Welcome back to the global stage, Mahathir – Asean missed you 

“I don’t know how I managed. I always attend meetings. It’s my duty. If I can, I will. If I am sick, I won’t go,” Malaysia’s leader replied on Friday.
Just the day before, a Malaysian official said she counted the number of meetings the prime minister had to attend – a total of 17 – with leaders from other countries and separate ones with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Australia’s Scott Morrison, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and Vietnam’s Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Just before the Asean Summit, Mahathir made a two-day official visit to Singapore.
It was a different story for his 73-year-old counterpart from the Philippines, who hit the headlines at the summit for the wrong reasons.
Rodrigo Duterte napped and skipped a number of summits in Singapore, making him the focus of ridicule in the media.
They even counted the number of meetings he missed – four – as well as a gala dinner given by the host, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Duterte’s office explained the leader took power naps, but his history of skipping meetings is nothing new.
In 2016, he failed to attend a summit between Asean and then-US president Barack Obama in Laos after the White House cancelled their bilateral talk following Duterte’s obscenity-laden rant against Obama.
But for Mahathir, who was making his reappearance at the Asean Summit, it was an occasion for him to get acquainted with the leaders from the region and some whom he had met when he was the fourth prime minister – like Putin. He was much sought after by the media and some of the leaders personally walked over to greet him.
US Vice President Mike Pence sought out Mahathir to personally shake his hand after the Asean-US summit. Pence was here to represent President Donald Trump.
“He wanted to tell Dr Mahathir that he agreed with Malaysia’s assertion that to combat terrorism, there was a need to go back to the root causes,” said an aide.
It lasted for hardly a minute, but it sent a strong message that even a leader of a powerful country like the US respects someone who doesn’t mince his words when criticising another country when he feels they are wrong.
Mahathir’s attendance at the summit was eagerly awaited, as he is seen as someone who can lead the 10-member regional bloc back to international relevance.
“Even ministers are telling [Mahathir] that the rest of Asean are looking up to him for his leadership. He knows it, but remains humble in his reply,” said an official.
Mahathir himself described this Singapore meet as a good summit. It was long, he admitted, but he was happy with the results.
“They are quite positive and agreed on various initiatives. We can make better progress in future.
“Malaysia made some suggestions, I don’t know if they will be accepted.
“I met a number of heads [of government]. Generally, they are friendly with Malaysia and this is a good sign,” he said.
It has been a long two weeks for Mahathir. First he travelled to Tokyo where was offered more Samurai bonds by the Japanese government. A few days later, he was in Singapore for the Asean Summit.
He returned to Kuala Lumpur but then quickly left for last weekend’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Papua New Guinea.
There he attended more meetings and met another set of leaders, especially from Latin America.
Mahathir is doing it because Malaysia believes in friendly ties with all.
Even Christine Lagarde, chief of the International Monetary Fund who asked for a meeting with Mahathir, tweeted that she wanted to learn from Malaysia how to tackle corruption.
Malaysian officials accompanying him at this summit couldn’t be prouder of their prime minister.
“It is the frankness in his intervention [during meetings] and how he sees things and offers his views,” said an official.
“If Malaysians are proud of him, for us to see him in action is really an honour. He speaks his mind with volumes of wisdom. He gives us hope and motivation to strive for excellence,” said a young female official.
A foreign journalist, who has been covering Mahathir for many years, was full of admiration.
“The grand old statesman of Asean. Age has visibly slowed him down, but I admire him for his energy. He gives vibrancy and colour to a meeting full of dour old men who don’t even speak to the media.
“He was his usual sharp mind and acerbic tongue. Isn’t it ironic that it should take a 93-year-old man to help energise Asean?” he added.
But Mahathir is only just getting started on this, his second foray on the international stage of summitry.
Many will on be their toes, bracing for the Malaysian leader to present his contrarian views that provoke debate and unreserved comments.
Welcome back, Mahathir. Asean did miss you.