MAHATHIR MOHAMAD

Tun Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad (Born 1925) is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years between 1981-2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister, and his political career in total has spanned almost 40 years. During Mahathir's tenure as Prime Minister, Malaysia experienced a period of rapid modernisation and economic growth, and his government initiated a series of bold infrastructure projects. Mahathir was so popular that he won five consecutive general elections and even earned the honorific title of "tun" for his contributions as a leader. "Tun" is a honorific title that has been around for hundreds of years in Malaysian society. Originally it was reserved for royalty, but today it is given to people who have done something significant to improve the nation .

While he did much to improve life in Malaysia, he also spoke out for other developing nations, and has become a very respected figure in developing Islamic nations around the globe. However, he isn't popular with everyone. He has been a long time critic of the policies of Western nations like the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and has publicly called for the trial of Bush, Blair and Howard as war criminals in the Iraq War.


BECOMING PRIME MINISTER

He was born and raised in Alor Setar. Since he excelled in his studies, he decided to become a medical doctor. He became active in the United Malay's National Organization (UMNO), Malaysia's largest political party, before entering the Parliament in 1964. By 1976 he rose to Deputy Prime Minister, and then in 1981, he was sworn in as Prime Minister.


MAHATHIR BOLSTERS HIS EXECUTIVE POWER

In his tenure as Prime Minister he bolstered his own executive role. The growth of his own power came at the expense of the independence of the judiciary, and the traditional powers and privileges of Malaysia's royalty. He also made use of the Internal Security Act of 1960 to detain activists, non-mainstream religious figures and political opponents.


ECONOMIC POSITIONS

Mahathir inherited the "New Economic Policy" (NEP) from his predecessors, which was designed to improve the economic position of the bumiputera, (Malaysia's Malay's and indigenous people) through targets and affirmative action in areas such as corporate ownership and university admissions. Mahathir also actively pursued a policy of privatizing government enterprises starting in the early 80's. His government privatized airlines, utilities and telecommunication firms, accelerating to a rate of about 50 privitizations a year by the mid-1990s. While privatization generally improved the working conditions of Malaysians in private industries and significantly raised revenue for the government, many of these privatizations occurred in the absence of open tendering processes.

In 1990, Malaysia's NEP expired, which gave Mahathir the opportunity to outline his own economic vision for Malaysia. In 1991, he announced Vision 2020 (pdf), under which Malaysia would aim to become a fully developed country by 2020. The model put in place a target requiring an average economic growth of approximately 7% of GDP per year. One of Vision 2020's unique features was a break down of ethnic barriers. Vision 2020 was accompanied by the replacement of the NEP, the National Development Policy (NDP), under which some government programs designed to benefit the bumiputera exclusively were opened up to other ethnic groups. The NDP achieved success in one of its main goals, the reduction of poverty. By 1995, less than nine percent of Malaysians lived in poverty and income inequality had narrowed. Mahathir's government cut corporate taxes and liberalized financial regulations in order to attract foreign investors.

Mahathir also put in place a number of infrastructure projects in the 1990s. One of the largest was the Multimedia Super Corridor. This was an area designed to cater to the information technology industry. However, the project failed to generate the investment anticipated. Other projects included the development of the Putrajaya as the home of Malaysia's public service. There was also the ambitious hydro-electric project, which was intended to carry electricity across the South China Sea to satisfy electricity demand in peninsular Malaysia. Work on the dam was eventually suspended due to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.


MAHATHIR DEFIES IMF'S AUSTERITY MEASURES DURING ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS

AND TURNS ECONOMY AROUND

During the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, the value of the Malaysian currency, the "ringgit," plummeted, foreign investment fled, and the stock index fell by over 75 percent. At the urging of the IMF, the government cut spending and raised interest rates, which only served to exacerbate the economic situation. In 1998, Mahathir decided to reverse this policy in a brave decision to defy the IMF. He increased government spending and fixed the ringgit to the U.S. dollar. While his actions were controversial to his Western critics, the fact remains that Malaysia recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis much more quickly than their South Asian neighbors.


RELATIONS WITH THE WEST

Mahathir's relations with the West generally were not too bad, considering his outspoken criticism of Western superpowers. Mahathir was a vocal critic of the policies of the U.S. throughout the majority of his tenure (and after). For instance, before the ASEAN meeting in 1997, he made a speech condemning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and called it a tool of the oppressive United States for imposing their values on Asians. He also added that Asians needed stability and economic growth more than liberty. Yet the U.S. remained a big source of financial and foreign investment to the country despite such comments, and the U.S. was Malaysia's biggest customer during Mahathir's rule.

However, relations between Malaysia and the U.S. became dicey when Al Gore criticized some of the country's less than democratic policies. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Al Gore stated the following:

Democracy confers a stamp of legitimacy that reforms must have in order to be effective. And so, among nations suffering economic crises, we continue to hear calls for democracy, calls for reform, in many languages – People Power, doi moi, reformasi. We hear them today – right here, right now – among the brave people of Malaysia.[1]

In general, Mahathir's curbing of civil liberties and his antagonism toward western interests made for a difficult relation with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, among others, despite his positive economic relations with these nations.


MAHATHIR CALLS FOR BUSH, BLAIR AND HOWARD TO BE TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES

In this video, Mahathir went to London to call for the criminalization of war, and for Bush, Blair and Howard to be tried for war crimes against humanity. He says these leaders need to take responsibility, since they were the initiators of the war in Iraq that has claimed anywhere from 1-2 million lives (Physicians For Social Responsibility NGO, 2015, PDF). He also states that the crimes of these leaders are exacerbated by the lies they told so that they could go to war. Mahathir makes the point that this a very serious crime, because war is about killing people, and when someone tell lies in order to wage war, they are a criminal.


SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD

As Prime Minister, he was a strong advocate of third-world development and a prominent international activist in support of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, as well as a vocal advocate for the interests of the Bosnians in the Balkans conflict of the 1990s.

Among some developing Islamic countries, Mahathir is generally well respected, in particular for Malaysia's high economic growth, as well as his support for liberal Muslim values. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev openly praised him and has been trying to emulate Mahathir's developmental formulae ever since. Mahathir, in his tenure as Prime Minister, was one of the greatest spokesmen on the issues of the developing world and strongly supported building a bridge between developed and developing countries. He was very dedicated to various non-NATO groups such as ASEAN, the G77, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Nations, and most recently, the G22.


ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT FOR BOSNIA

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

Mahathir was a noted as a particularly significant ally of Bosnia during the conflict. He visited Sarajevo in June 2005 to open a bridge near Bosmal City Center, signifying the friendship between Bosnians and Malaysians. In February 2007, four non-governmental organizations: the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, the Congress of Bosniak Intellectuals, and two Christian organizations: the Serb Civil Council and the Croat National Council, even nominated Mahathir for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work during the conflict.


LEGACY

For his efforts to promote the economic development of Malaysia, Mahathir has been granted the soubriquet of Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernization). In his retirement he was named a Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm and was allowed to adopt the honorific title of "Tun" to his name.


LINKS ABOUT THE LIFE OF MAHATHIR MOHAMAD

Mahathir Mohamad (Wikipedia)

Mahathir Mohamad (Biography)

Mahathir Mohamad (The New York Times)

 

POLICY

Vision 2020: The Way Forward (PDF)

 

RELATED CONTENT

THE WAR CRIME TRIBUNAL

Kuala Lampur Foundation To Criminalize War

War Tribunal Finds Bush, Cheny Guilty of War Crimes (Common Dreams, 5-13-12)

Mahathir Mohamad calls for Bush, Blair, Howard to be tried for war crimes (VIDEO)


FOOT NOTES

[1] World: Asia-Pacific Reform protests follow Gore's Malaysia speech