The Philippine government and business sector should attach importance to social equity by diminishing class and race differences in the country, visited Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday.

Mahathir made the remarks when he was giving a speech at the 30th conference of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industryin Metro Manila.

During the one-hour speech, Mohamad cited his experience in addressing the crisis caused by gaps among classes and races in Malaysia and allowing the rich to continue to do business while keeping the working class earn more.

Mahathir said that he helped the poor by giving higher wage increases as the economy grew while keeping costs low with minimized inflation and controlled prices of basic goods to improve standards of living.

He also said that the poor should pay little or no taxes while the rich should be treated as assets since it is they who provide jobs.

"A poor man in a poor community cannot become rich by selling to the poor. But a poor man in a rich community can become rich byselling to the rich," he said.

As a result of his "growth with equity" policy, the Malays and indigenous people have gained a 20 percent share of the country's economic wealth while the more affluent Chinese and Indian minority got 40 percent, Mahathir said.

"There is admittedly a big difference between the share of the Malays and Chinese but the disparity is less than before and therefore, more tolerable," he added.

Malaysia's fourth prime minister since securing independence from Great Britain in 1957 arrived in Manila Monday for a two-day visit and had a private dinner with President Gloria Mapacagal-Arroyo the night.

Arroyo earlier said that she would seek advice on how to realize peace with Muslims and address fiscal problems when she had "profound discussion with one of Asian's acknowledged statesmen," which was considered as a "symbolic of the warm friendship between Malaysia and the Philippines."

The president, who has vowed to address fiscal crisis with ballooning deficit and huge debt, also said that she would welcomeany advice Mahathir gives regarding her administration's fiscal crisis.

The two big shots also put in discussion the peace process between the Philippine government and the rebel group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which Kuala Lumpur has been acting as a coordinator.

Mahathir was also credited for facilitating the resumption of formal peace talks between the Philippine government and the 12,000-strong MILF, which has been fighting to set up a separate Islamic state in the southern island of Mindanao.

Source: Xinhua