Biografi 1

Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, dilahirkan pada 20 Disember 1925; juga digelarkan sebagai
"Dr. M") adalah Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang ke-empat. Ketika penggal kepimpinannya
dari 16 Julai, 1981 sehingga 31 Oktober, 2003, beliau menjuruterakan modenasisi yang
pantas sekali dan menyebabkan kemakmuran di segala lapisan masyarakat Malaysia.
Pencapaian terutamanya ialah keupayaannya mengekalkan keamanan dan kedamaian dalam
sebuah negara yang berbilang bangsa melalui pemeliharaan suatu golongan pertengahan
orang Melayu. Walaubagaimana-pun, beliau sentiasa dikritikkan atas gaya pemerintahannya
yang autokratik dan yang bersifat kronisma.
Dr Mahathir merupakan seorang tokoh politik antarabangsa yang terus terang dan yang
bersifat kontroversi. Beliau adalah seorang penganjur gagah nilai-nilai Asia — kapitalisma
autokratik yang dianjurkan oleh negeri — sebagai alternatif kepada individualisma Amerika
Syarikat dan kapitalisma dasar tidak campur tangan (laissez-faire).
Selepas persaraannya, nama Dr Mahathir terus terpahat sebagai "Bapa Pemodenan Malaysia",
negarawan ulung yang telah menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara moden, makmur, ceria dan
penuh bertenaga. Pada Jun 2005, beliau dianugerahkan sebagai Tun, pangkat kehormatan
yang tertinggi di Malaysia. Dengan perkhidmatan sebagai Perdana Menteri selama 22 tahun,
beliau merupakan pemimpin yang paling lama memegang jawatan di Asia Tenggara.
Masa muda
Dr Mahathir dilahirkan di sebuah rumah di Lorong Kilang Ais, Seberang Perak, Alor Setar,
Kedah pada 20 Disember, 1925. Bapanya bernama Encik Mohamad bin Iskandar dan ibunya
bernama Wan Tempawan binti Wan Hanafi. Beliau mempunyai 9 adik-beradik, iaitu empat
perempuan dan lima lelaki, yang mana Dr Mahathir merupakan anak bongsu. Empat dari
mereka (dua lelaki dan dua perempuan) adalah saudara sebapanya, hasil perkahwinan
Mohammad bin Iskandar dengan isteri yang pertama.
Dalam autobiografinya, Dr Mahathir mengatakan bahawa dia mempunyai keturunan orang
India (daripada bapanya) yang mempunyai kaitan dengan Kerala, India, yang mana ibunya
adalah orang Melayu yang dilahirkan di Kedah. Walau bagaimanapun, dia mengganggapkan
diri sebagai Melayu yang tulin.
Dr Mahathir mendapat pendidikan awal di Sekolah Melayu Seberang Perak, Kedah, dan
kemudian melanjutkan pelajaran di Maktab Sultan Abdul Hamid, Alor Setar. Sewaktu Perang
Dunia Ke-2, Dr Mahathir menghabiskan masanya dengan berniaga cendul, diikuti dengan
membuka kedai kopi dan kemudiannya gerai buah-buahan di Pekan Rabu, Alor Setar. Beliau
menuntut di Kolej Perubatan King Edward VII, Universiti Malaya, Singapura, dan
dianugerahkan Ijazah Sarjana Muda Perubatan dan Pembedahan (MBBS) pada tahun 1953.
Selepas mendapat ijazah perubatannya, Dr Mahathir berkhidmat sebagai pegawai perubatan
di Alor Setar, Jitra, Langkawi dan Perlis dari 1954 hingga 1957. Beliau kemudian
melangsungkan perkahwinan dengan Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali pada 5 Ogos, 1956 dan
dikurniakan tujuh cahaya mata, iaitu empat lelaki dan tiga perempuan. Anak-anak beliau
ialah :
• Marina Mahathir
• Mirzan Mahathir
• Melinda Mahathir
• Mokhzani Mahathir
• Mukhriz Mahathir
• Maizura
• Mazhar
Pada 1957, beliau berhenti dari perkhidmatan kerajaan untuk membuka kliniknya sendiri,
Maha Clinic di Alor Setar.
Kerjaya politik
Dr Mahathir telah bergiat aktif dalam politik sejak 1945 yang mana beliau mengambil
bahagian dalam kempen menentang Malayan Union. Apabila UMNO ditubuhkan pada 1946,
beliau adalah salah seorang yang pertama mendaftarkan diri sebagai ahli. Sebagai Pengerusi
Parti Negeri Kedah, dan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Politik, beliau dengan tidak sengajanya
menimbulkan perasaan marah di golongan yang mempunyai perkaitan dengan Perdana
Menteri Tunku Abdul Rahman apabila beliau membentangkan kriteria-kriteria kelayakan
dalam pemilihan calon untuk pilihan raya umum 1959. Berasa sakit hati atas penuduhan
bahawa beliau hendak memilihkan calon-calon yang rapat dengannya, Dr Mahathir enggan
mengambil bahagian dalam pilihan raya tersebut.
Pada Pilihan Raya Ketiga dalam tahun 1964, Dr Mahathir dipilih sebagai Ahli Parlimen Kota
Setar selepas menewaskan calon Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) dengan majoriti sebanyak
60.2%. Beliau menjadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO pada tahun 1965. Dalam Pilihan Raya
1969, beliau ditewaskan oleh calon PAS, Haji Yusoff Rawa, dengan cuma 989 undi sahaja,
selepas beliau mengumumkan bahawa beliau tidak memerlukan undi-undi orang Cina untuk
mencapai kerusinya. (Sebagai ejekan, Dr Mahathir memenangi Pilihan Raya Umum 1999
dengan undi-undi orang Cina, apabila kaum Melayu dipecah disebabkan perselisihannya
dengan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.)
Berikutan peristiwa 13 Mei, 1969, Dr Mahathir dipecat daripada keahliannya dalam Majlis
Tertinggi UMNO pada 12 Julai, selepas pengedaran umum suratnya kepada Tunku Abdul
Rahman. Dalam suratnya, beliau telah mengkritik cara pentadbiran Tunku. Pada 26
September, Dr Mahathir juga dipecat keahliannya dalam UMNO.
Semasa di luar parti, Tun Dr Mahathir mengarang buku "Dilema Melayu" (The Malay
Dilemma). Buku kontroversi itu, yang mendedah dan menganalisis perwatakan orang Melayu
telah diharamkan pada tahun 1970 dan pengharamannya hanya ditarik balik selepas Tun Dr
Mahathir menjadi Perdana Menteri 18 tahun kemudiannya.
Apabila Tun Abdul Razak menjadi Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir masuk semula ke
dalam UMNO pada tahun 1972 dan dilantik sebagai senator pada tahun 1973. Beliau
bertanding di Kubang Pasu pada pilihan raya umum 1974, yang mana beliau menang tanpa
bertanding. Selepas pilihan raya, Dr Mahathir dilantik sebagai Menteri Pelajaran dalam
kabinet Tun Abdul Razak. Beliau memenangi salah satu daripada tiga kerusi naib presiden
UMNO pada tahun 1975. Pada 1976, Perdana Menteri Tun Abdul Razak meninggal dunia
secara mengejut dan penggantinya Datuk Hussein Onn melantik Dr Mahathir sebagai
timbalannya, sambil masih mengekalkan portfolio pendidikan yang disandangnya. Tidak
lama selepas itu Tun Dr Mahathir menjadi Menteri Perdagangan dan Perindustrian.
Pada pertengahan 1981, Perdana Menteri Malaysia iaitu Datuk Hussein Onn mengumumkan
persaraannya dan menamakan Dr Mahathir sebagai penggantinya. Pada 10 Julai, 1981 Dr
Mahathir menjadi Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang keempat, dan lapan hari selepas itu
sebagai Menteri Pertahanan. Pada 31 Oktober, 2003, Dr Mahathir bersara dan menamakan
timbalannya, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi sebagai penggantinya.
Kesihatan
Pada 24 Januari 1989 Dr Mahathir Mohamad pernah menjalani pembedahan koronari saluran
darah arteri bypass di Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur. (HBKL), Kuala Lumpur . Pada 9
November 2006 sekali lagi dimasukkan ke IJN kerana serangan jantung setelah saluran darah
arteri tersumbat. Pada 14 Mei 2007, beliau dimasukkan ke Unit Rawatan Rapi di Hospital
Langkawi selepas kesukaran bernafas pada jam 4.00 pm.
Pada 4 September 2007, Dr Mahathir Mohamad menjalani pembedahan koronari arteri
bypass di IJN selama 5 jam.Pembedahan diketuai pakar jantung terkemuka, Tan Sri Dr.
Yahya Awang ,Datuk Dr. Razali Wathooth, Datuk Dr. Azahari Yakub, Datuk Dr. Venugopal
Balchand, Datuk Ezani Mohd. Taib dan Ketua Pakar Bedah Kardiologi Klinik Mayo di
California, Amerika Syarikat, Prof. Dr. Hartzell Schaff. Ini merupakan pembedahan saluran
darah arteri kali ke-2.
Pada 15 September 2007, sekali lagi beliau dimasukkan ke Unit Rawatan Rapi (ICU) di IJN
jam 7.00 pm. Ketika ini beliau berusia 82 tahun.[1]

Garis masa
• 1925: Dilahirkan di Alor Setar, Kedah pada 20 Disember.
• 1945: Mengambil bahagian dalam penentangan Malayan Union.
• 1946: Menjadi ahli UMNO semasa ia ditubuhkan.
• 1953: Mendapat ijazah perubatan dari King Edward VII Medical College (yang
kemudiannya dikenali sebagai Universiti Malaya) di Singapura;
• 1954: Berkhidmat sebagai pegawai perubatan di Hospital Besar Alor Star, Hospital
Langkawi, Hospital Jitra dan Hospital Perlis.
• 1957: Berhenti dari perkhidmatan kerajaan untuk membuka kliniknya sendiri, Maha Clinic
di Alor Star.
• 1964: Dipilih sebagai Ahli Parlimen Kota Setar atas tiket Parti Perikatan selepas beliau
menewaskan calon PAS, Mohd Shaari Haji Abdul Shukur, dengan majoriti 4,210 undi; Dr
Mahathir mendapat 12,406 undi, sementara Mohd Shaari mendapat 8196 undi.
• 1965: Menjadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO.
• 1968: Dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Majlis Pelajaran Tinggi.
• 1969: Ditewaskan oleh calon Pas, Haji Yusoff Rawa dalam Pilihanraya pada 10 Mei,
dengan 989 undi di kawasan Kotar Setar; beliau dikatakan kalah kerana kehilangan "undi
Cina" apabila beliau mengumumkan bahawa beliau tidak perlu undi Cina untuk memenangi
dalam pilihanraya;
o Dipecat jawatan daripada Majlis Tertinggi UMNO pada 12 Julai, berikutan pengedaran
suratnya kepada Tunku Abdul Rahman;
o Diberhentikan keahliannya dalam UMNO pada 26 September.
• 1970: Mengeluarkan buku dalam bahasa Inggeris yang bertajuk "Dilema Melayu" (The
Malay Dilemma); buku ini diharamkan dengan serentak.
• 1972: Diterima kembali menjadi ahli UMNO pada 7 Mac;
o Dilantik menjadi Pengerusi Lembaga Perindustrian Makanan Malaysia (FIMA).
• 1973: Dilantik sebagai senator.
• 1974: Dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Majlis Universiti Nasional;
o Melepaskan jawatan sebagai senator untuk bertanding di Pilihanraya 1974, yang mana
beliau menang tanpa bertanding;
o Dilantik sebagai Menteri Pelajaran pada 5 September.
• 1975: Menjadi salah satu daripada tiga naib presiden UMNO, selepas memenangi dengan
majoriti sebanyak 47 undi.
• 1976: Menjadi Timbalan Presiden UMNO pada 5 Mac.
• 1978: Dilantik sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri oleh Tun Hussein Onn pada 15
September;
o Melepaskan jawatan sebagai Menteri Pelajaran untuk menjadi Menteri Perdagangan dan
Perindustrian (1 Jun, 1978 - Julai 1981);
• 1981: Menjadi Presiden UMNO pada 26 Jun, dan Perdana Menteri Malaysia ke-empat pada
10 Julai, berikutan perletakan jawatan Tun Hussein Onn atas sebab-sebab kesihatan;
o Menjadi Menteri Pertahanan (18 Julai, 1981 - 6 Mei, 1986) disamping memegang jawatan
Perdana Menteri;
o Melancarkan slogan-slogan "Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah", "Kepimpinan Melalui Teladan",
the "Dasar Pandang ke Timur", "Pemupukan Nilai-nilai Islam", dan polisi pemulauan barang
UK ("Buy British Last");
o Mencepatkan masa sebanyak setengah jam di Semenanjung Malaysia untuk
menyeleraskannya dengan Malaysia Timur;
o Meminta maaf daripada Tunku Abdul Rahman secara umum;
o Menarik balik pengharaman buku Dilema Melayu (The Malay Dilemma)
o Merancangkan serangan subuh dengan pengambilan kembali Guthrie Corporation oleh
Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNB) di Bursa Saham London pada 7 September, supaya
memulangkan hakmilik lebih kurang 200,000 ekar tanah pertanian kepada rakyat Malaysia.
• 1983: Mengemaskinikan kuasa Yang Di-Pertuan Agung dan Sultan-sultan, supaya rang
undang-undang yang diputuskan oleh Parlimen atau Dewan Undangan Negeri dapat menjadi
akta, selepas penerimaan pendapat Yang Di-Pertuan Agung ataupun Sultan-sultan negeri
masing-masing;
o Menubuhkan Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional, sebuah projek kereta nasional.
• 1986: Datuk Musa Hitam meletakkan jawatan sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri pada 27
Februari;
o Ghafar Baba dilantik sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri;
o Menjadi Menteri Dalam Negeri pada 7 Mei di samping memegang jawatan Perdana
Menteri;
o Suatu pertikaian tertimbul dengan negeri Singapura tentang lawatan rasmi Chaim Herzog,
Presiden negara Israel.
• 1987: Menewaskan cabaran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah untuk jawatan Presiden UMNO
dengan majoriti yang nipis sekali pada 24 April;
o Menjadi Menteri Kehakiman di samping memegang jawatan Menteri Dalam Negeri dan
Perdana Menteri.
• 1988: Memecat empat hakim Mahkamah Tertinggi, termasuk Tun Saleh Abbas kerana
menghalang perbicaraan tentang salah laku tata tertib semasa kehadapan UMNO akan
diputuskan oleh Mahkamah Tertinggi (pada masa itu, UMNO telah diharamkan oleh
Makhamah Tinggi);
• 1990: Menjadi Menteri Hal-Ehwal Dalam Negeri (Oktober 1990 - Januari 1999) di samping
memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri.
• 1993: Melantik Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri;
o Mengehadkan pengecualian Sultan-sultan daripada pendakwaan, selepas peristiwa Douglas
Gomez;
o Perhubungan di antara Dr. Mahathir dan pemimpin-pemimpin Australia merosot apabila
Paul Keating mewajahkan Dr. Mahathir sebagai seorang yang degil ("recalcitrant") kerana
enggan menghadiri Persidangan APEC.
• 1997: Menetapkan nilai mata wang Malaysia pada 1 September supaya mengatasi Krisis
Ekonomi 1997.
• 1998: Memecat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dari semua jawatan dalam kerajaan dan dalam
UMNO pada 2 September;
o Mendakwa Anwar Ibrahim atas kesalahan peliwatan dan penyalahgunaan kuasanya; Anwar
dihadapkan ke makhamah pada 2 November;
o Pergaulan dengan Amerika Syarikat menjadi buruk apabila Al Gore, Naib Presiden
Amerika Syarikat, merendahkan nama baik negara Malaysia di Persidangan APEC yang pada
masa itu dianjurkan oleh Malaysia.
o Melantik Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri;
o Pembukaan rasmi Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) di Sepang, yang
menelan kos sebanyak RM13 bilion;
o Penghabisan pembinaan Menara Berkembar Petronas yang mempunyai 88 tingkat, iaitu
menara berkembar yang tertinggi di dunia;
o Dipilih sebagai "Asia's Newsmaker of 1998" oleh Majalah TIME.
• 1999: Menjadi Menteri Kewangan Pertama pada 8 Januari, di samping memegang jawatan
Perdana Menteri ketika Malaysia masih mengalami Krisis Ekonomi 1997;
o Pembukaan rasmi Cyberjaya, sebuah bandar yang baru yang memainkan peranan yang
penting dalam Koridor Raya Multimedia Malaysia.
• 2001: Menjadi Menteri Kewangan dan Menteri Tugas-tugas Khas (5 Jun 2001) disamping
memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri.
• 2002: Mengumumkan penggunaan bahasa Inggeris untuk mengajarkan mata pelaljaran
Matematik dan Sains, mulai tahun 2003;
o Mengumumkan perletakan jawatannya sebagai Perdana Menteri dalam Perhimpunan
Agung UMNO, tetapi telah dirayu untuk membuat penangguhan selama 18 bulan.
• 2003: Bersara sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia pada 31 Oktober, 2003 dan menamakan
timbalannya, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, sebagai pengganti; beliau memegang jawatan
Perdana Menteri selama 22 tahun, dan terjadi salah satu daripada pemimpin-pemimpin negara
Asia yang paling lama perkhidmatannya;
o Dianugerahkan sebagai Tun, pangkat kehormatan yang tertinggi di Malaysia.

Sumber
http://ms.wikipedia.org/

BIOGRAFI 2

Mahathir bin Mohamad (b. December 20, 1925)(referred to as "Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad"
in Malaysia) is the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post from 1981 to 2003.
During his term in office he was credited for engineering Malaysia's rapid modernization and
promoting "Asian values". He is also known for his sharp criticisms of Western nations.

Early life
Born in Alor Star, the capital of the northern state of Kedah, Mahathir said in his
autobiography that he had Indian ancestry (from his father), with its origins tracing back to
Kerala in India, while his mother was a Kedah-born Malay. Mahathir, however, considers
himself to be a "full Malay", in line with Article 160 of the Constitution. Under Article 153
of the Malaysian Constitution, Malays are granted particular special rights not available to
other non-Malay citizens of Malaysia.
During World War II, he sold pisang goreng (banana fritters) to supplement his family
income in the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
Mahathir attended a Malay vernacular school before continuing his education at the Sultan
Abdul Hamid College in Alor Star. Mahathir then attended the King Edward VII Medical
College in Singapore, where he edited a medical student magazine called The Cauldron; he
also contributed to the The Straits Times newspaper anonymously under the nickname "Che
Det". Mahathir was also President of the Muslim Society in the college.[1] Upon graduation
in 1953, Mahathir joined the then Malayan government service as a medical officer. He
married Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali—a fellow doctor and former classmate in college—on August
5, 1956, and left government service in 1957 to set up his own private practice in Alor Star.
Mahathir thrived in private practice, and allowed him to own by 1959 a Pontiac Catalina and
employ an ethnic Chinese chauffeur (at the time, almost all chauffeurs in Malaysia were
Malays, owing to the economic dominance of the ethnic Chinese [citation needed]). Some
critics have suggested this foreshadowed a later hallmark of Mahathir's politics, which
focused on the "cultivation of such emblems of power".[2]
Active in politics since 1945, beginning with his involvement in the Anti-Malayan Union
Campaign, Mahathir joined the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) at its
inception in 1946. As State Party Chairman, and Chairman of the Political Committee, he
inadvertently angered some quarters with his proposal that the selection of candidates be
based on certain qualifications for the 1959 general election. Hurt by accusations that he was
scheming to put up candidates who were strongly allied to him, Mahathir refused to take part
in the national election that year.
In the third general election of 1964, Mahathir was elected Member of Parliament for Kota
Setar Selatan[3] defeating the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party's (PAS) candidate with a 60.2%
majority. He lost the seat in the following general election in 1969 by a mere 989 votes to
PAS's candidate, Haji Yusoff Rawa[4] after he categorically declared that he did not need
Chinese votes to win.[5]
Following the race riots of May 13, 1969 in the May 13 Incident, Mahathir was sacked from
the UMNO Supreme Council on 12 July, following his widespread distribution to the public
of his letter to Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Prime Minister at that time. In his letter, he had
criticised the manner in which Tunku Abdul Rahman had handled the country's
administration which was believed to favour the ethnic Chinese. Mahathir was subsequently
relieved of his party membership on 26 September.[4]
While in the political wilderness, Mahathir wrote his book, "The Malay Dilemma"[4] in
which he sought to explain the causes of the May 13 Incident in Kuala Lumpur and the
reasons for the Malays' lack of economic progress within their own country. He then
proposed a politico-economic solution in the form of "constructive protection", worked out
after careful consideration of the effects of heredity and environmental factors on the Malay
race. The book, published in 1970, was promptly banned by the Tunku Abdul Rahman
government.[4] However, some of the proposals in this book had been used by Tun Abdul
Razak, Tunku Abdul Rahman's successor, in his "New Economic Policy" (N.E.P.) that was
principally geared towards affirmative action economic programs to address the nation's
economic disparity between the Malays and the non-Malays. The ban on his book was
eventually lifted after Mahathir became Prime Minister in 1981.[4]
Mahathir rejoined UMNO on 7 March 1972, and was appointed as Senator in 1973. He
relinquished the senatorship post in 1974 in order to contest in the general elections where he
was returned unopposed in the constituency of Kubang Pasu, and was appointed as the
Minister of Education.[4] In 1975, he became one of the three vice-presidents of U.M.N.O.,
after winning the seat by 47 votes. Tun Hussein Onn appointed Mahathir as Deputy Prime
Minister on 15 September 1978, and in a Cabinet reshuffle, appointed him concurrently as the
Minister of Trade and Industry.
Mahathir became the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 10 July 1981 when Tun Hussein Onn
stepped down due to health reasons. After 22 years in office, Mahathir retired on October 31,
2003, making him one of Asia's longest-serving political leaders. Upon his retirement on 31
October 2003, Mahathir was awarded a "Tun"-ship, Malaysia's highest civilian
honour.Mahathir is also is a candidate for the noble prize award for his efforts against the
wars at the middle east. 2006
Economic policies
Many of Malaysia's economic policies starting from the time of Mahathir Mohamad's
premiership have a striking resemblance to those of Singapore's. During his term in office,
Mahathir turned Malaysia into a regional high-tech manufacturing, financial, and
telecommunications hub through his economic policies based on corporate nationalism,
known as the various "Malaysia Plans" which set out the government middle-term objectives.
These policies with strong Keynesian tendency remained in effect almost to the end of his
tenure in office.
His pet projects have included Perwaja Steel, an attempt to emulate South Korea and Japan,
the Proton car company, and Astro, a satellite television service.
Mahathir is credited with spearheading the phenomenal growth of the Malaysian economy,
now one of the largest in South East Asia [citation needed]. Growth between 1988 and 1997
averaged over ten percent and living standards rose twentyfold, with poverty relatively
almost eradicated and social indicators such as literacy levels and infant mortality rates
becoming almost on par with developed countries[citation needed].
During this period, Mahathir embarked on various large scale national projects, such as:
• the North-South Expressway, which has cut travel time on roads on the west coast of
Malaysia
• the Multimedia Super Corridor, a flagship project based on Silicon Valley designed to
enable Malaysia's foray into information technology (it includes Malaysia's new
administrative capital Putrajaya)
• Port of Tanjung Pelepas
• Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and the adjacent Sepang Formula
One circuit
• the Bakun Dam, meant to supply all of the electricity needs of the East Malaysian states of
Sabah and Sarawak and which has enough capacity to enable exportation of power to Brunei;
the project has since run into various difficulties and controversies, leading to at first, its
cancellation and then its revival as a greatly scaled down project.
• Olympic-class stadium in Bukit Jalil
• the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, and the world's tallest
building from 1997 to 2003, that have become a symbol of modern Malaysia
While such projects have their benefits, corresponding high costs have made some
Malaysians reluctant to engage in more of such ventures, believing that the money can be
better spent on other areas of development.[citation needed] On the other hand, Mahathir has
always argued that such projects yield a direct return to the economy, apart from just serving
the national pride, as government spendings in turn create jobs along with other multiplier
effects. Mahathir has also been criticised for the failures and inefficiency of some of his pet
projects. Perwaja Steel eventually failed and had to be rescued by a corporate white knight.
Its chairman, Eric Chia, faced charges of corruption in 2004. Proton eventually had to be
bought by Petronas when its parent DRB-HICOM found itself over-extended, and is still
currently fighting to become profitable. Astro enjoyed a monopoly on pay television services
in Malaysia until 2005 when it ended with the granting of a licence to a rival MiTV
The Bakun Dam project was to be managed by a local construction firm, Ekran Berhad. It
issued a 1-for-1 on time rights issue which was 63% undersubscribed (the first time in
Malaysia for an event of this magnitude). Ekran's chairman, Ting Pek King, had to purchase
all unsubscribed shares at a cost of $500 million ringgit due to his agreement with the
underwriters. Subsequently the dam project was taken back by the government which was
obliged to pay Ekran for the work already completed.
Financial speculation during the Mahathir Administration
• 1981, 1982 - Involved in the international tin venture; the whole practice caused Malaysia
to lose RM209 million, or USD$80 million.[6]
• 1990 - Bank Negara Malaysia (B.N.M.) pound sterling speculation; estimated losses are
close to USD$4 billion.[7]
• In 1993 B.N.M. lost $2.2 billion in speculative trading, according to Millman (p. 229).
• In 1994 B.N.M. became technically insolvent and was bailed out by the Malaysian Finance
Ministry (Millman, p. 229)
Political machine
After his twenty-two year rule, Mahathir is still seen as a political "strongman".[citation
needed] As Prime Minister, he was often criticised by the west for his authoritarian policies
and use of state power to suppress opponents via the media, the judiciary and law
enforcement agencies.
In 1983 and 1991, he took on the federal and state monarchies, removing the royal veto and
royal immunity from prosecution.[2] Many Malaysians, however, were pleased with this, as
there had been frequent cases of abuse of power by the royal families.[citation needed] Prior
to this amendment of the law, royal assent was required in order for any bill to pass into law.
With effect of this amendment, approval by parliament could be legally considered as royal
assent after a period of 30 days, notwithstanding the views of the monarchs. However, this
only applied to secular laws and the various sultans continued to enjoy the right to make
Islamic law in their own jurisdictions.
In 1988 when the future of the ruling party UMNO was about to be decided in the Supreme
Court (it had just been deregistered as an illegal society in the High Court), he was believed
to have engineered the dismissal of the Lord President of the Supreme Court, Salleh Abas,
and three other supreme court justices who tried to block the misconduct hearings. The series
of incidents in 1988 has been widely viewed as the end of the Malaysian judiciary's
independence from the executive.
In 1998 attention around the globe was focused on Malaysia when the government brought
sodomy and abuse of power charges against the former finance minister and deputy prime
minister, Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar claimed that he was being set up because he had tried to
turn corruption and nepotism into major political issues, with Mahathir and his associates as
the targets. Mahathir's supporters believe that it was Anwar's attempt to replace Mahathir as
the Prime Minister, upon seeing the downfall of Indonesia's Suharto, that has led him to be
removed from politics altogether. It was Mahathir after all, who had groomed and placed
Anwar there as his deputy.[citation needed]
At the UMNO meeting in June 1998, Anwar's supporters had planned a sneak attack on the
prime minister, hitting him in the area where they consider him most vulnerable: corruption.
Mahathir fired back, reading from a prepared list, the names of all ruling-party members who
had benefited from government contracts. The list included some of Anwar's relatives. The
corruption talk was quickly shelved.
Many observers also saw the engineering of Anwar's dismissal as the result of the triumph of
the secular corporate nationalist old guard over the younger "green" or Islamist faction within
UMNO, created after the popular Islamic youth leader, Anwar, had been brought into the
government by Mahathir.[citation needed]
The trial itself was a tawdry spectacle.[citation needed] The government included the
statements of the purported "victims" of Anwar's sodomy attacks, evidence that was widely
considered to be tainted.[citation needed] Furthermore, the prosecution was unable to
accurately decide on a date that the alleged acts of anal sex had occurred - the government
originally alleged that a sodomy had occurred inside a building that had not been constructed
at the time of the alleged event. When the anomaly was pointed out, the prosecution amended
the date of the alleged acts to a date after the building was built. Mahathir himself went as far
as to go on television to declare Anwar guilty of sodomy and homosexual acts, even as the
trial still was underway. There was widespread condemnation of the trial from human rights
groups and the Malaysia bar association, who expressed serious doubts about its fairness.
Mahathir then ordered a crackdown on the media and opposition parties who protested the
trial. Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption and nine years prison
for sodomy, to be served consecutively.[8][9]
The Anwar crisis sparked protests by some Malaysians, of all ethnic groups, and some of
Anwar's supporters from UMNO regrouped around the intellectual-Muslim "Parti Keadilan
Nasional" (National Justice Party). It garnered widespread support from Malaysians, though
"Parti keAdilan" could win only five parliamentary seats in the 1999 elections as Mahathir
frequently used his authority and intimidation to stifle its organization. In the subsequent
2004 elections, with Anwar's release and conviction overturned, the party was nearly wiped
out, with Wan Azizah, the wife of Anwar, winning one seat by the narrowest of margins,
mainly based on sympathetic votes, and thereon ceased to be a relevant political party.
UMNO under Mahathir developed a feudalistic tradition whereby political factions battling to
ensure the growth of so-called 'warlords' would gladly throw UMNO into chaos, rather than
see their prominent champion miss out on appointment to plum posts.[citation needed] The
Anwar debacle was an example of this, as was an earlier rebellion by UMNO strongman,
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who broke away to form the "Semangat 46" (the Spirit of '46)
party (now defunct).
UMNO heads were seen by opposition supporters as corrupt politicians more focused on
power and economic gain, as Mahathir was only interested in their total loyalty.[citation
needed] PAS leveraged this into a selling point by promising a clean, Islamic administration.
Despite this, PAS only captured the state of Terengganu in the 1999 elections, and failed to
retain it in the next election. This was largely seen to be due to PAS' fundamentalist Islamic
policies, as they had introduced Islamic sharia laws into Terengganu and their other
stronghold, Kelantan. These laws included banning various forms of entertainment, and
mandatory wearing of the headscarf for female civil servants. Many political analysts felt that
this had prevented PAS from making major gains, keeping the reins of power firmly in
Mahathir's hands, as the non-Malay voters were turned off by the perceived religious
fundamentalism of PAS. Also, Mahathir remained tremendously popular among many
Malaysians, and the third world.[citation needed] He is known for being a man of few words,
[citation needed] and for his somewhat successful policies in steering Malaysia towards
development and economic prosperity. In the Asian financial crisis of 1998, IMF has
prescribed a recovery package for Malaysia, but Mahathir defied international pressure, his
then Deputy Anwar Ibrahim, and conventional wisdom, in rejecting the package. Though
economic prosperity has been mixed since then, Mahathir argued that Malaysia's recovery
was relatively faster and better, as compared to many other Asian countries affected. After
the financial crisis, the IMF and World Bank acknowledged that Mahathir's approach had
worked, and if Anwar's policies had been carried out, Malaysia would have ended up like
Argentina.[citation needed]
Ministries were allotted to all component parties of the Barisan Nasional. Even non-Malay
parties obtained the ministerships of key ministries such as Health (MCA), Transport (MCA),
and the Works Ministry (MIC). Certain ministries were also shared with one party
traditionally getting the ministers post and another party getting the deputy ministership. This
was standard coalition politics as with all other coalition governments who wanted to ensure
everyone got a slice of the cake.
Educational system
Main article: Education in Malaysia
In 1975 Mahathir was appointed Minister of Education. He had always believed in the need
for "education for the masses", with greater emphasis on maths and science, at high school
level, in order to achieve his dream of a developed Malaysia. He continued to strongly
promote his agenda of quantity-and-quality higher education during his term as prime
minister.
In those days, English, Chinese and Tamil-medium schools were fully run by private and
missionary organizations. Students from these school sat for the respective overseas
examinations set by the board of school committees and associations. For instance, Overseas
Cambridge School Certificate (OSC) was set for English schools. Under the former Prime
Minister's order, he drafted the KBSM syllabus in order to make Malay a compulsory subject
to be taught in all subjects in these schools. Overseas examinations were subsequently
abolished one after another throughout the years. Schools which converted to the national
type received heavy fundings from the government. Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil
Rendah Pelajaran (SRP) were fully introduced as national examinations.
In order to cater for the lower income indigenous population, boarding schools were
promoted and constructed. Through government scholarships, tens of thousands of students
were sent yearly to universities in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, western-type countries that
Mahathir aspired to achieve par development with. Middle- and higher-income groups from
non-Bumiputera Malaysians who were unable to get a place in the local universities, due to
the restrictive quota system and limited government scholarships, also independently sent
their children to these universities. This has led Malaysia to have the third largest number of
students going to western-type countries to pursue higher education, after China and India.
[citation needed] Till today, education is a major source of Malaysia's expenditure,[citation
needed] something that the current administration is trying to remedy. After years of sending
students abroad, Malaysian post-graduate and industrial research and development has still
not shown any notable progress.[citation needed]
In 1980, education quota was introduced as part of the National Economic Policy. Mahathir
who became the acting prime minister, introduced the quota system to all economic sectors in
Malaysia including the education system, whereby a designated percentage of undergraduate
seats of higher institutions were reserved for Bumiputra (natives) citizens. This has led to a
large number of highly competitive non-bumiputra applicants being unable to secure
admission to institutions of higher learning. These applicants resort to the neighbouring or
foreign countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada and the western countries
mentioned above.
Towards his later years, Mahathir promoted the liberalization of university start-ups, leading
to branch campuses being built or the formation of permanent tie-ups with some of the most
prestigious universities in the world. Amongst others, these led to the construction of
• The University of Nottingham in Malaysia (in partnership with the University of
Nottingham, U.K.)
• Malaysia University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.), in partnership with M.I.T.
(U.S.) and Motorola)
• Monash University Malaysia (in partnership with Monash University, Australia)
• Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus (in partnership with Curtin University
of Technology, Australia)
Private companies with a long running history in Malaysia like Intel and AMD were also
encouraged to set up, and run partnerships and/or higher education centres and centres of
excellence.
In 2003 after more than 20 years in post, he commented that non-bumiputra students excel far
ahead of bumiputra students in academic qualifications. He soon introduced meritocracy by
gradually lowering down the quota percentage reserved each year for the intake of bumiputra
applicants in higher institutions to encourage fair competitions. Despite the quota system was
stripped, the government has been criticized for adopting double standards among bumiputras
and other races. In pre-university level, bumiputras are mostly streamed into matriculation
while non-bumiputras are taken into Form Six. Although it is widely recognized that Form
Six is far more comprehensive and demanding than its counterpart, the government treats
both equally and admission into government universities depend on students' performances.
In spite of the government's provocation that students are free to choose either of the courses,
this is rarely done and the majority of students sorted into matriculation and Form Six
according to race.
In the year before his retirement, he announced that Mathematics and Science subjects must
be taught in English in all primary and secondary schools with aim to increase
competitiveness of Malaysian students. As a result of this rapid transition, the new school
textbooks contain numerous typographical errors, and school teachers who are not fluent in
English suffer difficulties in their teachings. This also subsequently caused some resentment
among the Chinese education community and the hard-line Malays.[citation needed]
Foreign relations
During Mahathir's tenure in office, Malaysia's relationship with the West was turbulent.
[citation needed] Early during his tenure, a small disagreement with the United Kingdom
over university tuition fees sparked off a boycott of all British goods led by Mahathir, in what
became known as the "Buy British Last" campaign. It also led to a search for development
models in Asia, most notably Japan. This was the beginning of his famous "Look East
Policy". Although the dispute was later resolved by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,
Mahathir continued to emphasize Asian development models over contemporary Western
ones.[citation needed] Although Mahathir has managed to find solutions to many problems in
Malaysia, ironically, he has managed to create more problems diplomatically, as seen with a
great number of countries.[citation needed] These problems are usually small ones which
crop up from personal matters, yet Mahathir always brings the Malaysian government into
play, such as the imposition of boycotts.
United States
Mahathir has always been an outspoken critic of the United States[citation needed] and yet
the United States was the biggest source of foreign investment, and was Malaysia's biggest
customer during Mahathir's rule. Furthermore, Malaysian military officers continued to train
in the US under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.
Some say that relations with the United States took a turn for the worse in 1998,[citation
needed] when US Vice President Al Gore stated at the APEC conference hosted by Malaysia:
"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."
Al Gore left immediately after making that statement, probably as a form of protest. The
walk-out was an insult to Malaysians in general, regardless of the support Malaysians gave to
Al Gore's statement, since he was a guest of Malaysia at that time.
Al Gore and the United States were critical of the trial of Mahathir's former deputy Anwar
Ibrahim, going as far to label it as a "show trial". The trial itself was a tawdry spectacle. The
government included the statements of the purported "victims" of Anwar's sodomy attacks,
evidence that was widely considered to be tainted. Furthermore, the prosecution was unable
to accurately decide on a date that the alleged acts of anal sex had occurred - the government
originally alleged that a sodomy had occurred inside a building that had not been constructed
at the time of the alleged event. Mahathir himself went as far as to go on television to declare
Anwar guilty of sodomy and homosexual acts, even as the trial still was underway. In
response to widespread condemnation of the trail from human rights groups and the Malaysia
bar association, he ordered a crackdown on the media and opposition parties who protested
the trial.
Also, Anwar Ibrahim was the preeminent Malaysian spokesperson for the economic policies
preferred by the IMF, which included interest rate hikes, among others. An article in
Malaysia Today commented that "Gore's comments constituted a none-too-subtle attack on
Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and more generally on governments,
including Japan, that resist US demands for further market reforms."[10] Gore's endorsement
for the reformasi (reformation) asking for (among other things) the ouster of Mahathir, was
anathema to Mahathir, and he remarked that "I've never seen anybody so rude". This also
summed up the Malaysian expectation that one who is a guest should not show such
discourtesy to the host.[citation needed]
However, Mahathir's views were already firmly entrenched before this event. For example,
before the ASEAN meeting in 1997, he made a speech condemning the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, calling it an oppressive instrument by which the United States and other
countries try to impose their values on Asians. He went on to share his view that Asians need
stability and economic growth more than civil liberties. These remarks did not endear him to
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was a guest at the meeting.
The relationship was stormy both ways. Following Anwar Ibrahim's sacking and subsequent
imprisonment, Madeleine Albright paid a visit to Anwar's wife.
Yet Mahathir has not hesitated to point to America for justification of his own actions. In
speaking of arbitrary detention without trial of prisoners of conscience in Malaysia, he said:
"Events in the United States have shown that there are instances where certain special powers
need to be used in order to protect the public for the general good."
At the other end of the spectrum, the United States government has previously criticised the
Malaysian government for implementing the ISA, most recently in 2001 when President
George W. Bush said "The Internal Security Act is a draconian law. No country should any
longer have laws that allow for detention without trial." In 2004, however, Bush reversed his
stance and claimed "We cannot simply classify Malaysia’s Internal Security Act as a
draconian law."
In 2003 Mahathir spoke to the Non-Aligned Movement in Kuala Lumpur, and as part of his
speech, said:
"If innocent people who died in the attack on Afghanistan and those who have been dying
from lack of food and medical care in Iraq are considered collaterals, are the 3,000 who died
in New York, and the 200 in Bali also just collaterals whose deaths are necessary for
operations to succeed?"[clarify]
Marie Huhtala, the American ambassador to Malaysia responded with a statement:
"These are not helpful statements by any standard, and I'm here to tell you that Washington
does take note of them. They are bound to have a harmful effect on the relationship."
More recently, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq caused additional friction between the two
countries; Mahathir was highly critical of President Bush for acting without a United Nations
mandate.
On October 16, 2003 Mahathir said during a summit for the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, "[Muslims] are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped
out. The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million [during the Holocaust]. But today
the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them. They invented
socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear
to be wrong so they may enjoy equal rights with others. With these they have now gained
control of the most powerful countries. And they, this tiny community, have become a world
power." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Bush considered the comments
"reprehensible and hateful."[11] Mahathir's comments were also condemned by Jewish
organizations and the government of Israel.
In spite of all this, Malaysia's relationship with the US has been strong. A 2003 house
subcommittee hearing (Serial No. 108–21) on US Policy policy towards South East Asia
sums it up as "Despite sometimes blunt and intemperate public remarks by Prime Minister
Mahathir, U.S.-Malaysian cooperation has a solid record in areas as diverse as education,
trade, military relations, and counter-terrorism".
Even after retirement, Mahathir was not hesitant about his criticisms of the United States. In
2004, (The Star, October 18, 2004), he was quoted as having said "The American people are,
by and large, very ignorant and know nothing about the rest of the world.... Yet they are the
people who will decide who will be the most powerful man in the world". In the same
interview, he also predicted George W. Bush's victory in the 2004 United States Presidential
Election, in which he was later proven correct. In another October 2006 interview with
Associated Press, he predicted that the Republicians will retain both chambers in the 2006
mid-term elections because "American voters are not astute and will be fooled by President
George W. Bush's propaganda."
Australia
Mahathir's relationship with Australia (the closest country in the Anglosphere to Malaysia,
and the one whose foreign policy is most concentrated on the region), and his relationship
with Australia's political leaders, has been particularly rocky. Mahathir regularly took offense
at portrayals of Malaysia in the Australian media (which criticized Mahathir's belligerence
and outspokeness), calling on the government to intervene in this (an action that would be
politically unthinkable in Australia). Relationships between Mahathir and Australia's leaders
reached a low point in 1993 when Paul Keating described Mahathir as "recalcitrant" for not
attending the APEC summit. (It is thought that Keating's description was a linguistic gaffe,
and that what he had in mind was "intransigent".)[12] The Malaysian government threatened
trade sanctions, which if imposed, would actually have more negative effect on Malaysia than
Australia.[citation needed]
Mahathir, along with other Malaysian politicians (and many other Asian leaders) also heavily
criticized Keating's successor, John Howard, whom he believed had encouraged Pauline
Hanson, whose views were widely perceived in Asia (and Australia[13]) as racist. Australian
politicians then pointed out Mahathir's farcical trial of Anwar Ibrahim, saying that the
prosecution was using homophobic overtones.
Mahathir has valued the right of a nation to do whatever it wants within its borders, which he
calls "sovereignty". This was articulated in the ASEAN policy of non-interference. In 2000,
Mahathir was quoted as saying: "If Australia wants to be a friend to Asia, it should stop
behaving as if it is there to teach us how to run our country. It is a small nation in terms of
numbers and it should behave like a small nation and not be a teacher." He also said, "This
country stands out like a sore thumb trying to impose its European values in Asia as if it is
the good old days when people can shoot aborigines without caring about human rights" and
denounced Australia as the "white trash of Asia".
Mahathir also made remarks to the effect that John Howard was trying to be America's
'Deputy Sheriff' in the Pacific region. This was in response to John Howard's statement that
they would pursue terrorists over the borders of their neighbours.
His perception of Howard has not softened after retirement. In an interview, he stated: "They
(accepted) Blair, and I am sure they will accept Bush. They have already accepted Howard
who told a blatant lie", a reference to the "Children overboard" scandal during the run-up to
the 2001 Australian elections.
Despite this supposed non-interference policy, Malaysia during Mahathir's premiership had
been constantly criticising Singapore, but would take the slightest unfavourable comment
coming from Singapore as an attempt to interfere in the domestic affairs of Malaysia. Such
hypocrisy is quite common.
Middle East
Mahathir is regarded by many, especially in the West, as an anti-Semite. In 1984, his
government banned the performance of works by the Jewish composer Ernest Bloch, during a
visit by the New York Philharmonic, specifically because of Bloch's religion. The Orchestra
responded by refusing to play in Malaysia. [2]
Under Mahathir, a leading critic of Israel, Malaysia was a staunch supporter of the Palestinian
cause, and established diplomatic relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
(Israeli citizens remain banned from entering Malaysia and Malaysian citizens from Israel
without special government permission.) In 1986, a major diplomatic row erupted with
neighbouring Singapore when Chaim Herzog, the President of Israel, paid a state visit.
In 1997, during the financial crisis, he attributed the collapse of the Malaysian ringgit to a
conspiracy of Jews against a prosperous Muslim state: "The Jews robbed the Palestinians of
everything, but in Malaysia they could not do so, hence they do this, depress the ringgit."
Under strong international criticism, he issued a partial retraction, but not in Malay-language
media sources. [14]
On October 16, 2003 (shortly before he stepped down as prime minister), Mahathir said at the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Putrajaya, "We Muslims are actually very
strong, 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews out of
12 million. But today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for
them." He also named Israel as "the enemy allied with most powerful nations." Israel strongly
criticized the remarks. "The speech was also condemned by the European Union and
Germany in particular, as well as by the United States, Australia and other Western states.
Germany summoned Malaysia's charge d'affaires in Berlin to protest at the 'totally
unacceptable' comments. Speaking for the EU, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said
that Dr Mahathir had employed 'expressions that were gravely offensive, very strongly anti-
Semitic and... strongly counter to principles of tolerance, dialogue and understanding'." At the
same time, "His speech was defended and admired by many Muslim leaders."[15]
Singapore
Mahathir is an alumnus of the National University of Singapore (previously named
University of Malaya). He graduated as a physician from then King Edward VII Medical
College in 1953, during British rule. He is held in high regard by his alma mater, and
regularly attends reunions.
However, relations with Singapore under Mahathir's tenure have been stormy. Many disputed
issues raised during his administration have not been resolved, and in fact have been
exaggerated. Many of these international issues have been raised up under Mahathir's
Premiership term, but no significant headway had been made then to resolve them bilaterally.
Issues have included:
• the low price of raw water paid by Singapore to Malaysia (3 Malaysian cents (US$0.008)
per 1000 gallons);
• the proposed replacement of the Causeway by a suspension bridge to improve water flow
through the Straits of Johor (later cancelled by Mahathir's successor, Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi);
• Singapore's land reclamation work, affecting shipping access to Port Tanjung Pelepas;
• the use of Malaysian airspace by Republic of Singapore Air Force jets;
• the status of Pedra Branca Island (also known as "Pulau Batu Putih"), now being brought to
the International Court of Justice; and
• the sovereignty of the railway line crossing Singapore and Points of Agreement regarding
the matter.
Both sides had stubbornly refused to compromise, with the result of bilateral relations turning
frosty.[citation needed] The absurdity of the whole situation was illustrated by Mahathir's
proposal to replace the Malaysian portion of the Causeway with half a bridge, with the end
result, a crooked structure, being derided as ridiculous by citizens of both nations.[citation
needed] Under Prime Minister Abdullah, relations have begun to thaw, and inter-citizen
relations have gone on much as they have before in that they are totally independent of
political bickering. Many Singaporeans and Malaysians have relatives on the both sides of the
Causeway, and despite the bickering of both governments over different issues, relations
between citizens of both countries remained unaffected.
Recently, the issue of replacement of the Causeway with a bridge and the use of Malaysian
airspace by the RSAF have been successfully solved by Mahathir's successor Abdullah, an
issue that has been heavily criticised by Mahathir.
People's Republic of China
Though an anti-communist in his early career, Mahathir highly approves of the new
directions adopted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) after Deng Xiaoping's ascension
to power. Malaysia and the PRC maintained a close relationship since the late 1990s, when
doubts and suspicions of China's ambition in ASEAN region were cleared, and Mahathir and
Chinese leaders found many common grounds in their authoritarian style of ruling and their
opposition to Western interference in regional matters. Mahathir is keen that the rise of PRC
could to some extent balance the American influence in Southeast Asia, as well as benefiting
Malaysia from the PRC's economic prosperity.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mahathir has been noted as a particular ally and sympathetic co-
religionist of that nation. He visited Sarajevo in June, 2005 to open a bridge near Bosmal City
Center signifying friendship between Malaysians and Bosnians.
He made another 3-day visit to Visoko to see the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun in July 2006.
He made another visit a few months later.
In February 2007, four non-governmental organizations: the Sarajevo School of Science and
Technology, the Congress of Bosnik Intellectuals, and two Christian organizations: the Serb
Civil Council and the Croat National Council, nominated Mahatir for the 2007 Nobel Peace
Prize for his work during the conflict. [16]
On June 22, 2007, he made another visit to Sarajevo with a group of Malaysian businessmen
to explore the investment opportunities in the country.
Russian Federation
Before the fall of the Soviet Union, Malaysia had relations with the Communist state. When
the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the Malaysian government and other Islamic states
sided with the mujahideen. In 1999, Malaysia urged Russia to stop the invasion of Chechnya.
In 2002 Mahathir made his visit to Moscow. He made the statement that Russia can be the
rival to United States.[citation needed]
Developing world
Among developing and Islamic countries, however, Mahathir remains greatly admired,
particularly for Malaysia's impressive economic growth.[citation needed] Foreign leaders,
such as Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, praised him and have been trying to
emulate Mahathir's developmental formulae. He was one of the greatest spokesmen on Third
World issues, and strongly supported the bridging of the North-South divide, as well as
exhorting the development of Islamic nations. He was dedicated to various Third World blocs
such as ASEAN, the G77, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Nations,
and most recently, the G22 at the latest WTO talks at Cancún.
Retirement
In 2002 a tearful[17] Mahathir announced his resignation to a surprised UMNO General
Assembly. He was persuaded to stay on for a further eighteen months, in a carefully planned
handover that ended in October 2003. On his retirement, he was granted Malaysia's highest
honour, which entitles him to the title Tun from his original Datuk Seri. Since retirement, he
has been serving as an advisor to the Malaysian national oil company Petronas and the
Malaysian national car company Proton, an original core national project initiated by
Mahathir during his premiership. He is also the head of the Perdana Leadership Foundation, a
foundation whose aim is to preserve, develop and spread materials regarding or written by
previous Malaysian Prime Ministers. While he has retired from all political offices, he
remains very outspoken regarding national policies.
Shortly before leaving office, Mahathir sparked off a fierce controversy when at the 57-
member "Organization of the Islamic Conference" (OIC) summit, he claimed that "the Jews
rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them".[18] However, he also
mentioned:" We also know that not all non-Muslims are against us. Some are well disposed
towards us. Some even see our enemies as their enemies. Even among the Jews there are
many who do not approve of what the Israelis are doing."
His comments were widely criticized in the West, but the issue was ignored in Asia and
Islamic countries, which felt that his remark had been taken out of context. Mahathir later
defended his remarks, saying: "I am not anti-Semitic ... I am against those Jews who kill
Muslims and the Jews who support the killers of Muslims." He tagged the West as "anti-
Muslim", for double standards by "protecting Jews while allowing others to insult Islam."
also mentioning “But when somebody condemns the Muslims, calls my prophet, "terrorist",
did the European Union say anything?".[19] In 2004, he stated that both Bush and Kerry
avoided certain acts due to concerns that they would "annoy the Jewish group." However, his
comments does not stop international criticism especially from United States and Israel.
In 2005 Mahathir brought up the issue of excessive awarding of Approved Permits (APs) to
import cars, stating that they were creating too much competition for Proton, causing friction
between him and Rafidah Aziz, the Minister for International Trade and Industry, who
oversaw the awarding of APs. His successor, Abdullah, then announced that a National
Automotive Policy (NAP) would be created to appropriately handle the issue. Later, when
touching on the issue, Mahathir lamented the government's majority in Parliament, saying, "I
believe that the country should have a strong government but not too strong. A two-thirds
majority like I enjoyed when I was prime minister is sufficient but a 90% majority is too
strong....We need an opposition to remind us if we are making mistakes. When you are not
opposed you think everything you do is right".[20]
Health
The former Prime Minister has a history of heart attack. He had a coronary artery bypass in
1989. On November 9 2006, he was admitted into Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart
Institute) in Kuala Lumpur after suffering a mild heart attack that was caused by a clot in his
arteries and has since recovered.[21] On 14 May 2007, Mahathir was admitted to the
intensive care unit of a hospital in Langkawi after suffering from breathing difficulties at
1600 (MST). The former premier's condition was reported to be stable.[22]
Mohamad, 82, underwent a second heart bypass on September 4, 2007 in a specialist cardiac
hospital in Kuala Lumpur Sunday. [23] He is recovering in the intensive care unit and was
already conscious (in the Kuala Lumpur Institut Jantung Negara where he was operated by a
team of surgeons, including a U.S. specialist).[24]
On September 23, 2007, Mahathir Mohamad, underwent further surgery (Kuala Lumpur's
National Heart Institute) due to an infection of the surgical wound in his chest. He is
currently on a respirator in the ICU.[25]
Criticism of his successor
In 2006 Mahathir's relationship with his successor started to get strained. In a press
conference on 7 June 2006 at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, which he heads, Mahathir
said that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was not his first choice as successor but it was the current
Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, instead. He said that he felt hurt by allegations that
he "finished all the government's money, and that the government was bankrupt" because of
the mega-projects initiated by him during his tenure as prime minister.[26] Mahathir added
that he has "...a habit of choosing the wrong people" when he was answering the question
whether Abdullah had stabbed him in the back.[26] He has also criticised the present
government's decision to scrap the plan to replace Malaysia's side of the Johor-Singapore
Causeway. In his opinion, Malaysia does not need to seek the approval to build a bridge on
its own soil. This and other such issues have led many to believe that UMNO is under the
threat of splitting into Mahathir and Badawi factions. A statement was issued by UMNO to
reassure the public that they wholeheartedly supported Badawi, although as of yet, no stand
has been taken over the issue of Mahathir's membership in the party. Minister in the Prime
Minister's Department, Nazri Aziz, suggested that Mahathir "wants to force him (Abdullah)
to quit. He needs to be told he is no longer Prime Minister. His campaign is not for the sake
of the country but for himself."[27]
To make his voice heard, Mahathir decided to bid to become a delegate from Kubang Pasu
for the 2006 UMNO general assembly. This move, if successful, would bring great chagrin to
Abdullah who seemed to use every form of censorship available to shut Mahathir up. He
failed in his bid to be elected as a representative which is surprising given the fact that
Kubang Pasu is his stronghold for over three decades.[citation needed] Later, an angry
Mahathir claimed that the "establishment" (in reference to the present government) were
doing everything in their power including, but not limited to using government machine that
is normally reserved for general elections, to ensure that he didn't get elected. Mahathir even
went as far as to allege — albeit, without proof — that the interested party paid RM200 for
every vote casted against him. Mahathir also challenged the government to throw him in jail
if the government wanted him to shut his mouth.
On, 22 October 2006, Mahathir had a private meeting with Abdullah, in which he voiced his
dissatisfactions face-to-face for the first time with Abdullah. This meeting was highly
anticipated by members of UMNO and other Malaysians to be an opportunity to narrow the
differences between both of them.
However, Mahathir continued his criticisms of Abdullah after the meeting, saying that he was
not satisfied with Abdullah's answers to his views.[28]
In a press conference after the meeting, Mahathir revealed one of his dissatisfactions; he felt
that his civil liberties to voice his opinions and meeting with people were curtailed by the
government. This is a quote from the press conference on this topic.
• And I pointed out to him that firstly, this has become a police state. Because every time
anybody invites me to give a talk, they would be called up by the police and warned, called
up by the police and told to withdraw the invitation. Someone was not allowed to hold any
meeting at all which involves me. This happened to many people. They were very shy to tell
me about it but they were called up by the police and of course they were also called up by
the mentri besar as well... But I consider this a police state. And I consider also that my civic
right has been taken away from me because I have every right to talk to Umno people,
university people, civil servants and that’s my right.[28]
Mahathir also voiced certain conducts of Abdullah and his relatives (before and after
Abdullah became Prime Minister) that would amount to corruption although Mahathir did not
explicitly accuse Abdullah of that. Mahathir expressed his disappointment regarding
Abdullah's role in the oil-for-food programme with Iraq; Abdullah's name was listed as a
beneficiary in a report published by the US government regarding the programme. Abdullah's
son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, and his son had also been accused by Mahathir of offering
contracts to their connections, which amounts to corruption.
Mahathir had also criticised Abdullah's handling of the Approved Permits (AP) issue,
expressing his surprise that Rafidah Aziz was still retained as a Cabinet member although two
people on the list of persons issued with highest number of APs were linked to Rafidah.[28]
Other controversies
Former Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer, Tajudin Ramli claimed that he (Tajudin)
was "forced" to buy out the shares of Malaysia Airlines by Mahathir during a period when the
national carrier suffered financial difficulties. However, Mahathir denied this claim and said
that he only asked if Tajudin was interested in the shares.
In 2006 he had a 2-hour talk with James W. Walter and William Rodriguez with regards to
the US Government involvement in the 9/11 attacks.[29]
Legacy
For his efforts to promote the economic development of the country, Mahathir has been
granted the soubriquet of Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernisation).
Since his resignation, there are signs that his influence is on the wane, notably the
cancellation of a Mahathir-approved double tracking rail project on grounds of cost.
Moreover, his policies also came with a significant cost which Malaysians were reluctant to
address as long as Mahathir was in control: The consequent distortion of free market
dynamics is said to have fostered favoritism and inefficiency. Due to his statist policies along
with the effects of the New Economic Policy, Malay-owned companies, resting on lavish
government aid and subsidies, are extremely uncompetitive in Malaysia itself, let alone the
world market.[citation needed]
Non-Malay firms, mostly owned by pro-Mahathir figures, have devoted most of their
energies to trying to operate within this system as opposed to formulating and operating
according to international capitalism, which explains their lack of noticeable effect on the
global business scene. In private, Malaysians dubbed the favoured group the 'UMNO-putras'.
[citation needed]
In most local caricature which portrays him, most of his appearance has been made
distinguished by his oddly large nose. Cartoonist like Lat and Zunar are most popular with
this caricature.[citation needed]
Galeria Sri Perdana
Mahathir's official residence, Sri Perdana, where he resided from 23 August 1983 to 18
October 1999, was turned into a museum (Galeria Sri Perdana). In keeping with the principle
of heritage conservation, the original design and layout of the Sri Perdana has been preserved.
Criticisms
Many of his economic policies have a striking resemblance to those taken by Singapore many
years ago, with the principal differences only in matters where ethnic Malay rights are
concerned. Although he is often spoken of as if he originated many of the economic ideas
that modernised Malaysia, many of the economic policies and ideas are in fact those of
others, e.g. Tun Daim Zainuddin. He is also often credited with the economic measures that
helped Malaysia to recover promptly from the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis, when in fact
he was advised by foreign and Malaysian financial and economic advisors, with many of
these advisors going unnoticed in the eyes of the Malaysian public.
Chronology
• 1925: Born in Alor Star, Kedah on December 20.
• 1945: Joined the Anti-Malayan Union Campaign.
• 1946: Joined the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) as a member upon its
inception.
• 1953: Graduated as a physician from King Edward VII Medical College, Singapore
(subsequently became the medical faculty of the University of Malaya;
o Joined the Malaysian government service as a medical officer upon graduation.
• 1956: Married Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali on August 5.
• 1957: Left the government medical service to set up his own practice in Alor Star.
• 1957: His first child Marina Mahathir was born in June, she is Mahathir bin Mohamad's
eldest daughter.
• 1958: Mirzan was born in November, it is his second child and first son.
• 1961: Mokhzani was born in January, it is his third child and second son.
• 1964: Elected Member of Parliament for Kota Setar South on an Alliance Party ticket,
defeating the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party'(PAS) candidate with 60.2% of the votes polled.
• 1964: Mukhriz was born in November, it is his fourth child and third son.[30]
• 1965: Elected as a member of the UMNO Supreme Council.
• 1968: Appointed as Chairman of the first Higher Education Council.
• 1969: Lost his parliamentary constituency of Kota Setar South to PAS's candidate, Haji
Yusoff Rawa, by 989 votes;
o Sacked from the UMNO Supreme Council on July 12, following the widespread
distribution to the public of Mahathir's letter to Tunku Abdul Rahman, then Prime Minister
and President of UMNO;
o Relieved of his party membership on September 26.
• 1970: Published "The Malay Dilemma" that was soon banned.
• 1972: Rejoined UMNO on March 7.
• 1973: Appointed as a Senator.
• 1974: Appointed Chairman of the National University Council;
o Relinquished the post of Senator in order to contest in the 1974 General Elections where he
was returned unopposed;
o Appointed as the Minister of Education on September 5.
• 1975: Became one of the three vice-presidents of UMNO, after winning the seat by 47
votes.
• 1976: Elected as Deputy President of UMNO on March 5.
• 1978: Appointed Deputy Prime Minister by the then Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn on
September 15;
o Relinquished the Education portfolio to become Minister of Trade and Industry (June 1,
1978 - July 1981;
• 1981:
o June 26: Elected as UMNO President at the party's 32nd Annual General Assembly;
o July 13: Malaysia expelled three Soviet Union officials for espionage and Dr Mahathir's
former political secretary, Siddiq Mohamed Ghouse, was arrested for spying for them.
o July 16: Appointed or sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia at the age of 56 at Istana
Negara, when Tun Hussein Onn stepped down for health reasons;
o July 18: Dr Mahathir announced his new Cabinet, naming Tun Musa Hitam as his deputy. It
was the largest Cabinet the country has ever held. Plus, he concurrently took charge of the
Ministry of Defence (July 18, 1981 - May 6, 1986);
o July 22: The Cabinet held his its first meeting. After the meeting, Dr Mahathir asked
Malaysians to judge his administration a year from now.
o July 30: Fourteen days after taking office, Dr Mahathir gave the go-ahead for the release of
21 ISA detainees.
o July 31: Ban on Dr Mahathir's book "The Malay Dilemma", which was imposed in 1968,
lifted. It soon became a bestseller.
o August 6: Introduction of a punch card system for senior civil servants to cut out late
arrivals and early departures at government offices. Later that year, Dr Mahathir implemented
measures to get ministers and civil servants to wear name tags.
o August 15: Dr Mahathir said the Auditor-General's report of 1977 was made public for the
first time to let the people know how government funds were spent. Previously, all auditor
reports were kept confidential.
o September 7: Engineered the dawn raid in Malaysia’s takeover of Guthrie Corporation by
Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (P.N.B.) in the London Stock Exchange to return ownership of
some 200,000 acres (800 km²) of agricultural land to the people.
o September 15: Dr Mahathir decided not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government
meeting in Melbourne, leading to severe criticisms in the Australian media, which broadcast
a satirical programme on him.
o October 26: Dr Mahathir celebrated his 100th day in office as Prime Minister.
o December 31: Dr Mahathir standardised time by moving forward the clock by half an hour
in Peninsular Malaysia to bring it in line with East Malaysia;
o Made a public apology to Malaysia's first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman;
• 1982:
o January 3: Dr Mahathir was announced as The Star's Malaysian of the Year.
o February 8: Dr Mahathir advocated the "Look East Policy" for Malaysia to beef up work
ethics and management to achieve economic success.
o April 15: Dr Mahathir promised and launched the slogans for a "Clean, Efficient and
Trustworthy Government" public administration. They are "Leadership Through Example",
the "Look East Policy"; "Permeation of Islamic Values", and "Buy British Last";
o April 22: Dr Mahathir led the Barisan Nasional to a victory in the general elections and
defeated PAS' Yusof Rawa Abdullah for the Kubang Pasu parliamentary seat by a 15,761
majority.
o June 1: Dr Mahathir announced an austerity drive to cut down on seminars and overseas
trips for senior officials on account of an economic downturn in the country. The next day
(i.e. June 2), he announced that he and Musa would cut their salaries by RM1,000.
o July 10: Dr Mahathir announced the proposal to set up Islamic banking in Malaysia.
o September 10: Dr Mahathir in his address at the 33rd UMNO Annual General Assembly
urged Malaysians to aim for a population of 70 million within 120 years as a basis for a ready
market and demand for local goods.
• 1983:
o February 19: Dr Mahathir declared a six-month war on drugs, referring to dadah (a Malay
word or term which also means "drugs" or a "drug" in English) as the nation's number one
menace.
o March 19: Dr Mahathir launched the "Leadership by Example" campaign where he urged
civil servants to work 15 minutes longer each day as a "symbolic sacrifice".
o August 9: The Dewan Rakyat passed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 1983 by 136 to 9
which stated that if a Bill had not received the Royal Assent within 15 days of it being
presented, it would be deemed to have been done so and gazetted. The Prime Minister Dr
Mahathir, instead of the King, would have the power to declare a national emergency.
Although the Dewan Negara passed the Bill, it took four months for the Bill to be assented to.
The Bill sparked a constitutional crisis in the country between the Government and the
Rulers. The Government had to resort to a nationwide campaign to drum up support for its
position. Its first mass rally was held in Alor Star, Kedah, and attended by 50,000 people.
Soon after that, Dr Mahathir removed royal veto, such that a bill could become law on
approval by parliament.
o Initiated Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (can also be known as Proton), a national car
project.
• 1984:
o April 6: Dr Mahathir announced that maternity and leave benefits would be extended to
parents having five children as a measure to encourage people to have more children to
achieve the 70 million population target.
o April 16: Labuan in Sabah was turned or was officially declared into a Federal Territory by
Dr Mahathir at 8.59am as a step towards achieving national integration and unity between
Peninsular Malaysia together with Sabah and Sarawak.
o April 30: Dr Mahathir was returned unopposed as UMNO President at its 35th UMNO
General Assembly.
o May 12: Dr Mahathir announced that Britain had agreed to return Carcosa to Malaysia. The
residence of the former British High Commissioner was given to Britain as a gesture of
goodwill by the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.
o August 25: Dr Mahathir challenged PAS to a televised debate on the subject of PAS'
accusation that UMNO members were kafir. The debate, which was planned for on
November 11, was called off.
• 1985:
o January 30: Dr Mahathir witnessed a peace accord signing between rival factions in MCA
after months of mediation by Tun Ghafar Baba. However, this accord was soon to come
undone.
o July 6: Dr Mahathir embraced his deputy Musa publicly in a show of "no rift" at an UMNO
supreme council meeting in response to rumours.
o July 9: At 10.30am, the country's first national car Proton Saga rolled off the assembly line,
witnessed by Dr Mahathir.
o August 3: In a symbolic gesture, Dr Mahathir drove across the newly opened 13.5km
Penang Bridge costing RM800 million in a red Proton Saga sedan to mark the realisation of
two dreams.
o October 17: Dr Mahathir's hard-hitting speeches against apartheid at the Commonwealth
Heads of Government meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, won him international acclaim.
o November 19: Newspaper reports emerged on the Kampung Memali incident in Mukim
Siong, Baling, Kedah, where four policemen and fourteen others died in a clash. Dr Mahathir
was in China while Musa was then the Home Minister.
o November 30: On his return, Dr Mahathir said the villagers had resisted arrest, which was a
crime.
• 1986:
o February 26: Musa Hitam resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister (on the
following day i.e. February 27) after delivering in a seven-page letter to Dr Mahathir, stating
that he was unhappy with allegations that he had been involved in efforts to discredit and
topple the premier. On the same day, he left for his umrah. Musa was later persuaded to
remain as deputy UMNO president.
o May 7: Dr Mahathir, instead, appointed Ghafar Baba to the post of deputy premiership. He
also concurrently took charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the following day (?) (i.e.
May 8).
o August 4: Dr Mahathir led the Barisan Nasional to victory by securing 148 out of 177 seats.
He won at his constituency by beating PAS' Azizan Ismail with a majority of 15,298 votes.
o December 5: The controversial Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill was passed by Dewan
Rakyat after almost eight hours of debate at 128 to just 3 votes, imposing a mandatory jail
term of at least a year on anyone convicted under its provisions. Dr Mahathir said there was a
need for the jail term owing to the widespread leakage of Government secrets.
o A major diplomatic row erupted with neighbouring Singapore when Chaim Herzog, the
President of Israel then, paid a state visit.
• 1987:
o January 1: Langkawi was made a free port, as officially declared and witnessed by Dr
Mahathir.
o April 24: Dr. Mahathir narrowly warded off a challenge by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for
the UMNO presidency by 761 votes to 718 while Ghafar beat Musa by 739 to 699 votes.
o April 30: Dr. Mahathir received resignation letters from the then International Trade and
Industry Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais
Yatim.
o May 1: Dr. Mahathir expelled three ministers and four deputies from his Cabinet. The
Ministers were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Welfare Minister
Datuk Shahrir Samad and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ajib Ahmad.
The deputies were Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir (of Foreign Affairs), Datuk
Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (of Primary Industries), Datin Paduka Rahmah Osman (of Transport),
and finally Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin (of Energy, Telecommunications and Post).
o May 19: Dr. Mahathir announced the appointment of a new Cabinet line-up, promoting
Datuk Mohamed Rahmat to Information Minister, Datuk Dr. Yusoff Noor as Minister in the
Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Sabbaruddin Chik as Culture and Arts Minister, and
Datin Paduka Napsiah Omar as General Industries Minister.
o June 17: Dr. Mahathir was announced as the chairman of the International Conference on
the Abuse and Trafficking of Narcotics in Vienna, Austria.
o October 27: Dr. Mahathir launched Operation Lalang in which at least 106 people were
arrested and detained under the I.S.A., including the then Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang,
political scientist Dr. Chandra Muzaffar and leading lawyer Karpal Singh. The publishing
permits of the three national or local newspapers: The Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Watan were
all revoked.
o October 28: Dr. Mahathir, as also the Home Minister, explained the crackdown in
Parliament.
o November 20: Only eleven out of the 106 were released unconditionally from I.S.A.
• 1988:
o February 4: The Kuala Lumpur High Court, in dismissing the suit by eleven UMNO
members, ruled that the party was an unlawful society during its 38th General Assembly and
election last April. The party was thus declared illegal.
o February 16: Dr Mahathir announced the registration of Umno Baru (or the New Umno)
and the party was accepted into the Barisan Nasional fold.
o March 26: The Star resumed publication after 149 days of suspension by the Government
following the ISA crackdown.
o May 31, July 6, July 9, August 6, and August 8: Engineered the dismissal of the Lord
President of the Supreme Court, Salleh Abas, and five other supreme court judges or justices
who tried to block the misconduct hearings, when the future of the ruling party UMNO was
about to be decided in the Supreme Court (it had previously been deregistered as an illegal
society in the High Court on February 4 of the same year).
• 1989:
o January 18: Dr Mahathir was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital after
complaining of chest pains.
o January 24: Dr Mahathir underwent a successful coronary bypass operation at the Kuala
Lumpur General Hospital.
o January 26: Five ISA detainees, including DAP MP Karpal Singh, were released. Karpal
Singh had been one of those picked up during the Operasi Lalang.
o January 31: Musa returned to the folds of Umno.
o November 11: Dr Mahathir and Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was also a Semangat 46
adviser, had a historic meeting, paving the way towards uniting the Malays. The four-eye
meeting took about half-an-hour at Tunku's residence in Kuala Lumpur. This was their first
meeting since Tunku Abdul Rahman became adviser to Semangat 46.
o November 17: Tunku Abdul Rahman attended the opening of the UMNO General
Assembly and was asked by Dr Mahathir in his speech to act as the "middleman" to resolve
the split among the Malays.
• 1990:
o January 1: The official start of Visit Malaysia Year by Dr Mahathir after a colourful launch
at the Dataran Merdeka.
•
o May 4: Dr. Mahathir announced that the Social Welfare Lottery, which began 39 years ago,
would stop in six months.
•
o June 1: G15 Summit began in Kuala Lumpur with Dr Mahathir as the chairman of the
meeting. Among the other countries taking part were Mexico, Peru, Zimbabwe, Venezuela,
India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt.
o October 15: Parti Bersatu Sabah (or PBS) abruptly pulled out of Barisan Nasional on the
eve of the general election and aligned itself with Semangat 46, prompting Dr Mahathir to
called it a "stab in the back".
•
o October 21: Dr Mahathir led the Barisan Nasional to victory in the general elections,
winning 127 out of 180 seats.
•
o November 30: Dr Mahathir was returned unopposed as UMNO president. Anwar Ibrahim
obtained the most votes for the party's vice-president followed by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
o Dr Mahathir took over the Ministry of Home Affairs from October 1990 until January
1999.
• 1991:
•
o January 13: Dr. Mahathir was treated at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital for a minor
wrist injury.
•
o February 9: Dr. Mahathir's Cabinet reshuffle saw Tun Daim Zainuddin retiring from his
Finance Ministry's post and Anwar was made his successor.
•
o February 21: Dr Mahathir launched the establishment of UMNO in the state of Sabah.
•
o July 10: Dr. Mahathir outlined the blueprint for Malaysia to become a caring and
industrialised nation by the year 2020 in the 6th Malaysian Plan tabled in Parliament. The
plan has since been known as the Vision 2020.
•
o July 20: Dr Mahathir spoke for the first time of the need to set up the East Asia Economic
Caucus at the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference held in Kuala Lumpur. It met with stiff
resistance from the United States.
•
o October 12: Dr Mahathir announced an 8% to 10% pay revision for civil servants under the
New Remuneration System, which would come into force early next year.
•
o November 8: After about eight-and-a-half months since the launch of UMNO in Sabah,
UMNO delegates from that state attended the party's Annual General Assembly for the first
time.
• 1992:
•
o December 15: Johor's Tengku Bendahara Tengku Abdul Majid Idris faced assault charges
at a Session's Court, accused of beating up Perak hockey goalkeeper Mohd Jaafar Selvaraja
Vello]] on the 10th of July. His case paved the way for the amendments to strip Rulers of
their immunity.
• 1993:
•
o March 10: The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill was finally assented to by the King,
allowing Rulers to be stripped/limited of their legal immunity of the monarchy from
persecution, after the Douglas Gomez incident.
•
o September 29: The Then Deputy Prime Minister and Rural Development Minister Tun
Ghafar Baba resigned as head of the Sabah UMNO liaison committee and chairman of the
Sabah Barisan Nasional.
o October 15: Ghafar Baba officially resigned as Deputy Prime Minister.
o November 4: Anwar Ibrahim won the deputy president's post at the UMNO General
Assembly.
o November 7: Malaysia become the first Asean country to establish diplomatic ties with
South Africa as witnessed by Dr Mahathir during his official visit into that African country.
o November 23: Relationships between Dr Mahathir and Australia's leaders reached a low
point when the then Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating described/labelled Dr Mahathir
as a "recalcitrant" for not attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit
in Seattle. (It is thought that Keating's remark was a linguistic gaffe, and that he actually
meant "intransigent".)
o December 1: Anwar Ibrahim was officially appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Dr
Mahathir, succeeding Tun Ghafar Baba.
• 1994:
o January 30: Dr Mahathir launched the RM15 billion Bakun Dam project in Sarawak, which
would supply electricity to that state, Sabah, and Brunei. It would be linked to Peninsular
Malaysia with an underwater cable. However, the project ran into objections from the
environmental and the orang asli groups.
o February 15: Anwar announced the banning of British companies from bidding for new
government contracts after the British Sunday Times made baseless allegations against
Malaysian leaders. The ban was subsequently lifted on the 7th of September.
o May 7: Dr Mahathir met Bill Clinton in Washington for the first time to set the stage for
better ties between the two countries.
o August 29: Malaysia's second national car Perodua Kancil was launched and witnessed by
Dr Mahathir.
• 1995:
•
o April 25: Dr Mahathir led the Barisan Nasional to victory in the general election, beating
P.A.S.' Ahmad Mohamad Alim by a 17,226-vote majority.
•
o August 29: Dr Mahathir launched the RM20 billion Putrajaya project, one of the country's
most ambitious infrastructure projects and the future administrative capital.
•
o October 26: A coalition of 25 ruling and Opposition parties met in the Putra World Trade
Centre (PWTC) and signed a five-point resolution to condemn France's nuclear testing in
South Pacific. The meeting was chaired by Dr Mahathir, who remarked that this was the first
time the political parties were united and adopted a common stand.
•
o November 1: Mega TV, the country's first multi-channel subscription television, made its
debut.
•
o November 25: The UMNO General Assembly unanimously adopted a "binding" motion to
retain Dr. Mahathir and Ibrahim as president and his deputy respectively until the year 1999.
• 1996:
o January 13: Malaysia's first satellite --- the Malaysia East Asia Satellite (Measat-1) was
launched into orbit from the Ariane Launch Complex in Kourou, French Guyana, South
America.
o August 1: Dr Mahathir announced the Multimedia Super Corridor project, a 15 km by 50
km environment for companies specialising in multimedia products and services.
o September 25: The All-Asia Satellite Television and Radio Company (Astro), Malaysia's
first digital satellite television and Radio network, was launched. It offered 223 satellite TV
channels and eight new radio channels.
o October 1: Malaysia's tallest telecommunications structure in Asia and also the third tallest
(at that time of the official opening) in the world, the KL Tower was officially launched by
Dr Mahathir. At the height of 421 metres high, it cost the nation RM300million to build.
o October 6: Razaleigh dissolved Semangat 46 and rejoined UMNO.
o October 13: Malaysia's Mr Opposition Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon died after a long illness.
An MP for almost two decades, Dr Tan had interviewed Dr Mahathir for a lengthy interview
in The Star before his assumption of power in the year 1981.
o December 18: Dr Mahathir revealed that Microsoft Corp founder and chairman Bill Gates
had accepted Malaysia's invitation to sit on the advisory panel of technological leaders to
develop the MSC.
• 1997:
o Introduced the currency peg to resolve the 1997 Asian financial crisis on September 1.
o Aroused international outcry by blaming the collapse of the ringgit on a Jewish conspiracy.
• 1998: Sacked his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim;
o Relations with the United States took a turn for the worse, when US Vice President Al Gore
made a derogatory statement at the APEC conference hosted by Malaysia.
o Brought sodomy and abuse of power charges against Anwar Ibrahim following a
disagreement on certain political issues;
o Official opening of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, built at a
cost of USD$3.5 billion;
o Completion of the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world;
o Named as "Asia's Newsmaker of 1998" by TIME Magazine.
• 1999: Took over the Ministry of Finance on January 8;
o Appointed Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Deputy Prime Minister in January;
o Official opening of Cyberjaya, a township that is a key part of Malaysia's "Multimedia
Super Corridor".
• 2001: Took over the Ministry of Special Functions on June 5.
• 2002: Announced that Mathematics and Science subjects will be taught in English, rather
than in Malay with effect from 2003;
o Announced his resignation to the UMNO General Assembly, but was persuaded to stay on
for a further eighteen months.
• 2003: Retired as Prime Minister of Malaysia on October 31, after 22 years in office, making
him one of Asia's longest-serving political leaders;
o Awarded the Tun-ship, Malaysia's highest honour.
• 2006:
o November 9: Being warded in National Heart Institute, after suffered minor heart attack.
o Member of the International Committee for the Defence of President Saddam Hussein[31]
Books
• The Malay Dilemma (1970)
• The Challenge (1986)
• The Pacific Rim in the 21st century (1995)
• The Challenges of Turmoil (1998)
• A New Deal for Asia (1999)
• Islam & The Muslim Ummah (2001)
• Globalisation and the New Realities (2002)
• Reflections on Asia (2002) ISBN 967-978-813-X
• Achieving True Globalisation (2004-11-30) ISBN 967-978-904-7
• The Chinese Malaysian Contribution (2005)

Sumber
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahathir_bin_Mohamad

Biografi 3

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohammad

Oleh : Mohamed Yosri Mohamed Yong

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

Perdana Menteri Malaysia Keempat (1981-2003)
'Pencetus Malaysia Negara Maju'

Era
Pada 20 Disember 1925, Encik Mohamad bin Iskandar dan Wan Tempawan binti Wan
Hanafi dikurniakan dengan seorang anak lelaki di Lorong Kilang Ais, Seberang Perak, Alor
Setar, Kedah. Pada masa itu, mereka telah pun mempunyai lapan orang cahaya mata. Anak
bongsu ini dinamakan Mahathir bin Mohamad yang kini dikenali sebagai Tun Dr Mahathir
bin Mohamad iaitu Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang keempat mulai 18 Julai 1981.
Asal Usul
Persekolahan Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad bermula di Sekolah Melayu Laki-laki Seberang
Perak, Kedah. Kemudian disambung ke Sekolah Inggeris Alor Setar (kini Maktab Sultan
Abdul Hamid) di mana ayahandanya, Encik Mohamad bin Iskandar adalah gurubesar sekolah
itu yang pertama. Ibunya Wan Tempawan binti Wan Hanafi adalah keturunan Wan Mat
Saman, Menteri Besar Kedah yang membina terusan Wan Mat Saman.
Encik Mohamad Iskandar adalah anak Melayu pertama yang menjadi guru besar sebuah
sekolah Inggeris pada tahun 1908. Beliau adalah seorang yang tegas dan menitikberatkan
prestasi pendidikan yang tinggi di kalangan anak-anaknya. Sejak kecil Tun Dr Mahathir bin
Mohamad dikatakan sebagai seorang yang pasti akan jalan tujunya dan cara mencapai
matlamatnya. Secara semulajadi beliau merupakan seorang yang rajin dan mempunyai
determinasi untuk berjaya dalam apa jua bidang yang diceburinya.
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad bersekolah di Sekolah Melayu Seberang Perak sebelum
memasuki Sekolah Inggeris Kerajaan di Alor Setar yang kini dikenali sebagai Kolej Sultan
Abdul Halim. Semasa Jepun memerintah Malaya persekolahannya tergendala dan Tun Dr
Mahathir bin Mohamad berkecimpung dalam perniagaan gerai kopi serta menjual buah-
buahan dan barangan kraftangan di Pekan Rabu, Alor Setar, Kedah. Setelah tamat Perang
Dunia Kedua, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menyambung pelajarannya di sekolah yang
sama pada tahun 1945 sehingga Senior Cambridge. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
kemudiannya pada tahun 1947, melanjutkan pengajian ke King Edward VII College of
Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Singapura. Pengalaman berniaga yang dilalui menyedarkan
beliau betapa perlunya kemahiran berniaga untuk meninggikan taraf hidup kaum Melayu.
Inilah yang mendorong Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menceburi bidang politik apabila
beliau masih di bangku sekolah.
Ketika zaman persekolahan lagi Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menentang Malayan Union
dengan lantang dan menubuhkan Kesatuan Melayu Kedah serta Kesatuan Pemuda Melayu
Kedah. Pada tahun 1946, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad merupakan salah seorang ahli
UMNO yang awal dengan kemasukan Kesatuan Melayu Kedah ke dalam UMNO. Dr.
Mahathir sejak mudanya adalah seorang yang rajin menulis. Dengan nama penanya 'Che Det'
beliau banyak menulis tentang kisah-kisah yang melanda masyarakat Melayu yang tersiar
dalam akhbar-akhbar tempatan. Kebanyakan rencana Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
dihantar ke Strait Times dan Sunday Times bertemakan kepahitan hidup masyarakat Melayu.
Bakat kepimpinannya terselah semasa menuntut lagi apabila beliau dilantik sebagai Presiden,
Penrtubuhan Islam, Kolej Kedoktoran. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad sering mengikuti
perdebatan dan forum dan tidak segan silu menyatakan pendapatnya yang sebenar. Pada
tahun 1952, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad lulus dengan ijazah perubatan MBBS.
Penglibatan politiknya bermula pada tahun 1945 apabila Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
menganggotai SABERKAS. Pada tahun 1946 Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menyertai pula
Kesatuan Melayu Kedah. Apabila Kongres Melayu SeMalaya diadakan pada tahun itu, Datuk
Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad turut sama dalam peristiwa bersejarah itu dan merupakan
salah seorang pengasas UMNO apabila Kongres membuat resolusi untuk menubuhkan
UMNO dan membuka keahliannya.
Berkat hasil usaha beliau, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad mendapat biasiswa untuk
melanjutkan pengajian di bidang perubatan di Universiti Malaya, Singapura. Semasa di Kolej
Perubatan, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad dilantik sebagai Presiden Pertubuhan Islam dan
Ketua Ridaksi majalah pelajar di Kolej Kedoktoran tersebut. Di sinilah juga Tun Dr Mahathir
bin Mohamad bertemu dan kemudiannya berkahwin dengan Datin Seri Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd
Ali pada 5 Ogos 1956, dan mereka dikurniakan tujuh cahaya mata iaitu Marina, Mirzan,
Melinda, Mokhzani, Mukhriz, Maizura, dan Mazhar.
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menerima Ijazah Sarjana Muda Perubatan dan Pembedahan
pada 1953. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad seterusnya berkhidmat sebagai Pegawai
Perubatan di Hospital Besar Alor Setar dan kemudiannya di Pulau Langkawi. Pada tahun
1957, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad membuat keputusan untuk meletakkan jawatan
dan membuka klinik MAHA di Jalan Tunku Ibrahim, Alor Setar. Ini semata-mata untuk
membolehkan beliau bergiat dalam politik. Pada masa inilah beliau dikenali sebagai Dr
Mahathir.

Peranan Dan Sumbangan

Penglibatannya secara aktif dalam politik bermula pada tahun 1964 apabila Tun Dr Mahathir
bin Mohamad dipilih sebagai ahli Parlimen Kota Setar setelah memenangi kerusi kawasan
Kota Setar Selatan di atas tiket Perikatan dan mula menempa nama di kalangan masyarakat.
Namun dalam pilihan raya umum berikutnya pada tahun 1969 Tun Dr Mahathir bin
Mohamad tewas di kawasan yang sama kepada calon PAS. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
merupakan antara golongan muda yang paling lantang mengkritik pucuk kepimpinan UMNO
di bawah Allahyaraham YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj terutamanya selepas
trajedi 13 Mei 1969 . Ini akhirnya membawa kepada pemecatan Tun Dr Mahathir bin
Mohamad dari UMNO pada tahun 1969.
Semenjak terbuang, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menjadi `pemberontak' dalam buangan
dan menghasilkan buku ` The Malay Dilemma' yang telah diharamkan pada masa itu. Dalam
buku itu, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad banyak membidas sikap fatalisme masyarakat
Melayu yang menyalahkan takdir dan menerima kekalahan dengan pasif. Apabila
Allahyaraham Tun Abdul Razak menjadi Presiden UMNO pada tahun 1972, Tun Dr
Mahathir bin Mohamad kembali aktif dalam UMNO dan mendapat sambutan yang popular.
Kekalahan dan kekecewaan dalam bidang politik tidak pernah mematahkan semangat beliau.
Malah mempengaruhi beliau untuk lebih agresif dalam memperjuangkan isu-isu orang
Melayu. Populariti Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad jelas apabila beliau memenangi kerusi
ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO dengan undi tertinggi pada 1972 dan seterusnya sebagai senator
pada tahun 1973.
Oleh kerana minatnya yang mendalam dalam bidang pendidikan, Tun Dr Mahathir bin
Mohamad dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Majlis Pendidikan Tinggi yang pertama pada tahun
1968, Ahli Majlis Penasihat Pendidikan Tinggi pada 1972, Member of the University Court
and University of Malaya Council, dan Chairman of the National University Council pada
1974.
Sebagai calon Barisan Nasional di Kubang Pasu, Kedah Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
menang tanpa bertanding dalam tahun 1974. Pada 6 Oktober 1974, Tun Dr Mahathir bin
Mohamad dilantik sebagai Menteri Pelajaran di dalam kabinet Allahyaraham Tun Abdul
Razak. Tindakan pertama beliau adalah melaksanakan Akta Universiti dan Kolej 1974
dengan meletakkan pentadbiran universiti di bawah Kementerian Pelajaran. Pada bulan Jun
1975, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menjadi Naib Presiden UMNO dan Timbalan Perdana
Menteri kepada Allahyaraham Tun Abdul Razak. Pada masa itu, beliau juga masih
memegang portfolio Kementerian Pelajaran. Dalam satu rombakan kabinet, beliau ditukarkan
menjadi Menteri Perdagangan dan Perindustrian. Apabila Allahyaraham Tun Hussein Onn
meletakkan jawatan atas sebab kesihatan, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad mengangkat
sumpah sebagai Perdana Menteri yang keempat pada 18 Julai 1981. Dalam tahun yang sama
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad menang tanpa bertanding sebagai Presiden UMNO.
Tugas pertama Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad adalah membersihkan dan meninggikan taraf
perkhidmatan kerajaan dengan melancarkan kempen Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah. Pengenalan
sistem `punch-card' di kalangan pegawai-pegawai kerajaan benar-benar membuka mata
masyarakat. Rakyat diberi keutamaan. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad mendorong rakyat
untuk `Pandang ke Timur' untuk mencapai kemajuan dari segi pendidikan, teknologi serta
cara berfikir. Malaysia mula menjadi perhatian dunia dengan seorang pemimpin yang berani
menyuarakan pendapat walaupun bertentangan dengan pemimpin-pemimpin negara Barat.
Dalam pilihanraya parti 1987, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad mengalahkan lawannya untuk
mengekalkan jawatan Presiden dan pada tahun 1990 dan 1993, sekali lagi Tun Dr Mahathir
bin Mohamad menang tanpa bertanding sebagai Presiden parti. Di bawah pentadbiran Datuk
Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, parti memerintah Barisan Nasional memenangi Pilihanraya
Umum berturut-turut pada tahun 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995 dan 1999.
Keistimewaan
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad adalah seorang pemikir dan revolusiner. Di bawah
pentadbirannya negara telah melalui suatu proses transformasi yang tidak pernah
digambarkan sebelum ini. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad mahu Malaysia menjadi sebuah
negara maju dan rakyatnya mampu bersaing di peringkat global.
Hasratnya dijelaskan dalam apa yang dinamakan Wawasan 2020 yang beliau utarakan pada
28 Februari 1991 dengan bermatlamatkan "ke arah pembentukan sebuah negara yang benar-
benar maju dalam segala bidang secara seimbang meliputi ekonomi, politik sosial,
kerohanian, psikologi dan kebudayaan".
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad memperkenalkan konsep Persyarikatan Malaysia di mana
Malaysia diandaikan sebagai sebuah syarikat dan rakyat adalah pekerja dan pemegang saham.
Ini meningkatkan lagi prestasi pekerjaan, pendapatan serta imej negara. Di antara langkah-
langkah ke arah mencapai sistem ekonomi perindustrian ini adalah pembangunan sektor
industri berat. Salah satu kejayaan industri ini ialah pengeluaran kereta nasional yang kini
merupakan kereta yang paling laris di Malaysia (Kereta import dikenakan cukai 100%). Tun
Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad juga meningkatkan penyertaan bumiputera dalam pemilikan
saham sektor perusahaan dan perdagangan dengan penubuhan Permodalan Nasional
Berhad(PNB) dan Amanah Saham Nasional serta Amanah Saham Bumiputera. Harapan
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad adalah menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara maju
sepenuhnya menjelang tahun 2020.
Wawasan 2020 adalah satu penyataan cita-cita. Bagaikan seorang artis, Tun Dr Mahathir bin
Mohamad menampilkan satu falsafah yang murni yang kemudiannya disusuli dengan
keindahan perlaksanaan. Matlamatnya ialah pembangunan yang berwajahkan kemanusiaan
dengan persekitaran yang seimbang.
Sejak dilantik sebagai Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad tidak pernah letih
memperkenalkan perubahan. Langkah awalnya setelah menjadi Perdana Menteri ialah
memperkemaskan jentera kerajaan dengan menggerakkan kempen 'Bersih - Cekap - Amanah'
dan 'Kepimpinan melalui teladan' ke arah menerap nilai kebertanggungjawaban dan etika
murni dikalangan kakitangan awam khususnya dan masyarakat amnya.
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad juga menampilkan 'Dasar Kependudukan 70 juta' ke arah
menjadikan Malaysia mempunyai pasaran dalam negara yang mampu menyokong
pengeluarannya.
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad juga tidak lupa menerapkan unsur-unsur Islam dalam
pentadbiran. Kempen peningkatan 'Daya Pengeluaran Negara' juga dianjurkan begitu juga
dasar 'Penerapan Nilai-nilai Islam' sebagai satu wadah menerapkan budaya kerja yang selari
dengan ajaran Islam. Selain itu dibawah kepimpinannya, tertubuhlah Universiti Islam
Antarabangsa yang dicetuskan oleh timbalan Perdana Menteri, Anuwar Ibrahim, dan Bank
Islam. Sejak itu, Malaysia diberi penghormatan dan kepercayaan untuk mengendalikan
persidangan-persidangan bertaraf antarabangsa seperti PATA, CHOGM, Kumpulan Selatan
dan kini Sukan Commonwealth 1996.
Dr. Mahathir adalah seorang yang menjaga waktunya, sehubungan itu beliau telah menukar
waktu negara dengan mempercepatkan setengah jam di Semenanjung agar selaras dengan
Sabah dan Sarawak sebagai satu usaha integrasi nasional. Dalam proses itu Singapura telah
diyakinkan untuk turut serta.
Beliau tidak gentar dengan kontroversi dan pernah menggemparkan hubungan baik
diplomatik Malaysia-British dengan mengamalkan dasar 'Buy British Lasts" sebagai satu
tindak balas di atas sikap London yang mendiskriminasikan kepentingan Malaysia.
Beliau kemudiannya memperkenalkan 'Dasar Pandang Ke Timur' dengan menjadikan budaya
kerja masyarakat Jepun dan Korea sebagai suatu yang harus diteladani oleh rakyat demi
meningkatkan produktiviti serta menyemai etika kerja professional.
Program pengswastaan mula diketengahkannya pada tahun 1983 sebagai satu usaha
mengurangkan beban kewngan kerajaan dalam menjana projek-projek pembangunan.
Pengswastaan terhadap entiti kerajan juga digerakkan agar organisasi yang diswastakan lebih
cekap. Pengswastaan melibatkan pemindahan kuasa kawalan, kepentingan ekuti dan
pelaburan kerajaan yang tertentu kepada sektor swasta. Penswastaan terhadap industri
perkhidmatan juga diperkenalkan demi mempertingkatkan mutu khidmat kemudahan awam
supaya lebih selesa.
Sealiran dengan dasar itu beliau menampilkan 'Dasar PengsyarikatanMalaysia' yang
bertujuan menjana kerjasama antara sektor awam dan swasta agar kedua-duanya bekerja
sebagai rakan kongsi dalam pembangunan.
Dalam memperhebatkan eksport negara, Dr. Mahathir memperkenalkan 'Sogossosha
Malaysia' yang diceduk dari versi Jepun yang bertujuan menjadikan syarikat-syarikat
Malaysia berdaya saing di peringkat antarabangsa dengan penyatuan sumber dalam usaha
meluaskan pasaran produk Malaysia.
Dalam usaha ke arah membina negara maju proses industrialisasi adalah sesuatu yang wajib.
Sehubungan itu beliau telah melancarkan 'Dasar Perindustrian Negara' yang bertujuan
mengorentasikan kegiatan ekonomi Malaysia kepada eksport barangan industri demi
mengurangkan pergantungan ekonomi terhadap komoditi dan seterusnya mempertingkatkan
teknologi negara melalui pemindahan teknologi. Melalui dasar ini HICOM, Perwaja dan
beberapa kilang berkapasiti tinggi telah diwujudkan. Hasil dasar ini maka lahirkan kereta
nasional 'Proton Saga'. Sejak itu Malaysia menjadi pemain yang aktif dalam industri otomobil
dengan mengeluarkan van 'Rusa' dan motosikal ;Kriss' dan menjadi pengeksport kereta yang
berdaya maju.
Tidak cukup dengan dengan membuat kereta, beliau juga menggerakkan projek litar Formula
1 yang bakal menjadikan Malaysia salah satu destinasi grand prix dunia. Negara juga menaja
pasukan formula 1 Stewart. Pada tahun 1993 Malaysia terlibat dalam bidang pengeluaran
pesawat terbang ringan 'Eagles X-TS'.
Belum sempat rakyat mengejar teknologi negara di jalan raya, beliau telah membawa negara
ke angkasa lepas. Beliau mengasaskan Pusat Kajian Sains Angkasa Lepas dan impiannya
terserlah dengan terbinanya Planetarium Negara yang dilancarkan pada tahun 1994.
Sehubungan itu beliau telah mengilhamkan agar Malaysia mempunyai satelitnya sendiri. Ini
menjadi kenyataan apabila tirai tahun 1995 ditutup dengan pelancaran MEASAT 1 dan
disusuli dengan MEASAT 2 pada Oktober 1996.
Malaysia juga mengalami pembangunan prasarana yang luar biasa pesatnya di bawah
kepimpinan Dr. Mahathir. Projek lebuhraya menghubungkan utara - selatan dan timur - barat
semenanjung telah menjadikan Malaysia negara yang mempunyai rangkaian lebuh raya
antara yang terbaik di dunia. Malaysia juga melangkah ke era pengangkutan berteknologi
tinggi apabila transit aliran ringan (LRT) diperkenalkan di Kuala Lumpur.
Pada September 1996, kerajaan telah mengumumkan pembinaan bandaraya pentadbiran
persekutuan 'Putrajaya' yang bernilai RM2.6bil. Putrajaya sebuah bandar pentadbiran
terancang mempunyai falsafah murni ke arah mempertingkatkan produktiviti pentadbiran
awam negara dan seterusnya mewujudkan 'kerajaan elektronik'.
Dalam tahun 1996 Dr. Mahathir melihat satu lagi impiannya menjadi kenyataan apabila
struktur tertinggi di Malaysia menjadi kenyataan. Menara Kuala Lumpur yang menempatkan
pusat transmisi TV dan telefon selular merupakan manara konkrit yang tertinggi di dunia dan
semestinya mercu tanda ibukota yang paling bergaya dengan ketinggian 451.9 m. Menara ini
juga menara telekomunikasi yang ketiga tertinggi di dunia.
Rekod Malaysia tidak bernoktah di situ sahaja. Dr Mahathir juga mengilhamkan 'Kuala
Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) yakni projek hartanah yang terbesar di dunia dengan nilai RM
2bil. Bangunan ini merupakan bangunan tertinggi di dunia dengan 88 tingkat menara
berkembar di atas lokasi seluas 40 hektar. Meskipun beberapa sudut dunia bakal
menampilkan bangunan yang lebih tinggi, namun rekod ini akan kekal sebagai menara
'berkembar' yang tertinggi di dunia bagi abad ke dua puluh dan juga untuk buat beberapa
tahun yang akan datang.
Malaysia pada tahun 2002 dijangkakan mempunyai sebuah empayar hidroelektrik baru iaitu
Empangan Bakun, sebuah projek mega yang bernilai RM20bil. di Sarawak. Tidak syak lagi,
projek ini yang telah diistiharkan sebagai 'projek negara' merupakan projek prasarana yang
terbesar di Malaysia dan bakal dipeta sebagai empangan yang terbesar di Asia.
Menyedari bahawa industri penerbangan awam bukan hanya memerlukan pesawat terbang
canggih tetapi juga lapangan terbang yang serba boleh, Dr. Mahathir telah menukar kawasan
ladang di Sepang kepada tapak Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA).
Lapangan terbang ini akan tampil sebagai yang tercanggih di rantau ini dengan nilai RM9 bil.
Apabila siap sepenuhnya, ia akan dapat menampung perjalanan 100 juta penumpang setahun
dan pastinya menjadikan Penerbangan Malaysia (MAS) antara yang paling kompetitif di
dunia.
Semua orang tahu Dr. Mahathir mempunyai komputer di pejabatnya, tetapi tiada siapa yang
sangka bahawa beliau akan meletakan paksi dunia komputer di Malaysia.
Pada tahun 1997, Dr. Mahathir memperkenalkan 'Koridor Raya Multimedia (MSC)' yang
akan menjadikan Malaysia pusat eksperimen pembangunan prasarana multimedia yang
terunggul di dunia. MSC akan menggabungkan semua ruanglinkup industri teknologi
maklumat dalam sebuah persekitaran yang khusus buatnya. Sehubungan itu sebuah bandar
ultra-tekno 'Cyberjaya' akan dibina dan bakal menjadi satu-satunya bandar siber dunia.
Gagasan MSC akan menempatkan kerajaan e-elektronik dan universiti multimedia serta
menjadi pemangkin kepada perlaksanaan sekolah bestari, tele-perubatan, kad pintar, pusat
pemasaran tanpa bersempadanan serta pusat pengeluar web sedunia.
Dr. Mahathir juga memberikan penekanan kepada pembangunan akademik. Malaysia kini
menjadi tumpuan bukan sahaja kepada pelajar luar yang datang menimba ilmu tetapi juga
kepada universiti-universiti luar yang datang untuk menyebarkan ilmu samada dengan
membuka cawangan atau mengadakan program berkembar di sini. Dasar liberalisasi
pendidikan yang dilaksanakan ini bakal mencorakkan Malaysia sebagai pusat pendidikan
tinggi di rantau Asia Tenggara. Tidak setakat pendidikan tinggi, konsep kecermelangan
pendidikan juga akan diterapkan ke peringkat sekolah dengan memperkenalkan 'sekolah
bestari' (smart school) yang bakal beroperasi penuh menjelang tahun 2000.
Dr. Mahathir bukan hanya berusaha membangunkan Malaysia tetapi beliau juga berusaha
membangunkan negara-negara dunia ketiga yang lain. Beliau menggalakkan syarikat-syarikat
Malaysia melabur ke negara-negara yang memerlukan pelaburan serta menghulurkan bantuan
teknikal kepada negara-negara yang ketandusan kepakaran. Kini Malaysia merupakan
pelabur terbesar Kemboja dengan RM1bil. Yang kedua terbesar di Vietnam dengan nilai
pelaburan berjumlah RM559 disamping membuat kehadirannya sangat dirasai di Myanmar,
Afrika Selatan, Zimbabwe dan Maldives.
Tidak kira apa gagasannya - negara membangun, negara dunia ketiga, negara kecil atau
negara miskin - beliau dengan berani menyuarakan masalah mereka dalam forum-forum
antarabangsa serta menyelar negara-negara maju yang tidak ikhlas membantu malah
menindas dengan prejudis.
Pandangannya yang kritis tetapi nyata, telah menjadikan beliau jurucakap kepada negara-
negara dunia ketiga dan pembela agama Islam yang konsisten. Malaysia mampu berbuat
demikian kerana Malaysia "Merdeka' bukan sahaja dari segi politik tetapi juga ekonomi dan
yang lebih penting - dari segi spiritualnya.
Dr. Seri Mahathir Mohamad kini dianggap sebagai seorang pemimpin dunia yang berjaya
meskipun memimpin sebuah negara yang kecil. Beliau bukan hanya berjaya Memerdekakan
negaranya dari semua segi, tetapi berusaha memerdekakan negara-negara lain dari belenggu
falsafah pembangunan yang dijana dari barat yang jelas muflis idealistiknya. Bagi Dr.
Mahathir falsafah pembangunan haruslah dijana dari dalam, manakala sumbernya bolehlah
didatangkan dari luar dan bukan disebaliknya.
Rakyat hari ini dan generasi yang terkemudian tidak akan lupa pada Dr. Mahathir kerana
'Wawasan 2020nya'. Wawasan 2020 yang mengandungi apa yang dikatakan 'Sembilan
Cabaran Utama' merupakan cita-citanya melihat rakyat Malaysia mengamalkan nilai-nilai
murni dan pragmatik ke arah pembentukan sebuah masyarakat maju dengan hasil jalinan
keindahan spritual dan kemewahan material.
Wawasan 2020 bukan suatu sasauan, malah ia adalah satu realiti yang mana prosesnya
sedang rancak berirama mengelilingi kita dengan program-program pembangunan. Bagi
Perdana Menteri Dr. Mahathir, perjuangannya belum selesai kerana perjalanannya tidak
pernah berpenghujung. Beliau secara realistik menjelaskan, "saya tidak akan hidup sehingga
tahun 2020 tetapi saya pasti Wawasan 2020 akan dapat dicapai".
Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang keempat tidak dapat
dipertikaikan lagi merupakan 'Pencetus Malaysia Negara Maju'. Beliau mengakui bahawa
beliau tidak percaya lagi dengan penulisannya dalam 'Malay Dilemma' tetapi hakikatnya
Malay Dilemma sudah tidak relevan sejak Dr. Mahathir memegang pacuan negara.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad menjadi seorang pemimpin yang disegani dan sering dirujuk
untuk memberikan pandangan di kalangan negara-negara sedang membangun. Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad dianggap sebagai jurucakap bagi negara-negara sedang membangun
terhadap polisi-polisi kuasa besar politik dari Barat. Beliau memikul harapan negara untuk
merintis jalan ke arah suatu peranan kepimpinan di dalam dunia ekonomi dan politik
antarabangsa.
Kritikan
Terdapat beberapa kritikan semasa pemerintahan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad antaranya
adalah :-
Tuduhan bahawa penyelewengan yang tidak diambil tindakan seperti :-
• penyelewengan RM100 juta di PERWAJA dibawah Erik Chia.
• Bank Bumiputera telah 2 kali muflis dan diselamatkan dengan menggunakan wang rakyat
melalui kerajaan. Kes pembunuhan juruaudit Bank Bumiputera yang belum diselesaikan dan
dituduh sebagai penyembuyian fakta.
• Wang Tabung Haji telah dilaburkan ke dalam pelaburan yang dipersoalkan mengakibatkan
pulangan pelaburan yang rendah, serta kos tambang yang berganda berbanding secara
persendirian (sebelum diwartakan monopoli oleh Tabung Haji).
• Meminggirkan majoriti orang Melayu dengan menyekat bantuan kewangan negara kepada
kerajaan Terengganu dan Kelantan semata-mata kerana kedua buah negeri tersebut diperintah
oleh PAS.
• Memberhentikan bantuan kepada Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SARs) pada 25 Oktober 2002,
tetapi pada masa yang sama masih memberi bantuan kepada sekolah Tamil, sekolah Cina,
dan pertubuhan haiwan.
Bagaimanapun penyokong beliau menyifatkan tiada tindakan diambil disebabkan oleh
kekurangan bukti dan bukannya disebabkan sebarang salah-laku, dan segala tindakan beliau
adalah menurut undang-undang kerajaan Malaysia.
Selain itu, menurut kerajaan (BN), pelajar sekolah Agama Rakyat dikatakan tidak
mempunyai daya saing dan merupakan sebahagian besar daripada golongan yang
menggangur. Penuntut tersebut lemah menguasai bahasa Inggeris, oleh itu tidak mampu
bersaing dalam pasaran pekerjaan.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pernah menyuarakan hasratnya untuk berundur sebelum
kegawatan ekonomi, tetapi terpaksa membatalkan hasrat beliau untuk bersara dan sebaliknya
menumpukan perhatian beliau untuk membina semula ekonomi negara. Bagaimanapun pada
penutup Perhimpunan Agung UMNO 22 Jun 2002, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad telah
mengejutkan seluruh negara dengan mengumumkan perletakan jawatan beliau sebagai
Presiden UMNO. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad kemudiannya mengumumkan akan bersara
sebagai Perdana Menteri pada Oktober 2003 dan menamakan Timbalannya Datuk Sri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sebagai pengganti.
Ini menamatkan karearnya sebagai Perdana Menteri paling lama dan salah seorang pemimpin
Asia Tenggara yang paling lama berkuasa. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad meninggalkan
Malaysia sebagai salah satu negara yang mantap ekonominya di dunia, khususnya di Asia
Tenggara.

Sumber

http://www.geocities.com/tokoh_agung/TokohPMMahathirbinMohammad.htm
Posted by saat sulaiman at 3:48 AM

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home

Subscribe to: Post Comments