Our business partner
Md Abad Dhaka
At long last, Malaysia is officially recognising Bangladesh as a possible investment partner, in sharp contrast to the mere import of labour for many decades, (some other Asian developed nations and EU members are also coming in for relocation of their sunset industries, after the Taiwan and S Korean burn-outs).This is evident from the fact that the 70-member Malaysian delegation was led by no other than one of the top leaders in the Muslim world, Dr Mahathtir Mohamad. He talks differently a sign of great moral courage, tackling the rich North. It is the implementation of a principle which is the main hurdle in policy decisions. The way the Malaysian Ringgit is pegged is worth studying. He was amazingly forthcoming in his statements; two of which are startling: Dump the US dollar (sell in other currencies); and avoid becoming a slave to the Windows computer operating system (Malaysia has officially adopted the Linux as OS). The strength of the sole superpower is in Dollar which is the sole global currency for international trade; not in military might. The USD is already weak against the Euro. The high value of the Japanese Yen is troubling Japan for more than a decade. The implications of these trends have to be watched closely by the experts, on how the third world countries would be affected on long-term basis in the coming years within a decade. Dr Mahathir pointed out the lack of unity of the Islamic countries, the huge communication and social gaps between the rich and the poor members, and the utter incompetence of OIC, thanks to the aloofness of the rich Muslim monarchs in the ME. The Muslims are being taught some divine lessons through man-made suffering. The flux will take some definite shape in the coming years in the near future. Al-Qaeda group has already warned the monarchies to go in for reforms. Nearer home, India has to review its regional stance. Surely it does not wish for unfriendly neighbours on the East and the West, with the South (Sri Lanka is already unstable for decades in civil strife). The big brother's loneliness is more than imaginary, (the Tata group opted out and is coming to Bangladesh in a big way). India's attitude towards the smaller neighbours is not all transparent. But Sonia Gandhi's regime appears to be more practical, after her party's unexpected win in the last general elections. Pakistan's upper society is dominated by the feudal landlords, and its weakness at the bottom level is obscurantism due to illiteracy and traditional approaches to religion. Can economic reforms come before social reforms? Saarc and Asean combination might worry the West (or the North)!
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