Malaysia Indebted To Suharto, Says Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is indebted to Suharto for his role in ending the Indonesian Confrontation against Malaysia after he became the Indonesian president, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Sunday.
In paying tribute to Suharto, the former prime minister said: "We looked up to him as a great leader and as an international statesman. For me, it's quite personal. I know him and I have worked with him for a very long time.
"I regarded him as a friend of Malaysia and as a personal friend," he told Bernama and RTM at his residence in Seri Kembangan on the passing of Suharto.
The 86-year-old Suharto died of multiple organ failure at the Pertamina Hospital in south Jakarta today.
Dr Mahathir said Malaysia valued Suharto's efforts to end the Confrontation initiated in 1962 by Suharto's predecessor Sukarno.
"What Malaysia valued most is that it was during his time the Confrontation ended. There was a lot of goodwill, a genuine desire to put an end to the Confrontation. He cherished good relations with Malaysia," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he regarded as "absolute nonsense" western media reports accusing Suharto of killing nearly 500,000 people when he assumed power after an abortive coup by the Communist on September 30, 1965.
"I know this for a fact. I knew what happened. Indonesia was in a state of anarchy then and he has no authority. At the time of the killings, he was not even the president. He did not order the killing," he said.
The former premier said the people should not forget the role of the United States during the Confrontation period between 1962 and 1966 as they supported the Indonesian armed forces to overthrow Sukarno who had been critical of the West at that time.
"The West was equally responsible for the very violent change of leadership in Indonesia. One should not very easily put the blame of the killing of 500,000 people as reported by the western media as being the work of president Suharto," he said, adding that it was Suharto who had restored law and order at that time.
Dr Mahathir credited Suharto for playing a very big role in the development of Indonesia which has more than 13,000 islands and a population of 200 million.
"Even though Indonesia was not an ideal democracy during Suharto's time, the fact remained that he brought stability to Indonesia. Of course, there is a price to be paid," he said, acknowledging that some people had suffered under Suharto's administration.
The sufferings could be worst if Suharto had not been able to overcome the anarchy and reinstate law and order in the world's fourth most populous nation.
Dr Mahathir said he was not able to talk to Suharto when he visited him at the Pertamina hospital on January 14.
"I think he did notice me," he said.
On allegations that corruption was rampant during Suharto's administration, Dr Mahathir said: "You can't blame Suharto solely for that as corruption has been there for a long time and it happens in many countries.
"Even in Malaysia, there is corruption. So, to put the blame entirely on him, it is not right," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he enjoyed a good working and personal relationship when Suharto was the Indonesian president and he was the Prime Minister of Malaysia as they were able to speak very frankly with each other.
"There were always some disputes between the two countries but the disputes never escalated into a state of confrontation. We had territorial disputes although we were not able to resolve all these problems.
"We manage to talk to each other in a friendly manner," he added in reference to the dispute over Ligitan and Sipadan islands.
Both countries agreed to refer the overlapping claims to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which later ruled the two islands on the east coast of Sabah belonged to Malaysia.