APEC WATCH : Sorry, Not Going

The one head of state of an Asia-Pacific nation boycotting the meeting with President Clinton in Seattle this weekend is Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed. He will be missing from an unprecedented meeting of a dozen other Asia-Pacific heads of state to discuss regional issues (New Zealand’s Jim Bolger is staying home because of election limbo). Mahathir’s absence is a significant and sorry disappointment for the historic gathering of member nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, even though Malaysia will be represented by its well-regarded minister of international trade and industry, Rafidah Aziz.

The prime minister’s problem is a deep distrust of the West. Even as he attracts U.S. investment to Malaysia and maintains good defense relations with Washington, Mahathir is boycotting the meeting because he believes that the United States--host of the APEC meeting--is trying to hijack the organization and mold it primarily to U.S. interests.

Mahathir has proposed creating an East Asian Economic Caucus trading bloc that would exclude United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, nations whose Anglo-Saxon ways he dislikes. Other APEC members, notably Japan and South Korea, have not bought into his idea.

That’s not entirely surprising. In Mahathir’s 12 years as prime minister of an Islamic country of 18 million, Malaysia’s democratic traditions of an independent judiciary and a free press have been eroded. His absence will do nothing to increase his respect among his peers.