details, Mahathir alluded that certain countries hope that chaos would reign in Malaysia (New Straits Times, 02/20/96). This was seen as another veiled attack on Singapore.

Feb 29, 1996: Malaysia says that it wants to close down two "transit" camps for Vietnamese boat people. The Malaysian camps have been operating for two decades. The UNHCR considers the boat people to be "economic refugees", making it difficult to arrange re-settlement. A pro-government Chinese politician stated that if the refugees were Muslim or non-Chinese they would have stood a better chance of permanent settlement. Malaysia has not accepted any immigrants since 1952, five years before formal independence (Reuter Textline: Bangkok Post, 02/29/96).

Apr 1996: Australia's former Governor General is accusing Malaysia of institutionalized racism. Bill Hayden asserts that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad administers a policy that racially discriminates against the Chinese in education and employment opportunities. He further stated that the Indians in Malaysia are dirt poor. Hayden, who was foreign minister from 1983-88, says that Mahathir often bluffed previous Australian governments into believing that Australians are racist when many countries in their region have inherently racist practices. While Australian government officials have attempted to downplay the comments, there was a heated response in the Malaysian media. Mahathir referred to Hayden as a "frustrated politician" (UPI, 04/04/96, 04/07/96).

May 1996: Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) celebrated its 50th anniversary amid growing concerns over party corruption. The country's economic boom and the emergence of a new breed of Malay businesspeople have contributed to the rampant practices of buying powerful positions in UMNO and providing kickbacks from government contracts. While a growing economy has likely reduced Chinese and Indian discontent over the government's preferential Malay policies, opposition MP Lim Guan Eng says that it has deprived a generation of Chinese of education and employment opportunities. Eng further asserts that Malaysia could be at Singapore's stage of development if the Chinese had not suffered such discrimination (Agence France Presse, 05/08/96).

Jun 1996: Prime Minister Mahathir aadmits that his goverment has overt discriminatory policies. In a public event with Singapore, Mahathir asserts that Malaysia does practice meritocracy, but that it is based upon race as the ability of some ethnic groups to compete is still questionable. Singapore, which was part of Malaysia from 1963-65, was expelled for refusing to enact preferential policies for Malays (Agence France Presse, 06/09/96).

Sep 1996 Malaysia's Prime Minister has lashed out at Singapore following its recent comments over a potential reunification. Mahathir Mohamad accused Singapore of insincerity and of trying to show that Malaysia is bad and does not practice meritocracy. He further asserted that minority Malays in Singapore suffer from discrimination; for example, he says that they are not given high posts in the armed forces and are denied the chance to become air force pilots. Malays are about 15% of Singapore's population of 3 million, the majority are ethnic Chinese (Reuters, 09/06/96).

Dec 1996 The education ministry has rejected a proposal by the Chinese community to establish a higher-learning institute as it doesn't have enough Malay equity. Outraged Chinese leaders insist that the proposal was for a non-profit organization and that the requirement of 30% Malay equity for private schools has not yet become law (Asiaweek, 12/13/96).

Dec 1996:Malaysia's government forced a group of NGOs--representing indigenous peoples, foreign and estate workers, and women in the country--to postpone a scheduled forum on alleged abuse of police power in Malaysia. Government officials threatened to invoke the Internal Security Act and detain the organizers of the forum if they held it as planned. (AFP)

Jan 1997: The government has issued a directive that by the end of the year the names of all Chinese and Tamil primary schools will no longer reveal their vernacular nature. The Dong Jiao Zong, a coalition of Chinese education groups, and the youth wing of the MCA state that this could change the character of Chinese schools. They further assert that suspicion in the Chinese community has already been aroused by the appointment of Malay teachers to many Chinese schools. Non-Malay primary schools currently receive lower financial allocations from the government.

Jun 1997: An independent survey discovered that Malaysia, along with China and Singapore, has the most heavily censored media in Asia. The Philippines and Hong Kong have the freest media in the region. (AFP)

Mar 1998 Tensions, and subsequent clashes, emerged in the Chinese-dominated northern state of Penang between Hindus and Muslims. Officials in Penang closed a 50-year-old Hindu temple near a mosque, around which the tensions were centered, to try to ease the problem. Six hundred policemen arrested over 100 people—mostly youths—involved in fights in the region. Authorities decided to relocate the temple, which had been

Sep 3, 1998 Concerns about the political stability of Malaysia are compounded after Mahathir’s long-time ally Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was ousted from his office amid accusations of sexual impropriety, accepting bribes, and compromising national security. People of all ethnic backgrounds rallied behind Anwar, who denied the charges and launched a challenge to the prime minister. (AFP, September 5)

Sep 20, 1998 Malaysian police arrest Anwar, which unleashes a series of mass political protests (of mostly Malay people) in Kuala Lampur despite warnings by police against such rallies. Human rights activists and lawyers expressed grave concerns about the bases of Anwar’s arrest and his treatment while in detention, and Anwar’s wife carried on his campaign for political reform. (AFP, September 23, October 10)

Jan 22, 1999: DAP officials accused the publishers and government distributors of textbooks on Malaysian history of distorting facts in the books to imply that Indian and Chinese settlers in Malacca had betrayed the sultanate and helped the invading Portuguese. (The Straits Times)

The Mahathir legacy is one of hate and discrimination. I don't need to cite foreign relations as there examples within Malaysia are many. Mahathir has no standing, no legitimacy to offer advice on Thailand's south. Mr. Abhisit, for all his faults was not one to preach hate nor to encourage ethnic clashes. This is why I believe Mr. Abhisit tarnishes his reputation by even being in the same room as Mahathir.

[geriatrickid]

Mahathir is an evil, evil man. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and when he was in power denied basic civil rights to a large portion of his nation. Ask an an ethnic Indian or Chinese what their lives were like under this horrible hateful man. And thre is Abhisit being linked to the man. What was Mr. Abhisit thinking? Another example of poor political judgement. Mr. Abhisit impairs his standing by allowing himself to be associated with Mahathir. No civilised person of any integrity should go anywhere near Mahithir.

Mahathir was the Politician most looked up to by Thaksin. Thaksin said this in an interview when he was PM. EVIL, absolutely!

But did the former-PM admire him, even more than his "best friends" Bush & Blair, or his "old friend Prime Minister Vladimir Putin" who he meets "very often" ? The competition is tough, at the top, for a world-famous statesman like him !

This isn't about Thaksin. It is about Mahathir and Abhisit. If one believes as you do that Abhisit occupies the higher moral ground and is a more ethical man than Thaksin, then surely, he should set an example.

[jrincon17]

The greed has to stop for anyone to make a difference in Thailand. Need to sacrifice for the people not sacrifice the people.

[sunkist]

Words, more expensive seminars, and religion being the root cause. Wasted day if you ask me and of course, no solution. And more wasted words by the recalcitrant Mahathir who is a left wing radical Muslim. Of course he said Malaysia won't get involved in internal problems. It's a foothold Muslims have in Thailand and Malaysia relishes the possibility of expanding that.

It was annexed to Thailand (Siam) about thousand years back, by the sultan in Malaysia, lost a card game or something , probably pissed.

History I read had four provinces as a gift in about 1939 from the Japanese in exchange for peaceful passage through Thailand (allies?) to invade Malayasia.

[hellodolly]

Mahathir is an evil, evil man. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and when he was in power denied basic civil rights to a large portion of his nation. Ask an an ethnic Indian or Chinese what their lives were like under this horrible hateful man. And thre is Abhisit being linked to the man. What was Mr. Abhisit thinking? Another example of poor political judgement. Mr. Abhisit impairs his standing by allowing himself to be associated with Mahathir. No civilised person of any integrity should go anywhere near Mahithir.

Mahathir was the Politician most looked up to by Thaksin. Thaksin said this in an interview when he was PM. EVIL, absolutely!

But did the former-PM admire him, even more than his "best friends" Bush & Blair, or his "old friend Prime Minister Vladimir Putin" who he meets "very often" ? The competition is tough, at the top, for a world-famous statesman like him !

This isn't about Thaksin. It is about Mahathir and Abhisit. If one believes as you do that Abhisit occupies the higher moral ground and is a more ethical man than Thaksin, then surely, he should set an example.

Well I can't recall any one sauying Abhist occupies a higher moral ground. But you are insinuating thathe doe.

Tell me one thing why is there not a list of depravity after Jan.22 1999

Is it possible that in his personal life in 13 years he could have experienced things to change his attitude.

Give us a list of the evil things he has done since being out of office where he would have to make deals to get things done. Much like Abhist had to do. Not like the present government who has the power and dosen't have to please any one.

[hellodolly]

@hellodolly Re post #22 I suspect you already know this info, but for those do don't, it's fairly straight forward to understand - the Buddhists are not seeking autonomy from the Thai central government, whereas the Thia Muslims in the Deep South provinces are seeking some form of self governance. Apparently the issue is to identify the leaders with whom to commence a political dialogue and agree actions for resolution of grievances. I find it difficult to believe that Thai intelligence agencies don't know who the leaders are to commence a political initiative.

Well I am not really that up on the issue but I do believe there are many groups working independently to bring it all down.

I had heard 15 different groups once with no centralized leadership or guidance beyond the Koran.

[scotbeve]

Mahathir didn't do anything for 25 years when in power , so whats changed, just pissin into the wind, wasting your time with that crowd, hate is pretty hard to over come, maybe you could seem to be doing something, when doing nothing , so the feel good factor kicks in.

My guess is that AV wants this negative image for another pitiful plea to the suoth to rise again and let him ride on the hate wave.

[geriatrickid]

Well I can't recall any one sauying Abhist occupies a higher moral ground. But you are insinuating thathe doe.

Tell me one thing why is there not a list of depravity after Jan.22 1999

Is it possible that in his personal life in 13 years he could have experienced things to change his attitude.

Give us a list of the evil things he has done since being out of office where he would have to make deals to get things done. Much like Abhist had to do. Not like the present government who has the power and dosen't have to please any one.

Are you serious and just playing this for kicks? The Mahathir legacy is one of hate. He is still at it, preaching hate against Indian and Chinese ethnic groups. He actively meddles in current government policy and agitates against the ethnic Chinese and Indians who are every bit as Malaysian as the Bumiputras.

It is an undeniable fact that while Mahathir governed Malaysia with impunity, he was also guilty of being a racist and a Malay chauvinist.

By often calling upon and using the racial card, he caused gullible and unsuspecting Malays and other bumiputras to believe that their common enemy is the non-bumiputras especially the Chinese and Indians. But the blow to his racial ploy was only apparent with the return of globalisation to the fore. When the world decided to go global, Mahathir's racial ploys backfired and blew up in his face

Christopher Fernandez, Malaysia Chronicle, Thursday, 05 July 2012

The information is readily available and there are multiple examples of Mahathir spreading hate and even acknowledging that his political party was a racist entity. Look at the spat he had in 2009 when the skeletons fell out of the closet;

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today hit back at Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz for calling him a racist and urged the minister to instead quit UMNO because it was indeed a racist party. The former premier and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department have been at loggerheads over the need to revamp the National Civics Bureau (BTN), which critics charge with cultivating racism instead of its original purpose of nation building.

Yesterday Nazri called Dr Mahathir a “bloody racist” for defending BTN courses while reasserting the Cabinet’s earlier decision to overhaul the programme in line with the policy of 1 Malaysia mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. “Nazri says I am a racist, he cannot deny he is not because he knows everything very well .He belongs to a party that is racist because UMNO is meant only for Malays, no one else can join. But he is against racism, so he should resign from the party”,said Dr Mahathir.

Mahathir’s racist game is over — Kua Kia Soong April 23, 2011

APRIL 23 — Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “Malay Dilemma” was an instant hit among the emergent Malay capitalists in Umno since it provided the instant recipe for them to rally populist support for their bid for power just before May 13, 1969. It was the time-tested recipe for opportunistic politicians to use “race” as the rallying cry for political support. Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” was of course the model of such a political route.

It is sad to see Dr Mahathir in his twilight years still clinging to his race-tinged perceptions, waving the keris and being the patron to the far-right Malay supremacy group Perkasa, oblivious to the intellectual trends since the Age of Enlightenment.

* Dr Kua Kia Soong is the director of Suaram, a human rights group. http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/mahathirs-racist-game-is-over-dr-kua-kia-soong/

The man has not changed for the better and IMO if anything has become more vindictive and hateful. This is not about the present Thai government. Rather it is about the poor judgement exercised by Mr. Abhisit in allowing himself to be linked to Mahathir who has absolutely nothing positive to offer Thailand in respect to the Thai unrest. The Mahathir strategy is one of conflict and political plotting. He failed in his attempt to force the ethnic Indians and Chinese out and Malaysia is better for it.

[Buchholz]

They are both enemies of democracies so they should get along well .

Samedeepwaterasyou

Member Since Yesterday

Welcome Aboard

.

[JurgenG]

They are both enemies of democracies so they should get along well .

Samedeepwaterasyou

Member Since Yesterday

Welcome Aboard

.

That wouldn't be the first time that a banned poster comes back under a different name ...

Anyway, two has-been (here I'm not talking about the posters anymore) fighting to stay relevant ...

[simple1]

Mahathir is an evil, evil man. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and when he was in power denied basic civil rights to a large portion of his nation. Ask an an ethnic Indian or Chinese what their lives were like under this horrible hateful man. And thre is Abhisit being linked to the man. What was Mr. Abhisit thinking? Another example of poor political judgement. Mr. Abhisit impairs his standing by allowing himself to be associated with Mahathir. No civilised person of any integrity should go anywhere near Mahithir.

Seems you don't know much about Malaysia.....These racist laws, allows the majority to catch up with Chinese. It is already a problem that most business owner in Thailand are Chinese. But in Thailand they mix.

In Malaysia the Chinese don't mix because they don't want to be Muslims. With these laws, most probably we would have seen Chinese holding the rest almost like slaves and than an uprising where the Malays kill all the Chinese.

Instead Mahithir decided to have some racist laws and a heavy hand, and the country prospers well, with remarkable low corruption.

"......... the Chinese don't mix because they don't want to be Muslims."

And the muslims don't mix because the Muslim Council refuses to allow them to marry non-mulims or to abandon their religion. There was one case of a muslim infant girl adopted by Chinese and allowed to change her religion - several years after she died.

Blaming non-integration on any race when another religion forbids it is a bit naive.

There is a long running case of a muslim woman who wishes to marry outside the faith. Malaysia refuses to allow a person with an ID card designated "muslim" to marry another muslim, to have her religion deleted from her ID, or to change her faith.

In other cases, Borneo "hill people" are encouraged to adopt islam, and then are threatened with death (from hard-liners) when they stray from the tenets.

And as I have twice observed in the last few months here in Thailand, Buddhists families do disown their son/daughter if they wish to marry a Muslim. or Buddhists oppressing the Chin Christian minority in Burma - it's not a completely one sided issue - how about a bit of balance rather than constantly bashing Muslims.

[scotbeve]

The Chinese and Indians have been exploited for years. The bumi's have rode on theirs backs for just as long and can not / will not put in one day of productive work - they can not be fired!!! Abhisit deserves to "be friends" with Mahatir. Just go and move there Mark.

[whybother]

Words, more expensive seminars, and religion being the root cause. Wasted day if you ask me and of course, no solution. And more wasted words by the recalcitrant Mahathir who is a left wing radical Muslim. Of course he said Malaysia won't get involved in internal problems. It's a foothold Muslims have in Thailand and Malaysia relishes the possibility of expanding that.

It was annexed to Thailand (Siam) about thousand years back, by the sultan in Malaysia, lost a card game or something , probably pissed.

History I read had four provinces as a gift in about 1939 from the Japanese in exchange for peaceful passage through Thailand (allies?) to invade Malayasia.

If that was the case, it would have been given back to Malaysia once the Japanese lost the war.

[whybother]

Where are the photos of Abhisit and Mahatir shaking hands or hugging each other (ala Thaksin/Hun Sen).

As far as I know, all they did was talk at the same forum regarding the issues in the south and discussing ways to fix them.

Do people have a problem with that?

[geriatrickid]

Where are the photos of Abhisit and Mahatir shaking hands or hugging each other (ala Thaksin/Hun Sen).

As far as I know, all they did was talk at the same forum regarding the issues in the south and discussing ways to fix them.

Do people have a problem with that?

The former prime ministers of Thailand and Malaysia, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, met yesterday to speak about their vision of peace for the South of Thailand, The Nation/Asia News Network Saturday, Sep 08, 2012

Yes. I have a problem with it. Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

[Buchholz]

Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Buchholz

[Fozfromoz]

Where are the photos of Abhisit and Mahatir shaking hands or hugging each other (ala Thaksin/Hun Sen).

As far as I know, all they did was talk at the same forum regarding the issues in the south and discussing ways to fix them.

Do people have a problem with that?

Don't see what Thaksin/ Hun Sen has to do with this, so why the reference, or is the name "Thaksin" just put in to fire this one up, as it's only ambling along?

[whybother]

Where are the photos of Abhisit and Mahatir shaking hands or hugging each other (ala Thaksin/Hun Sen).

As far as I know, all they did was talk at the same forum regarding the issues in the south and discussing ways to fix them.

Do people have a problem with that?

The former prime ministers of Thailand and Malaysia, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, met yesterday to speak about their vision of peace for the South of Thailand, The Nation/Asia News Network Saturday, Sep 08, 2012

Yes. I have a problem with it. Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

They were two ex-PMs talking to others about the problems in the south, not discussing each others history. Also, the fact that Mahatir is a current Malaysian government appointee dealing with border and trade issues.

Malaysia and Thailand are set to jointly develop an area at their border near Kedah into a “Rubber City” to promote the produce and its products.

This was agreed at the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shina-watra on the sidelines of the Apec leaders summit here.

“The Thai-Malaysia border, especially in Kedah, deserves to be developed as it has great potential.

“The Government has appointed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to identify the area and projects needed to make this Rubber City a success,” Najib told Malaysian journalists here yesterday.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/9/nation/11995838&sec=nation

[Fozfromoz]

Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

What's the relevance of Mahatir in some pictures with world notaries? He would meet with them as a Nation Leader in the course of his duties. I am sure similar pics could be dug up, showing your nemesis Thaksin, doing the same when he was in power.

[whybother]

Where are the photos of Abhisit and Mahatir shaking hands or hugging each other (ala Thaksin/Hun Sen).

As far as I know, all they did was talk at the same forum regarding the issues in the south and discussing ways to fix them.

Do people have a problem with that?

Don't see what Thaksin/ Hun Sen has to do with this, so why the reference, or is the name "Thaksin" just put in to fire this one up, as it's only ambling along?

It a reference to how some other ex-PMs treat other PMs of a questionable nature.

Abhisit was talking at the same conference as Mahatir. He wasn't hugging him or even talking about him.

He didn't even "honour" him.

Thaksin honours Mahathir

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Thaksin-honours-Mahathir-87681.html

[h90]

Mahathir is an evil, evil man. He has engaged in racist rhetoric and when he was in power denied basic civil rights to a large portion of his nation. Ask an an ethnic Indian or Chinese what their lives were like under this horrible hateful man. And thre is Abhisit being linked to the man. What was Mr. Abhisit thinking? Another example of poor political judgement. Mr. Abhisit impairs his standing by allowing himself to be associated with Mahathir. No civilised person of any integrity should go anywhere near Mahithir.

Seems you don't know much about Malaysia.....These racist laws, allows the majority to catch up with Chinese. It is already a problem that most business owner in Thailand are Chinese. But in Thailand they mix.

In Malaysia the Chinese don't mix because they don't want to be Muslims. With these laws, most probably we would have seen Chinese holding the rest almost like slaves and than an uprising where the Malays kill all the Chinese.

Instead Mahithir decided to have some racist laws and a heavy hand, and the country prospers well, with remarkable low corruption.

"......... the Chinese don't mix because they don't want to be Muslims."

And the muslims don't mix because the Muslim Council refuses to allow them to marry non-mulims or to abandon their religion. There was one case of a muslim infant girl adopted by Chinese and allowed to change her religion - several years after she died.

Blaming non-integration on any race when another religion forbids it is a bit naive.

There is a long running case of a muslim woman who wishes to marry outside the faith. Malaysia refuses to allow a person with an ID card designated "muslim" to marry another muslim, to have her religion deleted from her ID, or to change her faith.

In other cases, Borneo "hill people" are encouraged to adopt islam, and then are threatened with death (from hard-liners) when they stray from the tenets.

As I wrote, the CChinese don't want to become muslims. Like I would never marry a muslim.

[Buchholz]

Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

What's the relevance of Mahatir in some pictures with world notaries?

I would have thought it was overtly obvious in the context of the post I was quoting, but, anyway...

To show that other people besides Abhisit appear on stage with this nasty racist.

To show that other people apparently don't having a problem that doing so diminishes their position.

To show that other people don't mind aligning with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world.

But then again, maybe Aung San Suu and the Pope shared these same views of his and have that in common with him.

.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Buchholz

[phiphidon]

Where are the photos of Abhisit and Mahatir shaking hands or hugging each other (ala Thaksin/Hun Sen).

As far as I know, all they did was talk at the same forum regarding the issues in the south and discussing ways to fix them.

Do people have a problem with that?

Don't see what Thaksin/ Hun Sen has to do with this, so why the reference, or is the name "Thaksin" just put in to fire this one up, as it's only ambling along?

It a reference to how some other ex-PMs treat other PMs of a questionable nature.

Abhisit was talking at the same conference as Mahatir. He wasn't hugging him or even talking about him.

He didn't even "honour" him.

Thaksin honours Mahathir

http://www.nationmul...thir-87681.html

There's always a "but, Thaksin" button around when you need one

[FarangTalk]

There's always a "but, Thaksin" button around when you need one

He's a useful distraction when we are not allowed to discuss the real issues!

[phiphidon]

Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

What's the relevance of Mahatir in some pictures with world notaries?

I would have thought it was overtly obvious in the context of the post I was quoting, but, anyway...

To show that other people besides Abhisit appear on stage with this nasty racist.

To show that other people apparently don't having a problem that doing so diminishes their position.

To show that other people don't mind aligning with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world.

But then again, maybe Aung San Suu and the Pope shared these same views of his and have that in common with him.

.

But then again, maybe Aung San Suu and the Pope shared these same views of his and have that in common with him.

I'd be interested to hear ASSK and the Popes views on how to deal with the "insurgency" in the South of Thailand and how they correspond with Mahathirs' ideas.

[whybother]

There's always a "but, Thaksin" button around when you need one

You seem to know about these "but ... " buttons. Yours get's quite a lot of use.

[Fozfromoz]

Mr. Abhisit should not appear on the same stage as a nasty racist who has sown ethnic strife. It diminishes his position and aligns him with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world. Mahathir now backs extreme rightist groups in Malaysia that espouse some very nasty positions. Then again, maybe I am being too kind to Mr. Abhisit and he actually does share a common view with Mahathir.

What's the relevance of Mahatir in some pictures with world notaries?

I would have thought it was overtly obvious in the context of the post I was quoting, but, anyway...

To show that other people besides Abhisit appear on stage with this nasty racist.

To show that other people apparently don't having a problem that doing so diminishes their position.

To show that other people don't mind aligning with a man that is a pariah in the civilised world.

But then again, maybe Aung San Suu and the Pope shared these same views of his and have that in common with him.

.

Yep. OK fair enough. I perhaps missed the context. I agree with your opinions on this guy. Certainly is a pr**k of the highest order.