Dr M shall have the last word
Someone will challenge his account and recount of many episodes but at a glance, it is a rambling digest of little nuggets of a moment in time, a sharp narrative on certain phases, a swooping look at several acts and a perspective on some of the most arresting intervals of his decades-long narrative.
New Straits Times
IF there is a quintessential quirk of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the definitive politician of our times, it is the former prime minister’s hardened exterior, that inherent defensive posture that gleefully soaks in blow after verbal blow.
He scraps like a prize fighter — only absorbing jabs, hooks and undercuts as soon as he lets go a powerful combination of verbal punches himself that sets the tone and direction of any policy/political decision and counterattack.
The more he gets thumped, the stronger he becomes, perhaps not physically, but mentally and intellectually, as he soaks in the more radioactive of criticisms and distills them to become a counterweight of arguments.
Now juxtapose that stance to the gift he bestowed unto Malaysians: national pride, a can-do spirit, ultra-confidence and big cojones to take on the world.
The one misstep that his political foes over-confidently took while haranguing him during the 22 years of his premiership (or even today) was to underestimate the man, thinking Dr Mahathir was easy meat.
Ask worthy adversaries Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Tun Musa Hitam and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Ask Lee Kuan Yew.
Dr Mahathir’s ability to make a robust comeback every time you’d think he was beaten and sunk is legendary.
As soon as he responds, it is similar to the recoil of a cannon that blasts shells of cutting wit, worldly wisdom, stark revelation and concise illumination.
Now garnish all these inherent Dr Mahathir characteristics and the outcome is his terrific memoirs, an 809-page colossus covering just about everything Malaysiana in a read easy to comprehend, given Dr Mahathir’s natural gift for unencumbered and well-defined English.
It’s natural to dive into the juiciest parts first (Anwar and his preferential foibles, given the relevancy of his current battles), but take a quick glimpse at the glossary and the index first, filled with the social, political, religious, economic and cultural buzzwords of the Mahathir era.
Dr Mahathir makes mention of sandiwara (old word for comedy, play or concert but now expanded to mean political theatrics of complex plots and hidden hands), towkay (once the phrase used to address an employer or a Chinese above the working class but now applied generally to any Chinese trader or captain of the great Malaysian football team of the 1970s), and “approved permits” (defined in the book as a system by which imports into Malaysia are controlled but in actuality, a connotation of explosive meaning).
He even allows a passage to orang puteh, the Caucasians he refers to as Europeans frequently dubbed as Mat Salleh of which he is fond of unravelling as either an imperial flake or a global irritant despite making friends with them and convincing them to pump good money into Malaysia.
The index is also a revelation: the direct reference to “Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim” alone took a big chunk of 56 pages and that doesn’t include the indirect references to Tan Sri Rahim Noor (then inspector-general of police who recklessly punched Anwar’s black eye and provided what Dr Mahathir mused as a “long-term political capital”).
If the index is an indicator of the leanings of his memoirs, he allowed copious references to former colleagues-turned-foes-turned allies Tengku Razaleigh (the fractious fight for the Umno presidency in 1987) and as opposition rival (1990 general election), Tun Musa Hitam as heir apparent but eventual sulk, and former right-hand man Tun Daim Zainuddin, whom Dr Mahathir placed as a pivotal character in many business and economic dealings but had a falling out with in later years.
There are astute references to Pas (he blasted away against its spiritual leader for his senseless hypocrisy) and paid reverent homage to former prime ministers for constructing foundations of which he built the new Malaysia.
Slicing and dicing Europe (and America) his forte: he once characterised them as the biggest cause of the planet’s sordid financial state, unending wars and stage-managed flashpoints.
At 62 extremely wide-ranging chapters of what it means to be a Malaysian, cherry pick the intriguing “Anwar Challenge”, or how he was finally convinced of the police intelligence on Anwar’s predilections — a watershed still at play in real time in the High Court where Anwar is facing Sodomy II while at the same time, Dr Mahathir was pitching his memoirs at the launch yesterday.
Could this memoir be sub-judice to Anwar’s trial? Or submitted as evidence by prosecution and defence? That would be tantalisingly, with Dr Mahathir a willing witness — for both sides.
Dr Mahathir is aware of the risks of publishing his memoirs when the political environment is dicey and inflammatory, particularly when the characters and situations in his book are still functioning, probably with their lawyers on speed dial in case their treatment is legally challenging.
But not getting any younger at 85, Dr Mahathir is determined to have, perhaps, the last word on the turbulent era he accelerated with bullishness.
Someone will challenge his account and recount of many episodes but at a glance, it is a rambling digest of little nuggets of a moment in time, a sharp narrative on certain phases, a swooping look at several acts and a perspective on some of the most arresting intervals of his decades-long narrative.
His parting words in the Anwar chapter is classic Dr Mahathir: “Anwar should have been prime minister of Malaysia today. But if he is not, it is because of his own actions.
“He left me no choice but to remove him and I did what I thought was best for the country.
“I may have made many mistakes, but removing Anwar was not one of them.”
