- EGYPT
- May 21, 2013
- 5 minutes read
Mahathir Mohamed: Postrevolution Egypt Changing Fast; People Must Unite for Real Renaissance
Mahathir Mohamed, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, stressed that: "There is a fine line between good use of freedom and resorting to violence. Everyone should know that misuse of freedom destroys the country. Everyone should also know very well that as they demand their rights, they have to work for the homeland.
"There is clear differences between Egypt in the past and Egypt today. The people did not have the right to go out to the streets and demonstrate. Now, Egypt is enjoying freedom, and the people willingly choose what they want.
"Nahda (Renaissance) Project puts Egypt among the ranks of developed countries. But that requires a political will, popular support, and good financing. Undoubtedly, peace and stability are the main factors for Egypt’s success on the road to its genuine development and progress.
"Focusing on the country’s infrastructure was one of the most important goals achieved by Malaysia in its pursuit of a real renaissance. We started with comprehensive maintenance of the electricity system and the highways, with the participation of the private sector. Then, citizens experienced the actual changes."
Mohamed added, "Malaysia had been divided into Muslims, Chinese Buddhists, Hindus and non-homogenous Indians.
Then, everyone participated in the country’s wealth and politics, and stayed away from disagreements and discord.
"We developed a plan for rejuvenation and rebuilding, in order to improve our country’s economy. We formed an alliance of the main parties for a more effective political process. Then, the first thing we did was working to eliminate the problem of unemployment and turning towards industrialization."
In response to a question about his opinion on the Freedom and Justice Party’s Nahda Project, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia said: "The Egyptian people know that the challenges are great, and are endeavoring to study and benefit from other nations’ experiences, just as we learned from the Japanese and the Koreans.
"It seems to me that Egyptians are taking the correct approach in learning from experiences of renaissance, which can bring positive results in achieving their own project.
"We need to understand the democratic process that builds governments. We need to realize that the democratic process is not fully understood or appreciated by many. There are still people who turn to vote-buying under the guise of democratic process."
