Now Mahathir makes another major U - Turn, wants China to be included in trade deals #Negaraku #Malaysia

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad speaks at the Future of Asia forum in Tokyo on June 6.

It seems that former Prime Minister. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is now making a major U - Turn by courting China to join a new economic pact agreement with Asia countries, similar to the role played by the United States in signing the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) previously during the administration of Barack Obama. 

Mahathir U-turn comes after he criticized China for the country's investment in Malaysia, particularly in Forest City and Tun Razak Exchange where Dr. Mahathir alleged that the investment from China is tantamount to a new form of interference in Malaysia's domestic political landscape. 

Speaking at the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia, organized by Nikkei Inc., the 91-year-old political heavyweight suggested members of the pact should instead invite China, the region's largest economy by far, to join.

"Without America, countries can think of new ways to cooperate with each other in a more equitable way," Mahathir said, adding that "America [tends] to dictate and force its own views." He insisted that Asian countries should take this opportunity to reduce their dependence on the U.S. in terms of both trade and politically.

"It should be more equitable. Then we could include China as well," he said. "To exclude China is to ignore the role that China plays in this region and ... to create an unequal kind of situation between China and the rest."