An open letter from Dr. Mahathir to Obama

January 1, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

I did not vote for you in the Presidential Election because I am
Malaysian. But I consider myself one of your constituents because what you
do or say will affect me and my country as well. I welcome your promise
for change. Certainly your country, the United States of America needs a
lot of changes.

That is because America and Americans have become the most hated people in
the world. Even Europeans dislike your arrogance. Yet you were once
admired and liked because you freed a lot of countries from conquest and
subjugation.

It is the custom on New Year’s day for people to make resolutions. You
must have listed your good resolutions already. But may I politely suggest
that you also resolve to do the following in pursuit of Change.

1) Stop killing people. The United States is too fond of killing people in
order to achieve its objectives. You call it war, but today’s wars are not
about professional soldiers fighting and killing each other. It is about
killing people, ordinary innocent people by the hundreds of thousands.
Whole countries will be devastated.

War is primitive, the cavemen’s way of dealing with a problem. Stop your
arms build up and your planning for future wars.

2) Stop indiscriminate support of Israeli killers with your money and your
weapons. The planes and the bombs killing the people of Gaza are from you.

3) Stop applying sanctions against countries which cannot do the same
against you.

In Iraq your sanctions killed 500,000 children through depriving them of
medicine and food. Others were born deformed.

What have you achieved with this cruelty? Nothing except the hatred of the
victims and right-thinking people.

4) Stop your scientists and researchers from inventing new and more
diabolical weapons to kill more people more efficiently.

5) Stop your arms manufacturers from producing them. Stop your sales of
arms to the world. It is blood money that you earn. It is un-Christian.

6) Stop trying to democratize all the countries of the world. Democracy
may work for the United States but it does not always work for other
countries.

Don’t kill people because they are not democratic. Your crusade to
democratize countries has killed more people than the authoritarian
Governments which you overthrew. And you have not succeeded anyway.

7) Stop the casinos which you call financial institutions. Stop hedge
funds, derivatives and currency trading. Stop banks from lending
non-existent money by the billions.

Regulate and supervise your banks. Jail the miscreants who made profits
from abusing the system.

8) Sign the Kyoto Protocol and other international agreements.

9) Show respect for the United Nations.

I have many other resolutions for change which I think you should consider
and undertake.

But I think you have enough on your plate for this 2009th year of the
Christian Era.

If you can do only a few of what I suggest, you will be remembered by the
world as a great leader. Then the United States will again be the most
admired nation. Your embassies will be able to take down the high fences
and razor-wire coils that surround them.

May I wish you a Happy New Year and a great Presidency.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad

(Former Prime Minister of Malaysia)