Mahathir bin Mohamad, Datuk Seri

▪ 1997

      When the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysia's dominant political party, held its triennial elections in October, Datuk Seri Mahathir bin Mohamad was reelected party president without opposition. The victory guaranteed that Mahathir would extend his record 15 years as prime minister through 1999. As a vocal critic of the West, Mahathir promoted an Asian and Malaysian agenda with slogans such as "look East" and "buy British last" in an effort to make Malaysia an industrialized nation by the year 2020. However, because Mahathir was 70 years old and had undergone heart bypass surgery in 1989, some party members wondered whether the time was approaching when he should step aside and make way for a successor, perhaps Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

      Mahathir was born on Dec. 20, 1925, in Alor Setar, Kedah state, and received a medical degree in 1953 from the University of Malaya in Singapore. He became active in politics in the mid-1940s, joining UMNO in 1946. He was expelled from the party in 1969 for opposing the policies of party president Tunku Abdul Rahman, but he was readmitted in 1972. After holding several governmental posts, Mahathir succeeded Hussein bin Onn as prime minister in July 1981.

      Outspoken when it came to having Malaysia's voice heard internationally, Mahathir had accused Western media and even the Internet of spreading what he called "smut and violence." He also remarked: "Not only are distorted pictures of our countries being broadcast but our own capacity to understand what is happening is being undermined. In the past, Western missionaries spread the gospel. Today the media has taken over and all our cherished values and diverse cultures are being destroyed." While some members of his government winced at such statements, the general consensus was that such comments had a positive effect on the country. Even as he scolded the West, Mahathir welcomed foreign investment on his own terms. As a result, Malays as well as other ethnic groups were enjoying one of their greatest periods of prosperity.

      In November 1995 UMNO's general assembly all but guaranteed Mahathir's reelection by passing a resolution stipulating that the top two party posts would go uncontested in 1996. The only serious challenge to Mahathir's prime ministership had come in 1987, when he narrowly defeated Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former ally. Then in 1988 Mahathir announced the formation of UMNO Baru (New UMNO), from which Razaleigh and his supporters were to be excluded. Razaleigh registered a new splinter party called Semangat '46 in 1989, but it was dissolved in October 1996 because it had failed to attract adequate support. When Razaleigh reconciled with Mahathir and rejoined UMNO, he fueled speculation that he might seek Mahathir's job when the time was ripe. (ANTHONY L. GREEN)

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