KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said developments in the middle east should be an eye opener for small nations.
The former prime minister said it was clear that no one would jump to anyone's aid in the event of an invasion.
"Small nations should take note of what is happening in the middle east or west Asia.
"It is clear that if your country is invaded and your people are massacred expect no help from anyone," he said.
Dr Mahathir said the general assembly of the United Nations (UN) had proven to be ineffective in coming to the aid of weaker nations.
"There will be meetings of the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations. Pious resolutions would be made.
"But the aggressor nation would ignore the UN and go on killing.
"This is the brave New World that hundreds of millions of young people died for," he said in a Facebook posting.
The upload comes in the wake of daily Israeli attacks on the Gazan population over the past one year and ongoing conflict with Hizbollah in Lebanon.
In Gaza, the civil defence agency said the latest Israeli air strike on a residential area killed at least 73 Palestinians in Beit Lahia in the territory's north while in Beirut, Israel targeted what it said was a Hizbollah "command centre" in the Lebanese capital.
The strikes on Hizbollah's south Beirut stronghold came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of attempting to assassinate him by targeting his residence.