Going from the poor neighbourhood of Alor Setar region in the state of Kedah to the throne of Malaysia is an achievement. Who knew that the saviour of Malaysia would be born on July 10, 1925, in that neighbourhood?
Mahathir Bin Mohammed, now the most respected and revered figure in Malaysia, has helped the country find its direction. He is a veteran politician who ruled the country from 1981 to 2003.
As a child of a school headmaster, he had little luxury in his childhood, but his father ensured that he become a doctor and he work hard for it. He was aware of the condition of Malaysia, and has felt for the poor people.
His crackdown to save Malaysia from corruption, nepotism, and cronyism has helped him to shape a modern Malaysia. His main aim was to convert the economy into a major industrial power hub, for which he had to fight the system.
During his tenure, the opposition named him dictatorial, cruel, authoritarian; though these allegations did not stop him. He kept doing what was best for his country; eventually he succeeded in making Malaysia a prosperous nation. His reign ended in 2003, when he suddenly resigned without a warning.
What made Mahathir run for the general elections at the age of 92?
A trail of corruption
Najib Razak was sworn in as prime minister to succeed Abdulla Ahmed Badawi. He came in to power in 2009, under the umbrella of United Malays National Organization (UMNO), one of the leading parties of Barisan Nasional.
Najib was always regarded as an aristocrat in politics. Most of his initiatives during tenure directly or indirectly supported the wealthy. Najib’s era was plagued with scandal and government hideouts on important issues.
As he was losing legitimacy, his reputation took another hit in 2015, when $700 million in state funds was found in his bank account. He failed to show the source of the money, and often stated that the money came from Saudi royals.
The Saudi royals denied such funding. The attorney generals of Malaysia were appointed for investigation, and later, he was removed. Najib appointed another attorney general, and then all the convictions against Najib were quashed. This scandal was one of the most significant political changes in the history of Malaysia.
Najib’s father was the deputy prime minister of Malaysia. After Najib came to power, he promised that Malaysia would enjoy freedom and liberty. But he failed to deliver them -- rather he introduced reform through tough laws on public gathering and free political views.
One of the most controversial laws passed during his tenure was the Internal Security Act 2011. This was a final result of detention without trial. He also meddled with the controversial sedition law. He pledged that he would repeal the sedition law, but he strengthened it significantly for his political agenda.
He was also responsible regarding the detention of Anwar Ibrahim, the chairman of Justice Party, for sodomy charges in 2015. The charges were denied by Anwar -- he claimed that these were politically motivated false charges and were the plans of Razak.
Comeback season
After Anwar was sent to jail in 2015, Mahathir took control of Anwar’s political party. On multiple times, Razak had overlooked Mahathir’s recommendations on the political and economic sphere.
The last and the major backlash of Najib was the 6% goods and services tax (GST) in 2015. Culminating a price hike for general people’s living standard, this decision was highly unpopular among the general citizens of the country.
In an interview with World News (Australia), Mahathir Mohammed said: “This is not the kind of government we have aimed for, we wanted a democratic government, and this party is acting like an authoritarian one.
So, if you think that I have to destroy this party, the party has already destroyed itself with all these scandals.”
Mahathir has expressed that he will be investigating these issues, and does not seek revenge. His focus will be to bring the national consensus back, and fight corruption.
Anwar Ibrahim will be soon released from the prison and will act as prime minister of Malaysia if he leaves the throne. He confirmed that his age may not be appropriate for him to work for hours -- neither has he the intention to be on the throne for long.
If the situation favours, Anwar he could be the next prime minister of Malaysia. For now, it can be observed that Mahathir at this age came to power to solely fight corruption. From the outset, it is clear that Mahathir is committed to make greater change for a peaceful nation.
Yead Mahmood is a lawyer.