ID :
151941
Wed, 12/01/2010 - 10:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/151941
The shortlink copeid
MAHATHIR STILL SHOWS PLENTY OF WIT AT `REVISITING VISION 2020` FORUM
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- At 85, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has still a lot to
show for when it comes to demonstrating his wit, sarcasm and wry humour when
speaking in public these says.
On Monday, the former prime minister was again in his element when he was
invited to speak on "Revisiting Vision 2020" by the Institute of Marketing
Malaysia.
Saying that by and large, Malaysians supported Vision 2020, a 30-year plan which
he crafted in 1991 to lay the foundations for Malaysia to be a developed nation
by 2020, he also said that he would not be around by then to see what happens in
2020.
"To look ahead 30 years is beyond the span of my life…I would not be around to
see what happens in 2020 and that’s a good thing because nobody can blame me (if
things failed)...I won’t be around for you to blame," he said amidst laughter
from the audience.
When Dr Mahathir did not have some figures, he said he had not sat down to
calculate and "bother the remaining part of my functioning brain".
"You know when you age, some part of the cortex gets slightly inefficient, you
don’t want to bother yourself with too many details. Anyway, please go back and
calculate (yourselves)," he told the audience who took it in good spirit.
Dr Mahathir said Vision 2020 "is a mere vision…it may be sometimes
illusional, it is not real, but we want to make it real, we want to become a
developed country by 2020".
On why he chose 2020, he said: "I chose 20/20 because it means perfect vision if
you were to ask any optometrist," he said, adding that he preferred 20/20 to 6/6
used by the British.
"My vision is not perfect, so I have to wear glasses to correct it. But once I
wear glasses, my vision is 20/20. I wear big glasses," he said.
Dr Mahathir started off his talk by saying that he had forgotten the nine main
pillars of Vision 2020 and had to get his secretary to remind him what they
were.
But when it came to one of the pillars on establishing a fully moral and ethical
society by 2020, he said: "When it comes to the question of morals, of course,
it is very important that immoral people should not be allowed to lead this
country." He did not name any name.
Dr Mahathir again showed his dislike for Americans and the weakening dollar,
saying that the greenback had become unstable because the United States was a
"bankrupt nation" and that the Americans had resorted to "printing an additional
US$600 billion" recently by issuing Treasury bills.
"They have the capacity to print money. When they lose money on the street, they
go back and print money. They can never become poor. We (Malaysia) cannot afford
to depend on the printing machine. We have to depend on our (foreign currency)
reserves to support our currency," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he was not sure whether the rise in the country’s foreign
reserves to US$100 billion of late from some US$17 billion 13 years ago was due
to the increase in Malaysia’s economic performance or that the US dollar had
weakened as "I had forgotten to ring up (Tan Sri Dr) Zeti (Aziz), the central
bank's governor)".
He said having US$100 billion in international currency reserves, which was
equivalent to eight months of retained imports, might be too much.
The reserves, he said, should be pared down to half so that the money could be
mobilised for productive use in the country rather than lending them to the US,
which might be using the money to produce weapons "in order to kill more
people".
"You know, maybe we can use the money for those mega projects which are
well-disliked," he said in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner.
In between the sarcasm and wry humour, Dr Mahathir also dispensed some brilliant
thoughts on how to achieve Vision 2020 like re-focusing on Domestic Direct
Investments, changing mindsets for the better, increasing productivity and
quality of goods and services, and mastering the English language as it would
enable one to have more access to information and knowledge, and be able to
operate internationally with relative ease.
"We still have 10 good years left to achieving Vision 2020," he said.
show for when it comes to demonstrating his wit, sarcasm and wry humour when
speaking in public these says.
On Monday, the former prime minister was again in his element when he was
invited to speak on "Revisiting Vision 2020" by the Institute of Marketing
Malaysia.
Saying that by and large, Malaysians supported Vision 2020, a 30-year plan which
he crafted in 1991 to lay the foundations for Malaysia to be a developed nation
by 2020, he also said that he would not be around by then to see what happens in
2020.
"To look ahead 30 years is beyond the span of my life…I would not be around to
see what happens in 2020 and that’s a good thing because nobody can blame me (if
things failed)...I won’t be around for you to blame," he said amidst laughter
from the audience.
When Dr Mahathir did not have some figures, he said he had not sat down to
calculate and "bother the remaining part of my functioning brain".
"You know when you age, some part of the cortex gets slightly inefficient, you
don’t want to bother yourself with too many details. Anyway, please go back and
calculate (yourselves)," he told the audience who took it in good spirit.
Dr Mahathir said Vision 2020 "is a mere vision…it may be sometimes
illusional, it is not real, but we want to make it real, we want to become a
developed country by 2020".
On why he chose 2020, he said: "I chose 20/20 because it means perfect vision if
you were to ask any optometrist," he said, adding that he preferred 20/20 to 6/6
used by the British.
"My vision is not perfect, so I have to wear glasses to correct it. But once I
wear glasses, my vision is 20/20. I wear big glasses," he said.
Dr Mahathir started off his talk by saying that he had forgotten the nine main
pillars of Vision 2020 and had to get his secretary to remind him what they
were.
But when it came to one of the pillars on establishing a fully moral and ethical
society by 2020, he said: "When it comes to the question of morals, of course,
it is very important that immoral people should not be allowed to lead this
country." He did not name any name.
Dr Mahathir again showed his dislike for Americans and the weakening dollar,
saying that the greenback had become unstable because the United States was a
"bankrupt nation" and that the Americans had resorted to "printing an additional
US$600 billion" recently by issuing Treasury bills.
"They have the capacity to print money. When they lose money on the street, they
go back and print money. They can never become poor. We (Malaysia) cannot afford
to depend on the printing machine. We have to depend on our (foreign currency)
reserves to support our currency," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he was not sure whether the rise in the country’s foreign
reserves to US$100 billion of late from some US$17 billion 13 years ago was due
to the increase in Malaysia’s economic performance or that the US dollar had
weakened as "I had forgotten to ring up (Tan Sri Dr) Zeti (Aziz), the central
bank's governor)".
He said having US$100 billion in international currency reserves, which was
equivalent to eight months of retained imports, might be too much.
The reserves, he said, should be pared down to half so that the money could be
mobilised for productive use in the country rather than lending them to the US,
which might be using the money to produce weapons "in order to kill more
people".
"You know, maybe we can use the money for those mega projects which are
well-disliked," he said in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner.
In between the sarcasm and wry humour, Dr Mahathir also dispensed some brilliant
thoughts on how to achieve Vision 2020 like re-focusing on Domestic Direct
Investments, changing mindsets for the better, increasing productivity and
quality of goods and services, and mastering the English language as it would
enable one to have more access to information and knowledge, and be able to
operate internationally with relative ease.
"We still have 10 good years left to achieving Vision 2020," he said.
