Mahathir ：I don’t know how to work with a person who changes his mind overnight

Mahathir Mohamad charts new democratic path for Malaysia
Unrepentant PM talks about the challenges of managing domestic policy, Trump and China

I don’t know how to work with a person who changes his mind overnight

Mr Mahathir on Donald Trump
The return of Mr Mahathir, who was a leading critic of the west while prime minister from 1981 to 2003, will reverberate beyond Malaysia, as he renews working relationships with old friends such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He will also have to deal with newer leaders of the world superpowers — US president Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.

While Mr Najib sought a close relationship with Mr Trump, Mr Mahathir said he had no plans to meet the US president for now because “I don’t know how to work with a person who changes his mind overnight”.

“For example, he wants to meet the president of North Korea, then he doesn’t want to meet, and now he’s saying maybe it’s going to happen,” he said.

マレーシアの前ナジブ首相は、トランプ大統領との緊密関係を維持しようとしたが、マハティール首相は、トランプ大統領と近日中に会談する予定はない、と。

「一晩で、考えを変えるようなひととどう付き合っていいかわかりません。例えば、北朝鮮について、会談したい、やめた、やっぱしたい、みたいなね」と。