‘Globalization was not introduced by the West'

Malaysian prime minister-in-waiting and ruling coalition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Monday that a notion that globalization was introduced by the West is “fundamentally flawed”.

Speaking on the Allure of Identity Politics in a Globalized World at the third TRT World Forum in Istanbul, Anwar gave example of Ottoman Empire and Malacca Sultanate that were “cosmopolitan, international and globalized”.

“Globalization is not a new invention introduced by the West,” he added.

The globalization, according to him, is “an experience” that has also “appeared in the past”.

“We understand the limitation of globalization. The mere notion of globalization as introduced by the West is fundamentally flawed,” Anwar added.

Stressing that the conflict of civilizations should be resolved by dialogue between the East and the West, Anwar appreciated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for launching the initiative of the Alliance of Civilizations in 2005.

“This is a commendable effort,” he said, adding the effort was not endorsed by many Western countries as well as some Muslim countries.

“Because when you have poor governance, when you have an issue of legitimacy of government in question, it is difficult for them to revision the conscious of their people.

“This is a challenge,” Anwar added.

According to him, the fundamental issues are: “Whether we can ensure that every single citizen is given her or his right as a citizen. Whether we can provide a good education, health and whether we can ensure that we can elect a legitimate government to represent the voices of conscious of the majority of people.”

“The failure would be the result of arrogance of power,” he said.