PM is on the right track
There is no doubt that they are pro-Western and pro-US, where the privatisation of hospitals and universities, and the defence cooperation between Malaysia and the US are concerned, as the writer has mentioned. Mahathir and Umno certainly want to make the country more modern and secular.
But, they have to camouflage themselves too, in this land where the population is predominantly Muslim, just as Lawrence of Arabia had to dress, speak and behave like an Arab in his great mission to modernise and secularise Arabs in the early century. This is a matter of strategy and tactics in politics.
Also, Mahathir and the Umno government cannot be known to be too pro-Western and pro-US because they also need the tactical support of China, some anti-Western Japanese nationalists and some local left-wing academicians who have helped the government in the past few years to defend Malaysia from the encroachment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
We have to be pragmatic and flexible in the present circumstances. We can talk about making public our true position and stand only when one's survival is assured. Meanwhile, I am confident that Mahathir and his government would help the West and US secretly, but effectively, by providing them information that they cannot obtain from the Islamic world.
This is only a smart game. To give one example, while the responsible media like the New Straits Times and The Star are projecting a pro-Western Mahathir to its urban English readers, the Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian are more Islamic-oriented to make sure that Muslims will not have any reason to suspect that the government is 'against' them.
Whatever the government says to different language groups is not important. The most important thing about Mahathir is that his government believes in free market and military cooperation with the West, especially with the US.
