Malaysia looks back at Mahathir’s legacy with pride

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Independence Day celebration on Sunday was different — it was organized as a farewell gift for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and showcased his achievements as his 22 years in power comes to an end on October 31.

The veteran leader fought back tears as thousands marched past him and fighter jets roared above in battle formation. Students read poems of love, promising selfless service to his legacy in this South-east Asian country.

It was one year ago almost to the month when Mahathir stunned the nation with his resignation. There was shock, tears and loud protests for him to stay on.

Mahathir agreed but only for a year, to oversee a smooth succession. Now that year is almost up and Malaysians are left pondering a future without the man who had turned a backwater country into an economic powerhouse of 25 million people in just over two decades.

His critics concede his successes, but say these have come at a heavy price — lack of democratic space, jailing of opponents, a heavily regulated society, a badly tarnished judiciary and rampant corruption.

They also allege the current outpouring of emotion for Mahathir is managed.

But there is no denying his impact on life and society in Malaysia.

He leaves his name stamped on every symbol of modernization in Malaysia — from the world’s tallest buildings to world-class airports, highways and telecommunication facilities to the most modern weapons money can buy.

Newspapers have published Mahathir’s achievements — for instance, how public universities have grown from two when he became prime minister in 1981 to 16 now, how number the doctors have gone from 2,000 to 15,300, 88 hospitals to 374 now, from 200,000 cars to 4.5 million now — and so on.

“There is no denying his impact on the economic and infrastructure development of the country‘it is phenomenal,” says Dr Chandra Muzzaffar, president of the JUST World Trust, an independent think tank based in the northern city of Penang.

“He gave voice to poor and the oppressed and at the same time expanded trade and foreign investment and made Malaysia into a showcase,” Dr Chandra told IPS. “His was not mere rhetoric‘he made sure Malaysia develop rapidly and remained stable.”

He said Mahathir’s greatest achievement is in international relations, where he combined principle with pragmatism to expand South- South cooperation, pushed for the enlargement of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), and spoke for oppressed people from Palestine to Bosnia and Iraq.

For all his success in later years, Mahathir had a tough early life and a roller coaster political career that saw him losing elections, and at one point blamed as a fanatic sacked from the ruling party he led, the United Malays Nationalist Organization (UMNO).

His father was a schoolteacher and Mahathir had his early education in English schools and later applied, unsuccessfully, for a government scholarship to study law in London, said historian Prof Khoo Kay Kim of University Malaya. “At that time studying law was a passport to a career in the civil service or politics,” Khoo said in an interview.

Mahathir instead received a scholarship to study medicine locally at the University of Malaya in Singapore.

In short, Mahathir was the first Malaysian prime minister who did not study at elite schools or further his studies in Britain. “His humble origins, wartime experiences and studying locally all combined to significantly shaped his views about colonialism and national independence,” Khoo said.

After practising medicine for several years, Mahathir entered politics and was elected member of parliament in 1964.

In parliament he was outspoken, frequently locked horns with fellow lawmaker Lee Kuan Yew — later to become prime minister of Singapore after the city state left Malaysia in 1965 — and campaigned for Malay-first policies, arguing that colonial policies had helped non-Malays to get ahead of majority Malays in every field.

Malay dissatisfaction boiled over into race riots in 1969, the year Mahathir lost re-election to parliament.

He was sacked from UMNO and spent three years as a political outcast — time that he used to reflect and write the controversial book ‘The Malay Dilemma’ that argued that Malays were downtrodden and too apathetic and fatalistic to change and compete with the economically vibrant ethnic Chinese in Malaysia.

He set out to change the Malays, give them a large helping hand but without taking from the Chinese or foreign capital but by enlarging the economic cake — throwing the door open to foreign capital, investment and expansion of trade and business opportunities.

“Dr Mahathir wanted to create a Malay entrepreneur class that would compete with Chinese businesses on a even footing...but the Malay business class he created is too dependent on government,” Chandra said. “But his liberal policies on education, investment and trade helped to create a large Malay and Malaysian middle class.”

Mahathir’s vision was full-developed status by 2020. Meantime, Mahathir brooked no opposition, did not welcome criticism or alternatives, or tolerated political dissent. He believed social and political freedoms were luxuries that have to be sacrificed for economic success.

“That political freedom will follow after economic successes has not worked out for him,” Chandra said.

Yet political opposition, both in his party and society, always dogged Mahathir.

He faced an UMNO party challenge in 1988 and won by a very narrow margin. He ordered over 120 political opponents arrested and held without trial to stem the tide and reassert control.

Mahathir also exploited the economic boom years that started in 1989 and continued until the 1997 financial crisis.

He criss-crossed the world wooing investment and ideas and talents. He spent billions on megaprojects that bordered on the grandiose — airports, twin towers, superhighways, transport and information-technology hubs, Formula One racing and a $4.2 billion administrative capital complete with a opulent palace. Even as he won foreign capital for his country, Mahathir continued to criticize globalization.

The honeymoon ended with the 1997 financial crisis, when Malay businesses folded the stock market plunged, and crisis gripped the nation, providing a backdrop for his erstwhile heir, deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, to mount a political challenge.

Mahathir’s critics looked to Indonesia for a replay of events there. Riots broke out in Jakarta in May 1998, forcing Suharto to quit in disgrace.

Mahathir, it is often said, performs best when up against the wall.

He came charging back blaming Jews and currency speculators for the crisis and charged that the west was out to decolonize the country. He erected controls to stem capital flight, pegged the ringgit and fired Anwar and unleashed the police on pro- democracy protestors.

Mahathir nearly lost the 1999 general election when angry Malays voted opposition, but non-Muslim voters who feared fundamentalists saved the day for the government.

But the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States changed the perception of Mahathir. He re-emerged as a leading moderate Muslim leader, condemning terrorism and suicide bombers but also criticizing the “war on terror” for angering more Muslims and enlarging the terrorists’ support base.

—Dawn/The InterPress News Service.