At the May 9th election, Mahathir Mohamad secured a majority of seats in Malaysia’s Dewan Rakyat, ending the 61-year dominance of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Returning to office after retiring 15-years ago, Mahathir’s election has been described as a shock victory on a scale comparable with Brexit or the election of Donald Trump. So, who is Mahathir Mohamad and why is his re-election important?
Born in Alor Setar in 1925, Mahathir was the youngest of nine siblings. Mahathir’s father was a school principal while his mother descended from Kedah royal courtiers. Brought up with a strong commitment to his studies, Mahathir completed medical studies at the University of Malaya in Singapore. Before entering politics, he served as an army physician and had a private practice.
“I not only think but also look and study things carefully. When I travel around, I look at things carefully, make comparisons of what I see. I don’t accept things at face value, you cannot trust what you hear or see. Don’t jump to conclusions without thinking.”
Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir became an active member of UMNO after the Second World War. He was elected to the party’s Supreme Council (its policy-making body) before being elected to the Malaysian Parliament in 1964. Mahathir involved himself in conflicts regarding Singapore and the large and wealthy ethnic Chinese population. With further racial hostility looming, Mahathir lost his seat in 1969 and was shunned by UMNO for provoking disharmony.
On the encouragement and support of the new prime minister, Abdul Razak Hussein, Mahathir was appointed as a Senator in 1973, representing Kedah. He also returned to UMNO’s Supreme Council and was appointed to the Cabinet in 1974 as the Minister for Education. After Razak’s death in 1976, Mahathir was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by PM Hussein and later also led the Trade and Industry Ministry (1978-81). Yet, he was largely ignored on important matters by Hussein and his advisers who were cautious of his political ambitions.
Due to Hussein’s poor health, Mahathir succeeded him as Prime Minister in 1981. During his Prime-Ministership, Mahathir won five consecutive elections and served longer than any other prime minister in Malaysian history. Supporting neoliberal economic policies similar to those of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, Mahathir privatised government-owned services, utilities and infrastructure. This supported the economic growth of Malaysia and funded many ambitious government projects. Mahathir also sought to shift away from an agriculture and natural resources based economy and towards manufacturing and exporting.
“I am quite sure the court has given this sentence because the court thinks that it has the right to punishment for whatever.”
Mahathir Mohamad on the judiciary
Mahathir tried to appeal to religious sects, especially due to the resurgence of Islam. This included establishing Islamic institutions. He also persuaded Anwar Ibrahim, head of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement, to join UMNO. However, Mahathir also sought to suppress extreme Islam, specifically through the arresting of key figures and the killing of Ibrahim Libya, an Islamist leader, in a school shooting. Over his time in office, Mahathir was challenged by rivals such as Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (then Finance Minister) and Musa Hitam (formed Deputy PM) in 1987. Mahathir also sought to curtail judicial powers and used the Internal Security Act to admonish opponents of his government. He also removed the powers of Malaysian royals to deny assent to bills, cut financial support and revoked their constitutional immunity.
Over the 1990s, Mahathir further invested in infrastructure projects and diversified government programs to include more ethnicities. The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 weakened the economic growth Malaysia had enjoyed. Interest rates were increased and government spending cut. The ringgit was also fixed to the US dollar, contrary to advise of the International Monetary Fund and Finance Minister Anwar.
Anwar had now become Mahathir’s biggest threat due to his leadership ambition and the financial crisis led to the collapse of their relationship. Anwar was dismissed as Deputy PM and Finance Minister on September 2nd 1998 and expelled from UMNO. He was later arrested and placed in detention under the Internal Security Act. He stood trial on four charges of corruption and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was later sentenced to a further nine years in prison on charges of sodomy.
Mahathir had now damaged his position in domestic and international politics. When Mahathir called Malaysia an “Islamic State” in a September 2001 debate, criticism of his leadership further intensified. On October 31st 2003, Mahathir retired from politics and Abdullah Badawi succeeded him as PM. He largely remained quiet on government affairs during his retirement, even rejecting an emeritus-leader position in the Abdullah Cabinet.
“We call upon all Malaysians, irrespective of race, religion, political situation, creed or parties, young and old, to join us in saving Malaysia from the government headed by Najib Razak. We must rid ourselves of Najib as prime minister. If he’s allowed to go on, the damage will be worse and worse.”
Mahathir Mohamad
March 5th 2016
In 2015, Mahathir criticised Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Scandal (1MDB). This involved Najib being accused of funnelling nearly USD 700 million of state funds into personal bank accounts. Mahathir ignited protests that led to the Malaysian Citizens’ Declaration (which called for Najib’s resignation) and the registration of a new political party. However, Mahathir instead accepted the prime ministerial candidacy of Pakatan Harapan in January 2018 in order to oust Najib. With his candidacy supported by the re-incarcerated Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim, it is expected that Mahathir will seek a pardon for his former political rival and will eventually transition power to him after he is released.
“We are not seeking revenge… What we want to do is to restore the rule of law.”
Mahathir Mohamad
May 9th 2018
The result of the election on May 9th ended the rule of UMNO and propelled Mahathir back into leadership while Anwar’s wife, Wan Asizah, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. The man who once led Malaysia for 22-years is now back in office after a 15-year sojourn. Coming into office under very different circumstances than 1981, what this means for the rule of law in Malaysia and the fate of former-PM Najib waits to be seen.
