Mahathir decides to send his deputy, may call early poll

By Warren Gamble

The Apec summit has lost one of its harshest critics with the late withdrawal of abrasive Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed.

The unpredictable leader has not officially told the Government of his no-show but officials said last night that he would not be coming to the three-day regional meeting starting next weekend.

In his place will be his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Despite Malaysia's hosting of the Apec summit last year, Dr Mahathir has been a persistent critic, saying as recently as last week that he did not expect the Auckland meeting to achieve much.

He has also criticised the regional forum's response to the Asian financial crisis and has pushed for an East Asian Economic Caucus excluding Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

US President Bill Clinton's non-attendance at the Kuala Lumpur summit, and the subsequent controversy stirred by Vice-President Al Gore's backing of Dr Mahathir's sacked former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, are also seen as factors in his decision to stay at home.

The 73-year-old Prime Minister has to call elections in Malaysia before April, prompting speculation that he may now call an early poll. Dr Mahathir snubbed the first Apec summit in Seattle in 1993, prompting the Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating to brand him as recalcitrant.