Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad is the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia since 10th May, 2018. He previously served over 22 years as Prime Minister from July, 1981 until his retirement in October, 2003, by which time he was the world's longest-serving elected leader.
He is the chairman of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, as well as a member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Langkawi constituency in the state of Kedah. Mahathir's political career has spanned more than 70 years since he first joined a newly formed United Malays National Organization (UMNO) in 1946; he formed his own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Malaysian United Indigenous Party), in 2016.
Mahathir is now the oldest currently serving state leader in the world (aged 93 years, 249 days). Born on 10th July, 1925 and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir excelled at school and became a medical doctor. He became active in the UMNO before entering Parliament in 1964.
He served one term before losing his seat, subsequently falling out with Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and being expelled from UMNO. When Abdul Rahman resigned, Mahathir re-entered UMNO and Parliament, and was promoted to the Cabinet. By 1977, he had risen to Deputy Prime Minister, and in 1981 was sworn in as Prime Minister after the resignation of his predecessor, Hussein Onn.
During Mahathir's first tenure as prime minister, Malaysia experienced a period of rapid modernization and economic growth, and his government initiated a series of bold infrastructure projects. Mahathir was a dominant political figure, winning five consecutive general elections and fending off a series of rivals for the leadership of UMNO. As Prime Minister, he was an advocate of third-world development and a prominent international activist.
Mahathir had been politically active since the end of the Japanese occupation of Malaya, when he joined protests against the granting of citizenship to non-Malays under the short-lived Malayan Union. He later argued for affirmative action for Malays at Medical College.
While in the political wilderness, Mahathir wrote his first book, The Malay Dilemma, in which he set out his vision for the Malay community. The book continued Mahathir's criticism of Abdul Rahman's government, and it was promptly banned. The ban was only lifted after Mahathir became prime minister in 1981; he thus served as a minister and deputy prime minister while being the author of a banned book.
Mahathir was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 July 1981, at the age of 56. The early years (1981 to 1987), were significant for the development of the Country. Mahathir exercised caution in his first two years in power, consolidating his leadership of UMNO and, with victory in the 1982 general election.
On the economic front, Mahathir inherited the New Economic Policy from his predecessors, which was designed to improve the economic position of the bumiputera (Malaysia's Malays and indigenous peoples) through targets and affirmative action in areas such as corporate ownership and university admission. Mahathir also actively pursued privatization of government enterprises from the early 1980s.
He believes that Government has no role in doing business. His government privatized airlines, utilities and telecommunication firms, accelerating to a rate of about 50 privatizations a year by the mid-1990s. While privatization generally improved the working conditions of Malaysians in privatized industries and raised significant revenue for the government.
One of the most notable infrastructure projects at the time was the construction of the North-South Expressway, a motorway running from the Thai border to Singapore.
Mahathir also oversaw the establishment of the car manufacturer Proton as a joint venture between the Malaysian government and Mitsubishi. By the end of the 1980s, Proton had overcome poor demand and losses to become, with the support of protective tariffs, the largest car maker in Southeast Asia and a profitable enterprise.
Mahathir suffered a heart attack in early 1989, but recovered to lead Barisan Nasional to victory in the 1990 election. The expiry of the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1990 gave Mahathir the opportunity to outline his economic vision for Malaysia. In 1991, he announced Vision 2020, under which Malaysia would aim to become a fully developed country within 30 years. The target would require average economic growth of approximately seven per cent of gross domestic product per annum.
Mahathir initiated a series of major infrastructure projects in the 1990s. One of the largest was the Multimedia Super Corridor, an area south of Kuala Lumpur, in the mould of Silicon Valley, designed to cater for the information technology industry. However, the project failed to generate the investment anticipated. Other Projects included this development of Putrajaya as the house of Malaysia's public service.
One of the most controversial developments was the Bakun Dam in Sarawak. The ambitious hydro-electric project was intended to carry electricity across the South China Sea to satisfy electricity demand in peninsular Malaysia. Work on the dam was eventually suspended due to the Asian financial crisis.
In 1997, the Asian financial crisis which began in Thailand in mid 1997 threatened to devastate Malaysia. The value of the ringgit plummeted due to currency speculation, foreign investment fled, and the main stock exchange index fell by over 75 per cent.
At the urging of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government cut government spending and raised interest rates, which only served to exacerbate the economic situation. In 1998, in a controversial approach Mahathir reversed this policy course in defiance of the IMF and his own deputy, Anwar. He increased government spending and fixed the ringgit to the US dollar. Malaysia recovered from the crisis faster than its Southeast Asian neighbours.
During Mahathir's term, Malaysia's relationship with the West was generally fine despite his being known as an outspoken critic towards it. When Dr. Mahathir Mohamad paid an official visit to Pakistan in February, 1993, he witnessed the signing ceremony of first-ever Joint Venture Agreement in the field of Palm Oil executed between Westbury Group, Pakistan, whose Chairman is Mr. M. Bashir Janmohammed a leading businessman, and FELDA Malaysia and their associates on 17th February, 1993 in Karachi.
The Joint Venture Agreement envisaged establishment of two Projects at Port Qasim, Karachi, namely, (a) Bulking Installation for handling and storage of Palm Oil and other Edible Oils and (b) Modern Palm Oil Refinery. Later on, in the year 2001, another J.V. Project for establishment of Jetty Project, viz. "Liquid Cargo Terminal" at Port Qasim was signed under Joint Venture Agreement between FELDA Malaysia and Westbury Group, which was also witnessed by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Islamabad.
On his retirement in the year 2018, Mahathir was named a Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm, allowing him to adopt the title of "Tun". He pledged to leave politics "completely", rejecting an emeritus role in Abdullah's cabinet. Mahathir was the CEO, Chairman and hence a senior adviser to many flagship Malaysian companies, such as Proton, Perdana Leadership Foundation and Malaysia's government-owned oil and gas company Petronas, etc.
In the wake of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal in 2015, Mahathir became a vocal critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak's government, even more so than Abdullah. He repeatedly called for Prime Minister Razak to resign. On 30 August 2015, he and his wife, Siti Hasmah, attended the Bersih 4 rally, which saw tens of thousands demonstrating for Najib's resignation.
Mahathir formed the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in 2016. By 2017, Mahathir had registered the new political party and officially joined the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan. He was proposed as a possible chairman and prime ministerial candidate of Pakatan Harapan. He assumed the position of chairman on 14 July 2017.
On 8 January 2018, Mahathir was announced as the Pakatan Harapan opposition alliance's prime ministerial candidate for the election to be held on 9 May 2018, seeking to oust his former ally, Najib Razak. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of his former political enemy Anwar Ibrahim, ran as his deputy. According to the election results disclosed on 10 May 2018, Pakatan Harapan had claimed victory, thus successfully propelling him to the prime ministerial seat once again.
Following the historic victory of the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, led by the re-emerging prime ministerial candidate Mahathir himself on 9 May 2018, Najib, the prime ministerial candidate for the Barisan Nasional governmental coalition, was successfully ousted from the incumbent prime ministerial seat, thus ending the leadership of the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia. Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia at 9.30 pm, on 10 May 2018.
Mahathir is author of many valuable books including his best seller memoir "A Doctor in the House". His other published books include the following:-
-- The Malay Dilemma (1970) ISBN 981-204-355-1
-- The Challenge,(1986) ISBN 967-978-091-0
-- Regionalism, Globalism, and Spheres of Influence: ASEAN and the Challenge of Change into the 21st century (1989) ISBN 981-3035-49-8
-- The Pacific Rim in the 21st century,(1995)
-- The Challenges of Turmoil, (1998) ISBN 967-978-652-8
-- Islam & The Muslim Ummah, (2001) ISBN 967-978-738-9
-- Achieving True Globalization, (2004) ISBN 967-978-904-7