Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times Read online

  Differences between Dr. Mahathir and Tunku Abdul Rahman, however, were much deeper. The irritation and periodic ill-feeling, which would be a factor in Malaysian politics for 40 years, was mutual. The two came from vastly different backgrounds and generations, and saw the world through different eyes. It was hard to imagine two more opposite personalities, who happened to be born in the same state and engaged in the same endeavour at such a critical juncture in the country's history.

  One of 45 children of the Sultan of Kedah, Tunku Abdul Rahman was an Anglophile, who readily admitted he had misspent his youth in England on slow horses and fast women. He earned his arts degree with the lowest possible marks for a pass and was 45 by the time be passed his final bar exam, having worked in the Kedah civil service. A confirmed bon vivant who continued to drink and gamble moderately, he was superstitious, charming and put a high store on being happy, though he had natural political instincts and developed a steely resolve. "The Tunku", or simply "Tunku", as he was affectionately known even though numerous others of royal birth bore the same title, became UMNO leader fortuitously. When the post opened up unexpectedly in 1951, Razak Hussein was asked to stand, but nominated his friend, the Tunku, because he considered himself too young.

  Not only did Dr. Mahathir not smoke or gamble, he strongly disapproved of the lifestyles of senior civil servants and politicians who spent their leisure hours in bars and dance halls — and on the golf course, a game played by the first three prime ministers. He was incensed by feudal aspects of royalty and scathing about the hold that some traditions had on the Malays, exemplified by the proverb, "Let the child die, but let not the custom perish." He pointed out with dour logic that "if the child dies, then the custom dies along with it".[68]

  As far as Tunku Abdul Rahman was concerned, Dr. Mahathir lacked respect for Malay custom known as adat and did not know his place. He was certain he recognized in Dr. Mahathir an inferiority complex occasioned by his part-Indian ancestry, because he himself had suffered from the same "disease" when looked down upon over his skin colour while studying in Cambridge. "To overcome this feeling of inferiority," said the Tunku, "I bought the most expensive, at that time, super sports car and I sped through town in it making quite a nuisance of myself. Just to be noticed."[69]

  While Dr. Mahathir had his giant Pontiac, he wanted more than personal attention. He had a cause to sell as well. Although he and Tunku Abdul Rahman shared the opinion that the Malays were not very clever or demanding, they parted sharply over what should be done about it. The Tunku figured they would be content to control the machinery of state, heading government departments, the police and the army, and issuing licences and collecting taxes. He was quite open about leaving business to the Chinese because, he said, they were good at it and the Malays "have no idea how to make money". Dr. Mahathir wanted nothing less than to teach the Malays to compete and get their fair share of the nation's riches.

  Dr. Mahathir and Tunku Abdul Rahman first clashed during the anti-Malayan Union campaign back in the 1940s. The Tunku was "very annoyed" when Mahathir, still a student, corrected grammatical mistakes in a letter drafted by the Tunku to be sent to the colonial secretary.[70] Dr. Mahathir emerged as an internal critic in 1954 after Tunku Abdul Rahman — named chief minister of a government that was granted home rule after leading the Alliance to victory in 51 of 52 contested seats in the country's first general election — negotiated with London for an end to the British presence. Dr. Mahathir objected to an agreement allowing British and other Commonwealth forces to remain in Malaya after independence in return for a commitment to the country's external defence. He sometimes found himself out of step with UMNO's leadership and sharing views with opposition parties. He also opposed the adoption of the folk tune Terang Bulan, repackaged as Negaraku, as the national anthem, on the grounds of its sentimentality. He lost that argument, too, but had the last say when he became prime minister much later.

  Chairman of UMNO in Kedah and known nationally, Dr. Mahathir was expected to be a candidate in the 1959 general election, the first in independent Malaya. But he withdrew over a minor conflict, revealing another side of his personality and political style that would crop up periodically in his career: a deep sensitivity to the actions of others and, on occasions, an all-or-nothing response to political problems.[71] Dr. Mahathir had proposed that UMNO members chosen as candidates should have certain educational qualifications, alienating some members, who appealed to Tunku Abdul Rahman. Dr. Mahathir said that as "the party president backed them", he "withdrew from active participation in the party".[72]

  Determined that when he made his entry it would be on his terms, Dr. Mahathir kept up the criticism. "There is no way that I will go to Kuala Lumpur just to tag along with the Tunku at the golf course in order to make a comeback," he said.[73] He did not have to. Nominated as the Alliance candidate for Kedah's Kota Star South parliamentary constituency in 1964, he romped home against a Persatuan Islam Sa Tanah Melayu (PAS) opponent.

  Notes

  Kua Kia Soong, ed., K. Das & the Tunku Tapes (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Info Research Development, 2002), pp. 131-132.

  Zainuddin Maidin, The Other Side of Mahathir (Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn. Bhd., 1994), p. 14.

  Interview with Abdullah Ahmad, 30 May 2007.

  Interview with Khalid Abdullah, 28 February 2007.

  John Funston, "Political Careers of Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim: Parallel, Intersecting and Conflicting Lives", IKMAS Working Papers (Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), no. 15 (July 1998): i-iv, 1-32.

  Conflicting views exist on Dr. Mahathir's origins. Two prominent scholars have written that Dr. Mahathir's father was an immigrant from India. See John Funston, "The Legacy of Dr. Mahathir", Australian Financial Review, 30 July 2004; and Michael Leifer, Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia (London and New York: Routledge, 1996 edition), p. 158. Khoo Boo Teik, Paradoxes of Mahathirism: An Intellectual Biography of Mahathir Mohamad (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 15, suggested that Dr. Mahathir's father, Mohamad Iskandar, was born in Malaya by noting that he was "half Indian".

  Dr. Mahathir denied — email correspondence 12 February 2009 — that his grandfather's full name was Iskandar Kutty, as reported in some newspaper articles and on the Internet. He said he had never heard the name Kutty in his family: email correspondence 18 February 2009.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 14 August 2007.

  Phone interview with Ahmad Mustapha Hassan, 31 May 2008.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  Interview with Mukhriz Mahathir, 22 March 2007.

  Email correspondence with Marina Mahathir, 24 January 2008.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 14 August 2007.

  Email correspondence with John Funston, 2 June 2006.

  J. Victor Morais, Mahathir: A Profile in Courage (Petaling Jaya: Eastern Universities Press (M) Sdn. Bhd., 1982), p. l.

  Interview with Shaari Oaud, 27 February 2007.

  Robin Adshead, Mahathir of Malaysia: Statesman and Leader (London: Hibiscus Publishing Company, 1989), p. 27.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 31 March 2008.

  Ibid.

  John Funston, "The Legacy of Dr. Mahathir".

  Interview with Mustapa Kassim and Abdul Rahman Aziz, 26 February 2007.

  Robin Adshead, Mahathir of Malaysia, p. 28.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  Ibid.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 31 March 2008.

  Robin Adshead, Mahathir of Malaysia, p. 33.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  Robin Adshead, Mahathir of Malaysia, p. 34.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 31 March 2008.

  Interviews with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March, 14 August 2007.

  John Funston, "Political Careers of Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim: Parallel, Intersecting and
Conflicting Lives".

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, "New Thoughts on Nationality", in The Early Years: 1947-1972 (Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing Sdn. Bhd., 1995), pp. 85-87.

  John Funston, "Political Careers of Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim: Parallel, Intersecting and Conflicting Lives".

  Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, "Malay Progress and the University", in The Early Years, p. 70, cited in John Funston, "Political Careers of Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim: Parallel, Intersecting and Conflicting Lives".

  Interview with Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, 17 January 2008.

  Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 (Singapore: Times Media Pte. Ltd., 2000), p. 276.

  Ibid., p. 276.

  Interview with Dr. Wong Hee Ong, 21 March 2007.

  Interview with Dr. Wong Hee Ong, 21 March 2007; phone interview with Dr. James Murugasu, 23 June 2008.

  Interview with Wang Gungwu, 6 October 2006.

  John Funston, "Political Careers of Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim: Parallel, Intersecting and Conflicting Lives".

  Ibid.

  Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, "Malay Progress and the University", in The Early Years, p.70.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 14 August 2007.

  Interview with Khalid Abdullah, 28 February 2007.

  Interview with Mukhriz Mahathir, 22 March 2007.

  Zainuddin Maidin, The Other Side of Mahathir, p. 6.

  Interview with Shaari Daud, 27 February 2007.

  Interview with Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, 17 January 2008.

  Email correspondence with Marina Mahathir, 24 January 2008.

  J. Victor Morais, Mahathir, p. 1.

  Interview with Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, 17 January 2008.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  Email correspondence with Marina Mahathir, 24 January 2008.

  Interview with Mukhriz Mahathir, 22 March 2007.

  Email correspondence with Marina Mahathir, 24 January 2008.

  Interview with Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, 17 January 2008.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 31 March 2008.

  J. Victor Morais, Mahathir, p. 1.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  Interview with M. Jaafar Ismail, 11 December 2007.

  Interview with Haja Nasrudeen Abdul Kareem, 28 February 2007.

  Zainuddin Maidin, The Other Side of Mahathir, p. 7.

  Interview with Abdullah Ahmad, 23 March 2007.

  Cheah Boon Kheng, Malaysia: The Making of a Nation (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002), p. 6.

  J. Victor Morais, Mahathir, pp. 4-5.

  Zainuddin Maidin, The Other Side of Mahathir, p. 15.

  Kua Kia Soong, ed., K. Das & the Tunku Tapes, p. 132.

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 20 March 2007.

  John Funston, "Political Careers of Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim: Parallel, Intersecting and Conflicting Lives".

  Interview with Mahathir Mohamad, 31 March 2008.

  Zainuddin Maidin, The Other Side of Mahathir, p. 15.

  * * *

  (2)

  An Early Introduction to Brutal Politics

  Grabbing the political spotlight after his election, Dr. Mahathir established a reputation as an active and articulate parliamentarian in defence of the Malays. He became UMNO's main spokesman in the ruling party's conflict with Singapore, led by Lee Kuan Yew, over the kind of society they were trying to build.[1] Dr. Mahathir's first parliamentary term, from 1964 to 1969, was an extremely turbulent period in the country's political development, and one of the hottest issues was the presence of Singapore.

  By the time Dr. Mahathir took his place in the House of Representatives, Malaya had become Malaysia, a new territorial configuration whose legitimacy was opposed by the Philippines and challenged by President Sukarno's Indonesia with armed incursions. Established on 16 September 1963, Malaysia had Malaya as the core, with three other former British colonial territories tacked on: self-governing Singapore, joined by a causeway to peninsular Malaya, and Sabah and Sarawak, several hundred kilometres away across the South China Sea in Borneo. Among the numerous calculations that went into the creation of Malaysia was the primary desire to offset Singapore's predominantly Chinese population in order to protect the peninsular Malays. While Indonesia's so-called Confrontation faded with the end of the Sukarno regime through internal turmoil, Singapore's inclusion turned Malaysia into a communal battleground that recalled the Malayan Union debate.

  Lee Kuan Yew's People's Action Party advocated a "Malaysian Malaysia", meaning a multiracial nation in which everyone enjoyed political equality even if the Malays were accorded special economic and social rights. While Dr. Mahathir's more experienced colleagues were reluctant to do direct combat with Lee, acknowledged as a brilliant politician and debater, the country doctor was fearless. Referring to Lee, he dismissed "the mad ambition of one man to see himself as the first Chinese prime minister of Malaysia".[2]

  Selected to give the formal "address of thanks" to the King, despite being a relatively raw backbencher, Dr. Mahathir delivered an emotional speech to Parliament on 26 May 1965. He attacked the "so-called non-communal parties", the People's Action Party and the Malayan Socialist Front, for being "pure Chinese chauvinists" and "the most communal and racialist in their attitudes". He discerned only one difference between them: "The Socialist Front is merely pro-Chinese and communist-oriented, while the PAP is pro-Chinese, communist-oriented and positively anti-Malay."[3] Dr. Mahathir contrasted some Chinese who "appreciate the need for all communities to be well-off" with "the insular, selfish and arrogant type, of which Mr. Lee is a good example". Most of them had never crossed the causeway, he said. "They have never known Malay rule and could not bear the idea that the people that they have so long kept under their heels should now be in a position to rule them."[4]

  When Singapore was expelled from Malaysia less than three months later and became a nation in its own right, Dr. Mahathir cheered. "I felt Singapore was too big a mouthful for Malaysia," he said. "Singaporean Chinese were too aggressive" and lacked the understanding and sensitivity of most Malaysian Chinese.[5]

  The Singaporeans may have lost their Malaysian Malaysia dream, but they left a mark on Dr. Mahathir that was to haunt him for a long time: the label of "ultra", or communal extremist, which was adopted enthusiastically by his Malaysian opponents as well. Certainly radical, Dr. Mahathir appealed emotionally to the Malays and often frightened the Chinese, who viewed him with suspicion. Yet he denied being an extremist and complained that he was misinterpreted and misunderstood, and that the tag made it hard to explain his stand in a rational manner.

  Dr. Mahathir identified with a younger group in UMNO that began to develop different views from those of party leaders. They urged greater government assistance for Malays, closer alignment with Afro-Asian developing countries and opposition to foreign troops being based in Malaysia. Elected chairman of the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization's committee for Malaysia in 1964, Dr. Mahathir represented the country overseas in a bid to weaken international support for Indonesia, then engaged in its anti-Malaysia Confrontation. Members of the group looked to Dr. Mahathir for leadership, light-heartedly calling him among themselves "Osagyefo", the title given to Kwame Nkrumah, the president of Ghana, the first black African country to shake off the chains of colonialism.[6] Osagyefo means "Redeemer" in Twi, a dialect of the Akan language.

  Life in Kuala Lumpur for Dr. Mahathir was not all sweat and tears, however. For one of the few times in his life, he let his hair down occasionally in the company of another first-term UMNO parliamentarian, Tunku Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a playboy prince from the Negri Sembilan royal family who went by the name of Charlie. An unlikely duo, they became firm friends, with Dr. Mahathir staying in Tunku Abdullah's house when Parliament was in session. "With him I could go to all the best places in Kuala Lumpur
and not feel out of place," said Dr. Mahathir.[7] Urged by the absent Dr. Siti Hasmah to give her still-shy husband a "push" socially, Tunku Abdullah obliged by escorting him to the Selangor Club, the Lake Club and elsewhere, while persuading him to dance and have a glass of white wine. "I brought him down to my level," said Charlie. "Otherwise it would have been boring."[8]

  In the company of Tunku Abdullah, who would later build a substantial business group, Dr. Mahathir's entrepreneurial sparks began to fly again. They went into partnership, starting a limousine service from the airport to the city, and acquiring a 20-room hotel in Sumatra, but neither venture took off. Lacking borrowing power, they had to sell out to a third partner after acquiring land and building Wisma Budiman, a high-rise commercial building, in the capital. "It was a good effort" and they made "some money", said Tunku Abdullah, though politics remained the priority for Dr. Mahathir.

  With the various races represented by the Alliance, however imperfectly, and the economy ticking over, Malaysia was seen internationally as a developing-world success. The newly created country had survived expansion to include Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak, contraction with the withdrawal of Singapore, a China-backed communist insurgency that required a state of emergency from 1948 to 1960, and Sukarno's military provocations. So it was no surprise that Tunku Abdul Rahman was inclined to sit back, smile and periodically proclaim himself "the happiest prime minister in the world". Who could blame him? Answer: Dr. Mahathir. He warned that the Tunku's approach was misguided and would not last, and that behind the peaceful facade pressures were building dangerously.