Interesting People mailing list archives
Re: PETERS: NOW IS NOT TIME FOR U.S. TO TURN ITS BACK ON ASIAN
From: Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk <Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk>
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1993 12:20:55 +0100
JUGGERNAUT
PETERS: NOW IS NOT TIME FOR U.S. TO TURN ITS BACK ON ASIAN JUGGERNAUT
Take Malaysia. It's growing at 8 percent a year -- the world slowdown be damned. Though Malaysia is officially an Islamic country, Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad has no intention of letting religion stall his capitalist transformation. Local Islamic doctrine is expanding the definition of jihad, or holy war, to include hard work! The skyline of the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, is a blur of construction cranes; sounds of non-stop riveting, even through double-glazed hotel windows, make sleep almost impossible.
There is - of course - another side to Malaysia, I learnt from my daughter who spent many months during the last two years in the part of Malaysia called East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah) in connection with her Ph.D (in Electrical Engineering from Edinburgh Univ!). East Malaysia is very much still a third world country, being exploited by mainland Malaysia, and by the Japanese. Its rain forests are being destroyed, at an alarming rate, with the local population getting few if any benefits. Thus the above picture of Kuala Lumpur is far from telling the whole story, I'm afraid. Cheers Brian Dept. of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk PHONE = +44 91 222 7923 FAX = +44 91 222 8232
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- Re: PETERS: NOW IS NOT TIME FOR U.S. TO TURN ITS BACK ON ASIAN Brian . Randell (Jun 30)