Mahathir turns 100 as Malaysia comes of age

Arab News

3 days ago

https://arab.news/5taat
Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, Malaysia's preeminent statesman and one of the most influential world leaders of his time, turned 100 on July 10. He served as prime minister for much of the country's post-independence history and his influence has extended beyond Malaysia. His wife, Siti Hasmah binti Mohammed Ali, celebrated her 99th birthday on July 12. They have been married for 69 years.
Although he has had episodes of ill health, the physician-turned-politician is still active; he drove himself to his birthday celebration and bicycled for an hour after the event, before getting tired. Asked recently about the secret of his longevity and mental alacrity, he said: 'I do some exercise. I exercise my mind through reading, writing, talking, discussion, debates … You have to keep your body and mind active.'
Malaysia got its independence from Britain in 1957 and Mahathir has been in politics almost since then. He served as Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003, engineering a remarkable economic transformation, turning his country from a predominantly mining and agriculture-based economy to a robust multisector economy with an emphasis on manufacturing and services. In 1991, Malaysia adopted its Vision 2020 plan, with the aim of becoming a self-sufficient industrialized nation by 2020. For two decades under Mahathir's premiership, economic growth soared, with Malaysia's gross domestic product growing from $25 billion to more than $110 billion, a remarkable feat, with low inflation.
Mahathir was called upon to serve again as prime minister in 2018, after the country was wracked with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, one of the largest money laundering and embezzlement schemes in recent memory. Mahathir's leadership helped steady the country during that turbulent time and, in October 2019, he launched the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, a sequel to his successful Vision 2020.
He served as Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003, engineering a remarkable economic transformation
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg
He remained in office until early 2020, when he resigned after his government lost its parliamentary majority. During his illustrious near-seven-decade political career, he shifted party affiliation several times and has continued to wield considerable influence. Although he is held in high regard in Malaysia and abroad, he has experienced his share of controversies and crises.
Besides his ambitious and aggressive growth-oriented economic policies, which were largely successful, he prioritized the empowerment of the Malay ethnic majority, who were sidelined in the early days of modern economic development. He also adopted a tough policy against drug abuse and trafficking.
Malaysia was a British colony for more than 100 years and a member of the Commonwealth, but Mahathir was fiercely independent. Together with Lee Kuan Yew and other Asian leaders, they advanced the idea of 'Asian values' as an alternative to dictates on governance, politics and human rights, which privileged only Western notions on these matters.
In 1993, the Bangkok Declaration on human rights was adopted to codify the idea of Asian values. It reaffirmed commitment to the principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as that human rights are universal, interdependent and indivisible. However, they stressed that human rights should be applied nonselectively, in a universal, objective manner and without double standards or patronization.
At the same time, they called for respect for the principles of sovereignty and noninterference, as in the UN Charter. While Western nations focused mainly on civil and political rights, Asian nations put greater emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights and, in particular, the right to economic development, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In social organization, instead of Western ideas focused on individualism, Asian values privileged social harmony and the collective well-being of the community, loyalty and respect toward figures of authority.
This approach manifested itself in Malaysia's resistance to polarization between the US, China and Russia, and its forging of closer ties with other Asian and Muslim countries. It was reflected in its defense policies under Mahathir's leadership. Malaysia diversified its defense partnerships and undertook significant military modernization efforts, including the establishment in 1994 of an airborne rapid deployment force. It acquired Russian-made MiG fighter jets and American-made Hornets and strengthened Malaysia's military ties with Poland, Brazil, India and Pakistan, among others.
Internationally, Malaysia became a key contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, deploying about 18,000 military and police personnel between 1998 and 2003, who were sent to Cambodia, Bosnia and Somalia. In 1996, the UN established the Malaysian Peacekeeping Training Centre in Port Dickson.
Since leaving office in 2020, Mahathir has remained active and engaged in Malaysian politics. He remains optimistic about the country's future, as long as it is 'stable and well managed,' including through maintaining a high level of education and dealing effectively with ethnic and cultural diversity, as he has said in recent interviews.
However, he has become disillusioned with electoral politics, saying that 'democracy has failed.' He is especially critical of fragmentation in multiparty systems and the need for coalition governments, saying recently: 'There should be only two parties. When two parties contest each other, one or the other can win, then you can have a strong government.' When you have multiple, smaller groups, you 'cannot achieve the kind of majority needed to form a government.'
He prioritized the empowerment of the Malay ethnic majority, who were sidelined in the early days of modern economic development
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg
He also sees a reversal when it comes to values. 'Our modern civilization has failed … We have gone back to becoming very primitive with our civilized values,' he said.
He applies that to geopolitics as well, singling out Israel's war on Gaza and the failure to stop it as a global 'moral failure.' 'Normally, it should be that when you see such injustice, like genocide, you must do something to stop it. But here, we are unable to stop it,' he recently said, blaming Western powers, especially the US, for this failure, which is a mark of a 'collapse of the civilization of the West' and loss of credibility. But he also laments disunity and a lack of effective opposition to this failure, especially when it comes to the issue of Palestine.
Malaysia's economic development trajectory has been impressive. Upon its independence from Britain in 1957, about 52 percent of its population was living below the poverty line. The Malay majority and other indigenous groups had higher rates of poverty compared to immigrants who were brought to the country during colonial rule. Its wealth and income have grown tremendously since then. GDP rose from less than $2 billion in 1961 to $437 billion in 2024, while per capita GDP grew more than elevenfold, from less than $1,200 in 1961 to more than $14,000 in 2025. Only 6 percent now live below the poverty line.
Its social indicators went from extremely low in 1961 to a new ranking placing it in the 'very high human development' category, according to the UN Human Development Index of 2023, taking into account improvements in life expectancy, health, education and income.
Malaysia has also become a magnet for tourists, reflecting significant improvements in its infrastructure and governance. In the first quarter of 2025, it welcomed more than 10 million international tourists, overtaking Thailand, a more traditional tourist destination.
Politically, Malaysia has become an important regional power. This was evident in its successful recent organization of several summits at the same time: the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, an ASEAN-China summit, an ASEAN-GCC summit and the first ASEAN-GCC-China summit. The political statements coming out of these gatherings, especially the ASEAN-GCC-China trilateral meeting, testified to the independent path the country has taken.
Malaysia owes much of its prosperity today to Mahathir's pioneering vision.