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Nearing 100, Malaysia's ex-PM Mahathir blasts 'old world' Trump
The Straits Times
|May 11, 2025
Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is giving President Donald Trump three months before his fellow Americans force him to rethink his stringent global tariff strategy, accusing the US leader of "living in an old world".
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PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is giving President Donald Trump three months before his fellow Americans force him to rethink his stringent global tariff strategy, accusing the US leader of "living in an old world".
Speaking to AFP in an interview two months ahead of his 100th birthday, the plain-speaking Tun Dr Mahathir said: "Trump will find that his tariffs are hurting America, and the people in America will end up against him."
The US President's stop-start tariff roll-out will hit Asian nations hard - including Malaysia, which faces a 24 per cent levy in July unless the two countries can strike a deal.
"It's going to cause America a lot of problems, so I give Trump three months," said Dr Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia in two stints lasting nearly a quarter of a century.
Still working a five-day week from his office in the administrative capital Putrajaya, the sprightly nonagenarian remains as outspoken as ever.
This story is from the May 11, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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