Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad rebukes UN for letting rich countries do as they please while the rest of the world struggles

The Malaysian PM particularly railed against the veto power held by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, saying it had failed to prevent wars

He also called for greater international control of sanctions, and spoke out over US attempts to force all countries to cut trade ties with Iran

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Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. Photo: AP

Published: 8:37am, 28 Sep 2019Updated: 10:33pm, 28 Sep 2019

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took the United Nations to task for failing to prevent wars and criticised the countries of the Security Council for giving themselves the “the right practically to rule the world”.

He painted a picture at the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday of a world in which the rich countries do what they please – writing the trade laws, imposing sanctions, imposing democracy – while less-powerful countries struggle.

“I believe in capitalism, but capitalism has gone mad,” the outspoken 94-year-old leader said.

Mahathir particularly railed against the veto power held by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which he said “ensured that all solutions to all conflicts could be negated by any one of them”.

He said that though the UN has failed to prevent wars, it has done better in helping to reduce poverty. But he urged greater international control of sanctions, and spoke out over US attempts to force all countries to stop doing business with Iran .

Mahathir speaks at the UN headquarters in New York. Photo: AP

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