KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2: Malaysia’s former premier Mahathir Mohamad said on Sunday the bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali were not helping the Muslim cause.
“People will perceive Muslims as being very bad people but that is not Islam at all,” Mahathir told reporters at the World Islamic Economic Forum here.
“We are against such wild attacks. There is no reason at all for doing that, and I think (the attackers) are not helping the cause,” he said.
At least 26 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in Saturday’s attacks, which Indonesia’s top counter-terrorism official said bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiyah militants linked to Al Qaeda.
But Mahathir, who is well known for his anti-Western views and who ruled Malaysia for 22 years until his retirement two years ago, suggested that a backlash against Muslims would serve little purpose.
“If there is a backlash, what does it achieve? I have repeatedly said that people don’t blow themselves up for no reason. You must find the reason and then you deal with the reason,” he said.
Business leaders at the forum said they were shocked and outraged at the bombings, with some expressing fears that badly-needed investment for Indonesia would be affected.
But the chairman of Bank Rakyat in Malaysia, Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim, called for the bombings to be seen in a broader context.
“I doubt it will have a long-term effect on the Indonesian economy,” he said. “One good thing that can happen is that the Indonesian government will see this as a more serious issue, and they may respond appropriately.”—AFP
