June 18, 2025
TOKYO – Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations should create a united front in negotiations with the United States, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The following is excerpted from the interview, which was conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Tetsuya Mizuno.
America is a big market. High tariffs affect the market; it hurts the market. Exporters to America face troubles. They can’t sell as much as they used to. But America itself is going to face a lot of troubles. This is because America needs import; without it, the American industries cannot function, especially without micro-processors or microchips. [U.S. President Donald] Trump has put a pause on electronics because he knows that he needs the electronics to keep supplies in the American industries. He has already given in. Later, he has to give in more. Things will be expensive in America.
Other countries will also suffer. Other countries should work together to continue this world trade. The trade should go on with an enhancement. They should take the place of America to supply certain things.
It will take time. It is disruptive. I think very soon America will have to solve Trump’s high tariff.
The high tariff will create a shift away from America. This would be permanent. America will lose a lot of its trade because people will be able to get from other sources. Once they have been identified from other sources, they will not go back to America.
It is inevitable the U.S. reduces its trade by high tariffs. People will have to look for other partners. China provides good partnership. China has great technological capabilities. It can produce whatever the U.S. produces. It will take a little time. It will be soon.
Trump does not want to side with ASEAN. He wants to deal with individual countries, because the country will be weak.
ASEAN coming together and putting a united front in negotiation with the U.S. is the best approach.
The better future for ASEAN is when there is no dominant country, not China, U.S., nor anyone.
It is not that ASEAN is leaning toward China. It is America who pushes ASEAN to China. If America does not impose high tariffs, we [ASEAN] want to be friendly with the U.S. and China, which both are big markets. But America rejects ASEAN, pushing us toward China.
We need a market. China is the biggest market for Malaysia. If America pushes us, we have no choice but to go to China.
The recovery after World War II was partly due to the Marshall Plan. The package supported the European countries’ recovery.
Following that, there are trends on globalization and the borderless world, which has contributed to world trade. What Trump is doing now is to reverse the Marshall Plan.
We should go back to the world trade system. We should give more power to the WTO.
Japan is a great investor. Malaysia had been able to industrialize because of the Japanese investment. Japan has a big role to play to help countries in Southeast Asia with industrialization and trade.
Right now, Japan is in the trough. But I have great faith in Japan and Japanese people who are coming up with new ideas and products, especially in the field of medicine. I think Japan will catch up and recover. It may not be in the industrial products, but there are other sectors where Japan can excel.
A democratic system has failed in a selection of leaders.
A lot of bad leaders like people who do not believe in climate change, people who believe that the solution to the conflict is to go to war, these people are now in charge in many countries. That is why we have the problems.
Japan should not be a neighbor of the U.S. only, but a neighbor to the rest of the world. It should be an enabler for the rest of the world. Japan should consider the best thing for Japan in the world, not as a partner of the U.S.