He painted a picture at the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday of a world in which the rich countries do what they please – writing the trade laws, imposing sanctions, imposing democracy – while less-powerful countries struggle.
“I believe in capitalism, but capitalism has gone mad,” the outspoken 94-year-old leader said.
Mahathir particularly railed against the veto power held by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which he said “ensured that all solutions to all conflicts could be negated by any one of them”.
Speaking to reporters after his address, Mahathir acknowledged that Malaysian firms had little choice but to comply for fear of being hit by US sanctions.
“Generally, the world is helpless,” he said. Mahathir also renewed his criticism of the Trans-Pacific Partnership an 11-nation trade pact that includes Malaysia but from which Trump pulled the US.
“Rich companies had given themselves the power to sue governments. The terms of the agreement were drawn up by them – and they are not all like Bill Gates, who spends some money on charity,” he said. “Most are bent on exploiting the power money gives them,” he said.
Mahathir called for a renegotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after his election last year.
The deal had been sealed soon before the surprise return to power of Mahathir, who had led Malaysia for more than two decades before his retirement in 2003.
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