| |
Malaysia ponders Mahathir
legacy
By Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia on Sunday celebrated an
Independence Day with a difference: it was organized as
a farewell gift for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and
showcased his achievements during his 22 years in power,
which are to come to an end on October 31.
 The 77-year-old 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 Southeast Asian country.
It was
one year ago almost to the month when Mahathir stunned
the nation with his resignation. There were shock, tears
and loud protests for him to stay on. Mahathir agreed,
but only for a year, to oversee a smooth succession.
That year is almost up, and Malaysians are left
pondering a future without the man who 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 the number of
doctors has 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," said Dr Chandra Muzzaffar,
president of the JUST World Trust, an independent think
tank based in the northern city of Penang.
"He
gave voice to [the] poor and the oppressed and at the
same time expanded trade and foreign investment and made
Malaysia into a showcase," Chandra said. "His was not
mere rhetoric ... he made sure Malaysia developed
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 Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and
spoke for oppressed people from Palestine to Bosnia to
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 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.
Mahathir instead received
a scholarship to study medicine 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 practicing medicine for several years,
Mahathir entered politics and was elected a member of
parliament in 1964. In parliament he was outspoken,
frequently locking 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 for Malaysia by 2020. Meanwhile,
Mahathir brooked no opposition, did not welcome
criticism or alternatives, nor tolerated political
dissent. He believed social and political freedoms were
luxuries that had 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 more than 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 an opulent palace.
Even as he won
foreign capital for his country, Mahathir continued to
criticize globalization, First World greed and the
ravages of neocolonialism, carving out a career as
leading spokesman of the developing world. "He put
Malaysia on the world map," Khoo said. "He was the
country's leading salesman and brand manager."
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 president 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 Malaysia. He erected
controls to stem capital flight, pegged the ringgit,
fired Anwar and unleashed the police on pro-democracy
protesters.
Anwar was arrested, charged for
corruption and sodomy and sent to prison for 15 years
after a series of trials that are widely dismissed as
unfair. Mahathir nearly lost the 1999 general election
when angry Malays voted for the opposition, but
non-Muslim voters who feared Islamic fundamentalists
saved the day for the government.
Large sections
of the Malays, for whom Mahathir had worked so hard, now
rejected him, and that angered him. He even composed a
poem called "Malays Easily Forget". His standing in the
Western capitals suffered as Anwar remain incarcerated.
But the September 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.
"Dr Mahathir was persuaded by an improved
personal standing and an economic upswing to give up on
a upbeat note," said an academic and longtime critic of
Mahathir who declined to be identified. "Mahathir was
shaken by the sudden end of Suharto and feared he too
would end up like that ... he fought back to preserve
his legacy. He is leaving now because he knows his place
in history is assured," the academic said.
(Inter Press Service)
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
