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马来西亚前总理马哈蒂尔：美国企图在台海发动战争 拜登无能
观察者网 2022年08月20日 11:21:05 来自上海市
【编译/观察者网 李焕宇】8月19日，马来西亚前总理马哈蒂尔接受美联社采访，长期以来以批评西方及其地缘政治而闻名的他这次也没有藏匿自己的锋芒。他直言，美国试图在台海挑起战争，而他们的总统拜登则是一位无能的领导人。
马哈蒂尔 视频截图
马哈蒂尔首先指责了美国众议院长佩洛西的窜访之旅。
他认为中国大陆允许台湾保持现状，“这不会出什么问题。他们现在还不打算武力收台。如果他们想用武力，那早就动武了。”
“但是，美国却为了挑起战争挑衅（他们），诱使大陆试图拿下台湾。这样美国就有借口去帮助台湾，甚至是同大陆对抗，并且能向台湾出售大量武器。”
此外，马哈蒂尔还就国际事务批评美国总统拜登的“无能”（ineffective）以及欧盟的言而无信。
他说：“在某种程度上，他（拜登）非常反伊斯兰，这不公平。面对以色列犯下的各种罪行，甚至是种族灭绝，他毫无作为。”
“北约和欧盟正在进一步升级他们的挑衅行为，然后要乌克兰人去战斗......他们承诺接受乌克兰（加入北约），但他们没有。”
截至目前，美国尚未就马哈蒂尔的言论做出回应。
马哈蒂尔现年已经97岁，此前曾在马来西亚总理位子从1981年干到了2003年。2018年，由于时任马来西亚总理纳吉布爆发腐败丑闻，马哈蒂尔领导的反对派在2018年的选举中取得历史性胜利，推翻了纳吉布政府，马哈蒂尔再度出任总理，成为世界上最年长的政府首脑。
但是马哈蒂尔领导的反对派联盟不到两年就因内部纠纷而瓦解，前总理纳吉布所在的巫统重新掌权。今年8月，马哈蒂尔宣布成立了一个名为“祖国运动”的政党联盟，该联盟将参与下一届全国大选，目前尚未公布总理人选。
马哈蒂尔说：“我不知道是否能成为总理候选人，但如果我足够强壮，足够健康，他们也想让我参选，那我就会参选。”
Malaysia's Mahathir says US seeking to provoke war in Taiwan
By EILEEN NGyesterday
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday accused the U.S. of trying to provoke a war in Taiwan, and in a wide-ranging interview also said he expects Malaysia’s graft-tainted ruling party to hold general elections in the coming months.
Mahathir, a two-time prime minister long known as a critic of the West and its geopolitics, warned that the U.S. was antagonizing China through recent visits to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others. China considers the self-ruled island democracy part of its territory and regards such visits as meddling in its affairs.
“China has allowed Taiwan to remain by itself. No problem. They didn’t invade. If they wanted to invade, they could have invaded. They didn’t. But America is provoking (them) so that there can be a war, so that the Chinese will make the mistake of trying to occupy Taiwan,” the 97-year-old Mahathir said.
“Then there is an excuse ... for the U.S. to help Taiwan, even fight against China and sell a lot of arms to Taiwan,” he added.
Following Pelosi’s visit, China launched large-scale military drills surrounding the island and fired ballistic missiles into the sea. Beijing also warned Washington not to encourage Taiwan to try to make its de facto independence permanent, a step China says would lead to war.
There was no immediate U.S. response to Mahathir’s comments.
In Malaysia, Mahathir said the ruling United Malays National Organization is likely preparing for snap polls that it will most likely “win big.” He believes that a number of Malay voters have returned to UMNO because they were offered money and other incentives.
“I think they will want to have the general elections this year. If possible, maybe as soon as two or three months from now, because they feel that at this moment the public still looks up at them, and the opposition is broken up, disorganized,” he told the AP.
Elections are not due until September 2023, but some UMNO members, including ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who are both fighting graft charges, have been rallying for an earlier vote.
Mahathir was an UMNO prime minister for 22 years until his retirement in 2003. He was inspired to return to politics by the massive looting of the 1MDB state fund during Najib’s term in office, and rode a wave of public anger to lead the opposition to a historic victory in 2018 polls that ousted Najib’s government.
Mahathir became the world’s oldest head of government at 93, but his reformist alliance collapsed in less than two years due to defections. UMNO returned to power and now leads a new coalition government.
Mahathir has formed a new party, Pejuang, and a Malay alliance to contest 120 Malay-dominated parliamentary seats. He said his mission remained the same: to “clean-up” the country and form a graft-free government.
“I don’t know about being prime minister candidate, but if I am strong enough, if I am healthy enough, if they want me to contest, I will contest,” Mahathir said.
“I will fight, even if it is a losing battle,” he said. “I will fight because I believe in principle. It’s not what happens to me. I believe in principle. I believe that this is a great country which can become a developed country, but under the crooks you will never become.”
Najib has maintained his innocence. With his final appeal against a 12-year prison sentence in the first of several trials ongoing in the country’s top court, he would not be allowed to run in the event of an early election.
Mahathir said he believes Najib hopes to make a political comeback with an UMNO win.
“In the elections, if UMNO wins, he expects an UMNO government to ask for a pardon for him — and when he gets a pardon, (and is) cleared completely, he can then become prime minister,” Mahathir said. “He will do it. Believe me, he will do it.”
On the international front, Mahathir described President Joe Biden as an “ineffective” leader.
“In a way, he’s very anti-Islam, he’s not being fair. He allows Israel to commit all kinds of crime, genocide, and he does nothing. He supports them,” said Mahathir, who has been accused of anti-Semitism for attacking Jews, whom he blames for a humanitarian crisis in Palestinian territories.
He also railed against the European Union over the Russian war on Ukraine.
“What NATO is doing, the EU is doing is to provoke some more and asking the Ukrainians to fight,” Mahathir said. “They promised to accept Ukraine (into NATO) but they didn’t.”
