Mahathir Mohamad's legacy

Mahathir Mohamad, 77, Malaysia's fourth prime minister since the country obtained independence from Great Britain in 1957, will resign on Saturday, Nov.1. In one of his past remarks Mahathir said that after resigning from public life he wished to get up late, without being bothered by heavy commitments.

An orderly leadership succession is one of the most important achievements that a developing non-Western country can attain on the way to consolidating its political accomplishments.

Apparently, some time before the end of 1998, after the traumatic political events that shook Jakarta -- due to President Soeharto's abrupt resignation after ruling Indonesia for more than 30 years -- Mahathir told some of his friends that he would be smarter than Soeharto in the same position. What he meant, apparently, was that he was determined to bring about a normal succession in Kuala Lumpur.

This political realism was reflected in his comments when he was asked by reporters during the ASEAN summit meeting in Bali a few weeks ago why he was resigning. He said that if he stayed too long, the people would kick him out.

Mahathir Mohamad has shown that is it politically feasible for a non-Western country to manage an orderly succession, without resorting to street demonstrations or military coups. In this regard, Malaysia has shown itself to be better than Indonesia, which failed to accomplish a normal succession, even though the Soeharto regime had been showing serious indications of political decay in the early 1990s.

It is not too early to observe that over the past 22 years, Mahathir Mohamad's leadership has succeeded in enhancing Malaysia's economic and financial might and in considerably improving the welfare of the Malaysian people, especially those of Malay origin.

True, his affirmative action, of giving special privileges and opportunities to citizens of Malay origin, has given rise to complaints that the Mahathir government discriminated against those of Chinese and Indian origin. On the other hand, however, ministers of Indian and Chinese origin were always included in the cabinet. Moreover, Mahathir has lately aimed his criticism at his fellow citizens of Malay origin, who he reproached for being lazy and inclined to "only take advantage of policies". We can therefore expect that the new Malaysian government, under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, will introduce a few corrections to that affirmative program.

Mahathir Mohamad will also be remembered for his far-reaching programs to enhance the quality of Malaysia's human resources and improve its scientific and technological base. The outgoing prime minister has shown a full awareness of the importance of possessing such an advanced scientific and technological base in this modern competitive world.

Thousands of young Malaysians have been sent to the best educational institutions in advanced Western countries for specialized training in various scientific fields and skills. Even assuming that about five percent of those failed, still by now Malaysia's investment for the future in terms of enlarging its pool of qualified scientists and specialists is indeed impressive.

The problem of successful statesmen and political leaders who resign voluntarily has always been what they will do with their time after they become non-active. In his interview in Yogyakarta on Oct.22 with a team of Indonesian journalists before Channel TV7, which is part of the Kompas/Gramedia Group, Mahathir Mohamad stated that, by definition, he was an "Islamic fundamentalist."

He explained himself by saying that the fundamentals of the Islamic religion included an attitude of tolerance and peace in a person's social interactions. He went on to say that after more than a thousand years of growth and development, various schools and interpretations had emerged that did not always fit the basic tenets of Islam.

We would like to suggest that Mahathir Mohamad devote this new phase in his life to setting up a Mahathir Mohamad Center, located in a beautiful part of Malaysia and banking on his prestige as a successful leader and statesman. There, he could invite some of the brightest and most prominent young Islamic personalities, as well as leaders of other religions from inside the Southeast Asian region, to hold discussions in an atmosphere of friendship and brotherhood.

The purpose would be to mold a sense of common purpose in facing a precarious future. Whether Southeast Asia can make progress in the face of the onslaught of intense globalization depends on whether the nations of this region, with their diversity of religions, can work together and establish an environment of harmony and stability.

But if Mahathir Mohamad, freed of all state responsibilities after his resignation, should indulge himself in making periodical outbursts, which may not always be outrageous, then he would only create trouble for Malaysia's new leadership and gradually be regarded as an aging old man who has become a political nuisance.