Malaysians have all sorts of emotions when it comes to Tun Dr Mahathir. You just have to say his name, and you get all sorts of reactions. Yes, it is true, when you mention the name of Mahathir, even among students, you surely get all sort of comments and reactions. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was born on 20 December 1925 at Alor Setar, Kedah. His name Dr M is synonym to the vast development of modern Malaysia.
He is a very well-known political leader who served as Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 long years (1981-2003), making him Malaysia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, and one of the longest serving leaders in Asia. That are some introductions about himself. I’m not going to talk about his biography, but I would like to discuss about what he had done to Malaysia. Our beloved country from an agaric based country became a modern industrial nation. Malaysia evolve start from his generation as a Prime Minister. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had gave a lot of contributions to Malaysia during his tenure as Prime Minister.
The first thing he was done to Malaysia is he has campaigned resolutely to maintain and strengthen racial harmony within Malaysia and to improve the position of the Malays in business and other matters in order to preserve a balance of opportunity for all. He had united the people that live multi-racial Malaysia and stop fighting. With that, Malaysia will always harmony and peaceful without any fighting. Tun Dr Mahathir make money for Malaysia so that this country will be a national audiences and is known throughout the world for its rich countries results.
In the field of national development, Dr Mahathir has successfully created a paradigm shift in the structure of the economic system in Malaysia. Dr Mahathir has transformed Malaysia from a country that depended so much on self-subsistence agriculture, cultivation of rubber and tin mining, into a vibrant economic based on trading and industrialization. Malaysia now have heavy and high technology industries that have become developed and competitive and at par with other developed countries in the world.
He has also initiated several changes in the administrative system of the country, by introducing several policies which, among others, include the Look East Policy by emulating the good qualities of the East Asian countries, the ‘Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy’ policy, ‘Leadership By Example’ policy, and instilling ‘Islamic Values in Administration’ policy which would make the government machinery more efficient, of higher quality and more competitive. The implementation of such policies has resulted in the Malaysian Civil Service being one of the best in the world.
Besides, in order to achieve the status of a developed country, Tun Dr. Mahathir has conceptualized VISION 2020, where by the year 2020 Malaysia is expected to be a fully developed country. He has called upon the entire citizens of Malaysia to work harder and prepare themselves to really achieve that vision. As I know that, Tun Dr Mahathir which is the one whose start make a vision of 2020 and after he resign as a prime minister, the vision is continue but Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and will be continue until Malaysia achieve the vision 2020.
The vision 2020 is a blueprint for Malaysia’s journey to becoming a developed economy and a mature democracy by the year 2020. The next contribution of Tun Dr Mahathir is in the late of 1990s, Tun Dr. Mahathir has taken steps to enable Malaysia to face the future by establishing the MULTIMEDIA SUPER CORRIDOR (MSC), which emphasizes ‘Information Technology” (IT) as very important asset for the country in the new millennium.
Malaysia has embarked on an ambitious plan to leapfrog into the Information Age by providing intellectual and strategic leadership. This means investing in an environment that encourages innovation, helping companies, both Malaysian and international, to reach new technology frontiers, partnering global IT players and providing the opportunities for mutual enrichment and success. The MSC will bring together, for the first time ever, an integrated environment with all the nique elements and attributes necessary to create the perfect global multimedia climate. This has proven Tun Dr Mahathir has given piecemeal progress to Malaysia and its people. In the field of literature, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has contributed greatly since his schooling days. Due to his great interest in writing Dr Mahathir Mohamad was an editor of the Darulaman magazine, published by the Sultan Abdul Hamid College. While studying at the University, he was the editor of the magazine published by the Medical College of Singapore.
Among his works are ‘The Monetary Crisis of Malaysia’ , ‘How and Why It Happened,’ ‘A New Deal for Asia’, ‘The Way Forward’, ‘The Voice of Asia’ , ‘ Tow Leaders Discuss the Coming Century’, ‘The Malaysian System of Government’, ‘Menerangi Kemiskinan, Peladang, Penternak dan Nelayan’, ‘Regionalism, Globalism and Spheres of Influence’, ‘The Challenge’, ‘Guide for Small Businessmen’, ‘Malay Dilemma’, ‘Warisan Kepimpinan’ and ‘Menghadapi Cabaran. ’. Tun Dr Mahathir wrote a book and also magazines for us so that we will always love to reading and make us interest to deepen of knowledge.
We also can see the contribution of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia development through he had successfully handled the financial crisis in 1997 and stabilized Malaysian economy. The Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 came as a surprise and caught most people by surprise not only by the speed but also the severity of the crisis. However, Tun Dr Mahathir have their own way how to solve the problem. Tun Dr. Mahathir had imposed strict capital controls and introduced Malaysian Ringgit (RM) peg against the US dollar and succeeded.
Malaysia came out of the crisis certainly less scared and faster than Thailand or Indonesia, the two Asean neighbours who follow the IMF programme. Tun Dr Mahathir had successfully handled the financial crisis and stabilized Malaysian economy. IMF programme is an international monetary fund. Besides all the contributions above, Tun Dr Mahathir also had embarked on various large scale of nation projects. There are the North-South Expressway, KLIA Airport and also PETRONAS Twin Tower. These three things which is the biggest contributions that had done by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
For the North-South Expressway, it starts at Bukit Kayu Hitam and ends in Johor Bahru, linking all major cities on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was officially opened on 8 September 1994 by Tun Dr Mahathir, signalling the coming of age of Malaysia’s road transportation system. The country’s successful privatisation programme coupled with its strong economic growth has also encouraged more highway development projects in the last few years and contribute to the country’s rapid socio-economic development. Figure 1 shows the North-South Expressway
The big thing Tun Dr Mahathir had done is when he opened the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Sepang Formula One Circuit. The planning to build KLIA began in 1990 when the government decided that the existing airport (Subang International Airport) would not suffice to handle future demand. Tun Dr Mahathir was a prime driver behind the project. KLIA is one of the major airports of South East Asia which is huge even multinational level. The project officially inaugurated on 27 June 1998. Currently, the airport handles 35 million passengers and 1. million tonnes of cargo and ranked the 14th busiest airport in the world, and is 5th busiest international airport in Asia. Meanwhile, the Sepang International Circuit was officially inaugurated by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on March 1999. The aspiration wanted Malaysia as a hub for motor racing activities in the region and also a catalyst for Malaysia’s motorsports industry. Figure 2 shows the KLIA International Airport Figure 3 shows the Sepang Formula 1 Circuit Let’s move to PETRONAS Twin Tower. The PETRONAS Twin Tower stand by the arrival of Tun Dr Mahathir’s idea.
In the early 1990s, Tun Dr Mahathir wanted Malaysia acts as a global player to create a landmark that would represent Malaysia as a modern country. Designed with 88-stories twin tower and connected by a bridge, this amazing skyscraper which is located right in the heart of city centre is Kuala Lumpur’s crown jewel. The bridge symbolized as gateway of Malaysian’s future. The twin towers is owned by PETRONAS, Malaysia’s government-owned oil company and the building was also occupied by associated Malaysian firms as well as multinational companies.
As Malaysian, we should proud when PETRONAS Twin Tower become a national landmark on the international stage. When we talk about twin tower, people will automatically imagine that is Malaysia. Figure 4 shows the grandeur of Twin Tower. During Tun Dr Mahathir era, ASEAN eventually came to include all ten countries of the region. His actions in the region were more pragmatic. Tun Dr Mahathir alongside other ASEAN leaders from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand saw ASEAN within the framework of regional security and as an expanding market for Malaysian goods and services.
In ensuring regional security, Mahathir continued Malaysia’s longstanding hybrid form of neutrality. With the end of the Cold War and the rise of China, Tun Dr Mahathir and ASEAN realised that a new platform was needed to ensure regional security and to contain China. Mahathir therefore took an active role in the shaping of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN’s post-Cold War regional security apparatus. The ARF brought together the regional powers and the United States in an effort to guarantee regional peace. Tun Dr
Mahathir was a brilliant devising measures to solve the problems facing our country. As Prime Minister for over twenty years (1981 to 2003), he led Malaysia’s development as one of the tiger economies of South East Asia, encouraging Malaysia to become one of the technological and industrial powerhouses of South East Asia. Throughout his ruling tenure , Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad remains the most influentiall person in Malaysia as smart, visionary and also charismatic, made Malaysians also believe in himself and also proud of the nation.
For his efforts in promoting the economic development of the country, Mahathir has been granted the soubriquet, ‘Bapa Pemodenan’ (Father of Modernization). He forever pondered and strove to make sure that everything planned for the betterment of the people must be reached with success. I as a Malaysian are very proud to have Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad as a former prime minister. Because of him Malaysia known by all the world. Without his contributions, maybe not many people from overseas know about Malaysia. I am proud to be Malaysian!
