Former PM slams US Vice President for comments on M'sian judiciary

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pix) slammed US Vice President Joe Biden for his comment on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial in which he said that the appeal against the conviction was a chance for Malaysia to "promote confidence" in its judiciary.
"The Vice President needs to look at his own country first. In America, citizens are given life sentences and they do not even know about it, the government sentences them and uses drones to kill them.
"This is the country that is advising us about the sanctity of law? It seems that they have an ulterior motive for Anwar to become the Prime Minister," said Mahathir.
Biden was unusually direct about his remarks on Twitter recently saying that the Malaysian government's use of legal system & Sedition Act to stifle the opposition raises rule of law concerns.
Mahathir also expressed his dismay at the government's intention of signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) free-trade deal with the United States of America (USA).
"I hope the government does not sign the TPPA, if we sign it we will be exposed to many actions by foreign companies who will have the right to sue the government for billions of ringgit," said Mahathir.
The TPPA is the largest trade deal in history currently being negotiated by 12 countries: Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
These countries represent 792 million people and a combined GDP of US$27.5 trillion, which accounts for 40% of the world economy.
It purportedly aims to increase the liberalization of economies in the Pacific region through abolition of tariffs on trade as well as irregulation of critical aspects of the economy. Mahathir hailed the TPPA as a one sided deal because it will protect USA's interests and not Malaysia's.
"We are currently the 17th biggest trading nation in the world, and we didn't need the TPPA or any other agreements to achieve that," he said.