Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, in remarks published yesterday, predicted US President George W. Bush would win the Nov. 2 election because Americans were "very ignorant" people and would "accept a liar."
Mahathir, who retired last October after 22 years in power, told The Star in an interview that the US electorate "appears to be willing to accept a person who told a blatant lie and to elect a liar as their president."
"The American people are, by and large, very ignorant and know nothing about the rest of the world. They think that America is the world," he said.
"They will accept a liar. They will accept [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair and I am sure they will accept Bush. They have already accepted [Australian Prime Minister John] Howard who told a blatant lie."
Asked if he thought Bush will win, Mahathir said: "Yes, I think so."
Mahathir, who was sharply critical of the invasion of Iraq and attacked Bush's foreign policies while in office, over the weekend appealed to US Muslims to back Senator John Kerry because Bush was the "cause of the tragedies" across the Muslim world.
"Vote Bush out of office. It is truly an ibadah [worship] that you perform," he said in an open letter dated Oct. 15 and posted on the Web site www.Islamicity.com.
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