Mahathir jun ignores politics for a look at our companies

By Yoke Har Lee

Mahathir Mirzan, son of the Malaysian Prime Minister, might be controversial at home, but he was quite inconspicuous attending the Apec CEO Summit just after a trip to India.

Asked whether his father, Mahathir Mohamad, might be protesting against US Vice-President Al Gore's comments on Malaysian domestic politics at Apec in Kuala Lumpur last year, Mr Mahathir said: "I think we are above all that."

Mr Gore's speech caused outrage in Malaysia when he talked of the deposed Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and calls for reform.

Mr Anwar has been jailed on corruption and sodomy charges.

Had his father lost interest in the Apec process?

"I am speaking from my personal point of view here - I don't think so."

Dr Mahathir had his own reasons for not coming to Auckland, said his son, but did not elaborate.

Malaysians attending Apec said Dr Mahathir would have been keen to see an Asian Recovery Fund, proposed by Japan, on the agenda.

At home last year, Mr Mahathir jun's company, Konsortium Perkapalan, was perceived as having been bailed out by national oil corporation Petronas.

Mr Mahathir said: "People can reach their own conclusions because they have chosen to think what they want to think without taking into account what actually transpired."

He said that before the Asian financial crisis, the company had already intended on spinning off its shipping business into a separate entity.

"Sure [during the crisis] we had some cashflow problems. But earlier on, we were already looking at disposing some assets to allow us to have some capital raising capability."

Dr Mahathir later told Malaysians that despite higher offers from Chinese business concerns, his son had to sell his shipping assets to Petronas for nationalistic reasons.

In Malaysia, the law requires the indigenous Malay people to own 30 per cent of the country's corporate wealth.

Coming across as warm but reserved compared with his charismatic father, who has led Malaysia since the late 1970s, Mr Mahathir said he hoped to meet New Zealand company representatives and explore our expertise and development in e-commerce.

Konsortium Perkapalan was interested in that area because it was a logistics company. Konsortium has several joint ventures in India, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

He met New Zealand companies yesterday to see what new technology they had to showcase, although he was not here to invest.

Technology in e-commerce, with specific applications to the logistics business, interests him most.

"South-east Asia and South Asia is a region that is full of potential with regards to opportunities for logistics. Moving things in a smart and consistent manner is something relatively new there," he said.

"We are moving into the area very strongly."

Mr Mahathir has been an ardent Apec follower.

He said he came here to get a feel for what was developing within the trade grouping. Apec, he said, must take into consideration the aspirations of all its members.

"The liberalisation process and its impact on economic development has to be brought into account. Different countries are at different stages of development, also different stages of implementation."