The Malaysian Insight

GETTING overwhelming support from the ethnic Chinese community was the most satisfying part of his long career in politics, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.   

“When I became prime minister in 1981, the fear was that I would be against the Chinese as a community,” Dr Mahathir told global news channel Al-Jazeera in an interview.  

“But when I sat down in the end, the Chinese were the people who supported me most and I retained a two-thirds majority (in the Dewan Rakyat) because of their support,” he said in a 20-minute interview with Talk to Al Jazeera.

Dr Mahathir, 92, had once been branded as a Malay ultra-nationalist during his early career as an Umno firebrand, fighting for Malay rights. His book, The Malay Dilemma, which was published in the 1970s, also appeared to boost his reputation as a racist.

Yet he managed to retain two-thirds support in the Dewan Rakyat throughout all five general elections in his first career as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

He also managed to retain Chinese support in the 1999 general election, which came on the heels of the reformasi movement after he sacked his then-deputy Anwar Ibrahim.

“To me, that is very satisfactory, because it means that the accusation that I was against the Chinese is not true, because in the end, they were the ones who supported me, so for that I think I can be very satisfied.”

Dr Mahathir also told Al Jazeera that he did not care much for public criticism of him and his first term as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

Civil society groups and opposition politicians at the time had criticised Mahathir for suppressing civil liberties and nurturing a culture of crony capitalism.

Some of those critics are now part of Dr Mahathir’s cabinet.

“I know there were people who ran down all the things that I did and people who appreciated what I had done.

“To me, it is irrelevant, I did what I was able to do and I was satisfied that I had given my best for my country. That is all.

“And now I am in the position to take corrective action. If I don’t, I think it will be very selfish indeed. If I am still able to, I will contribute whatever I can towards resuscitating this country.” – July 7, 2018.