World according to Mahathir

There is this article by Mark Clifford in the Weekend Standard regarding our one-year-retired PM. According to Clifford, the Tun is as alert and as engaging as ever, but appears to have lost some of his legendary spleen.
Among some of the stuff said by the Tun are ::

• He has "failed" in his attempts to get indigenous Malays into the economic mainstream - a theme that has preoccupied him since the publication of his controversial book The Malay Dilemma in 1970. "I felt I failed to get the indigenous people, Malays, into the mainstream as much as I would have wished. Changing culture and thinking is not easy. We have had some success. Largely I consider myself as having failed."
  
• As for Anwar :: His former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who was jailed in 1998, has no future in Malaysian politics. "It is very unfortunate. He [Anwar]is a very smart person who has built up a lot of good relations with people all over the world. He thought that would help him whenever he was in trouble. People have accepted that he did these things. They do not want him, even in UMNO. If he is not welcome in UMNO, there is no way he can win. He is sputtering like a dying ember and I don't think he will be much of a force in Malaysian politics."
  
• On economically rising China :: Given its former status as a "vassal" state, Malaysia welcomes the rise of China and is comfortable with the diminishing US presence in the region.
  
• On newly elected Bush :: US President George W Bush "seems to spurn public opinion. His association with neo-conservatives and the Jewish lobby is not doing him any good."
  
• The root of Islamic terrorism :: Is the Palestinian issue, argues Mahathir.
  "It is a not a religious problem - it is a territorial problem. It is a problem of losing their land to other people. Palestinians want to get their land back and they could only rely on religious support. [This conflict] should be solved by resolving this territorial problem rather than saying Islam should moderate itself. Islam has always been a moderate religion."
  
• What about Al Gore :: "We did not like Gore. Gore came to Malaysia and right in front of me urged the people to overthrow my government."
  
• As to Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP), the affirmative action programme for bumiputras, or ethnic Malays, which has been criticised by economists for spawning cronyism and favouritism, the Tun said :: "We had to work with the private sector to find people who could implement our programmes. We appeared to have cronies. The problem is that no matter who we chose - even if we chose our cronies' enemies - they would be called our cronies. The alternative was to do nothing at all. I think I have done reasonably well. I have been able to achieve the objective, the vision I had for my country, to a fair extent."
  
• As for the gossips throughout Malaysia - that he is a mamak or partly ethnic Indian. The Tun said :: "Maybe I have a few drops (of Indian blood). My father was a Penang Malay. They would have some Indian blood. My mother was Malay. I must admit I have some Indian antecedents. Culturally and legally, I am a Malay."
  The Tun certainly had some interesting stuff to say. Clifford concluded his article by saying ::
  

  But Malaysian politicians for decades have made a speciality of returning from absolute oblivion. We will have to see if, against the retired leader's wishes, it happens again.