Interesting that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told delegates at the 11th Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Kuala Lumpur Monday that states too often resort to violence when dealing with seemingly intractable political problems. He's right of course. And he should know.

He said the world hasn't learned to cope with change and better manage the world, that resorting to disproportionate power only likens the so-called modern nuclear age world to stone age thinking. He cites Iraq, North Korea and Palestine as examples where the 'strong' still think they must beat the 'weak' into submission. Again, Mahathir should know.

A multitude of examples can be drawn from circa 1969 to the present day when state power in Malaysia is authoritatively and routinely abused by the political elite to put down legitimate political dissent. It also resorts to the cowardly use of draconian legislation to harass and arrest political dissidents and critics of the Malaysian establishment in the spurious name of 'national interest'.

It's a pity Mahathir did not choose to use Malaysian examples of state-organised brutality to violate the basic rights of Malaysian dissidents and critics. But we're used to his selective memory and hypocrisy. It's as if Malaysia emits no bad political odour; only the rest of the world, principally the West, does, says Mahathir.

He also told the delegates that the United States has badly handled the Sept 11 attacks. Mahathir suggested the US response has been disproportionate to 'the extent of the actual damage done,' as reported in The Star. Not sure how accurate The Star interpreted what Mahathir said, but, knowing the premier Mahathir, I would think it's close to the mark.

Thing is, Mahathir didn't provide suggestions how the US or others should have responded to the carnage in New York (and Bali). But then again, that's Mahathir's style: big on rhetoric, deficient on specifics. After all, he'd described the Bali mass murders as an "unfortunate incident". This from a leader (some dare call him a "respectable statesman").

Still, what did Mahathir do in Malaysia on terrorism? First, he rushed to Washington, DC, to pay homage to President George W Bush, then rushed back and rounded up terrorist suspects who had holed out in Malaysia for years, and had at least one swiftly extradited to the US.

All these in line with the US' response to al-Qaeda. He has even allowed the US to establish in Malaysia an anti-terrorist centre. Then, when Rohan Gunaratna, the 'terrorists expert', claimed Islamic terrorists were using Malaysia as a regional base, Mahathir countered in usual style denial. More Mahathir double-speak, but now we're all the wiser on the matter.

However, I agree with Mahathir over US posturing on North Korea. The lack of threat to use military means to knock over the North Korean despot Kim Jong-pil illustrates US' double-standards vis--vis its war-footing with Iraq.

Bush can say whatever he likes about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, but unless there is irrefutable and checkable evidence that the 'Baghdad butcher' has these weapons, the US must be severely condemned if it starts a war with Iraq without United Nations' approval.

But then again, would you trust anything Saddam says, given he also has the blood of at least two million Iraqis and Kurds on his hands whom he mowed down with machine-guns or gassed or killed with chemical agents?

Doubtless there are two motivating factors behind Bush's unbending stance: His father's humiliation for failing to drive out Saddam during the 1991 Gulf War; but principally the US' long-term oil interests in the Middle East (A third factor is Iran).

Take the way Washington DC manoeuvred Opec over the weekend in upping oil output by 1.5 million barrels a day. That's still short of plugging Venezuela's 1.9 million barrels a day gap until the power-play in Caracas over President Hugo Chavez, which Washington is influencing from behind the scenes, runs its full course. Meanwhile, US and world economic recovery remains precarious.

Nevertheless, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea would also have put considerable pressure on the US to take a softly-softly approach to the North Korean standoff. Anyone who thinks Pyongyang will fire nuclear missiles in haste should read regional geopolitical history and strategy. Kim may be as mentally disturbed as Saddam but a nuclear war won't happen. The Washington-Pyongyang standoff isn't about nuclear weapons but the politics of economic relations.

Mahathir suggests maybe "we can nuclear bomb [North Korea] out of existence, but that would be a confession of our failure."

That is pure drivel and humbug. In the first place he's being deliberately controversial, and he needn't worry if he wants space on the front pages on Malaysia's mainstream media, which he controls after all. Without requesting, they'll oblige him anyway a form of corny tribute but a scandalous waste of newsprint.

As for his "confession of our failure" remark: Mahathir should talk. Is he also confessing his failure over his government's barbaric use of state power through the Malaysian Gestapo, the Special Branch against his political opponents, and against freedom, justice and equality?