Former Malaysian leader calls for boycott of US economy

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has called for a global boycott of the United States’ economy, the Star has reported.

He said the boycott should put pressure on the US to halt its support of Israel’s violent attack on Palestine.

He argued that while governments are “scared stiff” of America, referring to the US as a “super power”, and are not likely to support such a move, he believes that the people could play a part to “save Palestine.”

The former Malaysian leader was speaking at a press conference Monday in Kuala Lumpur on developments in the Middle East.

“The people can act and they have the capacity to act,” he said, saying that the people need not consume US-branded soft drinks and that the government can’t force them to drink it.

“If we need to buy weapons, we can always buy them from Russia instead of the United States.

“The boycott will have to be a universal effort. If confined to Malaysia alone, it is not gong to be effective, but Malaysians must also play their part,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said he would talk with local non-governmental organisations on boycotting US products and he would also write to several leaders to urge them to play their part in putting a stop to the killings in Palestine.

The former Malaysian leader is known bitter critic of the US. And it is not clear if this call would be heeded even by other governments that are critical of the US. The current global economy is in crisis, and most countries of the world are bracing themselves for an uncertain economic turmoil in 2009.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi