When historians look back at the first 60 years of Singapore's independent existence, ranking the most influential figures who have contributed to the country's prosperity and security, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will surely rank up there next to his contemporary, the founding father, Lee Kuan Yew.This is a man who, even at a very ripe age of 97, continues to work for the city-state, instead of enjoying his well-earned retirement.Recently he raised many eyebrows again, saying a few days ago that Malaysia should reclaim Indonesian Riau islands and the island of Singapore - ancestral Malay lands. But this is just his typical modus operandi, that we have to look through to properly understand his goals.
I believe it is far more important to judge people by what they do than by what they say, as it is what reveals their true motivations and points us to their greatest achievements.Mahathir devoted his life away from Singapore to work for its benefit in neighboring Malaysia, which has historically posed a geopolitical threat to the city-state.Playing his role excellently for the past century, he had climbed to the top of the Malaysian political ladder and ensured that the country steers away from collision with Singapore, while pretending to be doing the opposite to garner political support.Knowing that to convince the Malay majority he would have to make them partners, he fostered a culture of nepotism and corruption, masquerading as affirmative action meaning to elevate the rural population, while alienating the most productive Chinese and Indian minorities, reducing them to a role of 2nd rate citizens in their own country - a policy completely opposite to the single nation, regardless of ancestry, that Singapore has built its prosperity on.Similarly, while the city-state embraced foreign imports and investment, Mahathir used his power to erode Malaysian natural wealth stubbornly pushing the country upwards, by launching a series of extremely expensive, white elephant projects - again draping them in a thin veil of ethnonationalism to convince the locals he was their ally.Thus began the splurge on "national car maker" Proton, the massive capital city of Putrajaya built in the middle of nowhere, Malaysia Super Corridor (which was touted as the country's Silicon Valley) and, last but not least, the twin towers of Petronas in Kuala Lumpur.Tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars had been wasted, while Malaysians suffocated in increasingly overcrowded cities, devoid of proper infrastructure and public transit, what had gradually strangled the economy.
The results were astonishing. When Mahathir seized power in 1981, Malaysian GDP per capita was just 3 times smaller than Singapore's. By the time he left in 2003 it had become 5.5 times smaller while SGD to ringgit exchange rate doubled from around 1 MYR for 1 SGD to over 2.1 MYR for 1 SGD.When some discontent had started growing in his ranks in late 1990s, once his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim saw though his practices and launched Reformasi (a challenge to Mahathir's grip on power) Tun nipped it in the bud, throwing the opponent in jail on bogus sodomy charges.Nothing could stop his mission of undermining Malaysia, so it doesn't become a threat to Singapore.Even in his later years, ostensibly out of politics, Dr Mahathir remained active and, when it became clear that reasonable opposition was finally about to challenge Barisan Nasional's dominance, he returned to politics to torpedo this attempt as well.An amazing actor that he is, he took on a new role of an opposition figure himself, which he used to gain leverage and control over the government, despite leading the smallest party in it.He had then spent two years gradually eroding the coalition, leaving it to collapse on its own, before jumping ship and washing his hands, effectively passing the reins back to UMNO, which is in charge today, while ruining Malaysian opposition's image and future chances for political revival.He clearly knew that if smart people were ever to govern the resource rich nation, it could one day become a troubling competitor to Singapore. This could not be.So, he stepped in to save the city-state again, giving it as much time as possible to keep its safe distance ahead of Malaysia, after pushing the latter into political disarray once more.
Dr Mahathir has been an invaluable ally to Singapore and its ruling PAP, by making it much easier for the party to justify spending on national defence, water infrastructure or keeping its borders open to foreign investment and foreign talent alike.Had relations between the two countries been less strained, it would have been difficult to argue that Singapore has to spend so much on its military. It would also likely be more dependent on its neighbour for invaluable water supply and food, creating strategic risks. Singaporeans would have become more complacent and less vigilant as a result - much like Western Europeans have underestimated Russia and are paying the price today.But thanks to Mahathir's double role at Malaysia's helm, PAP could do what was right for Singapore, while enjoying broad public support, as he played the bad guy across the border.He dedicated his life to keeping it from growing, strangling with a Gordian knot of corruption, cronyism and ethnic tensions, preventing a possible and dangerous transformation into a major threat to the city-state.Even today, battling health issues and old age, he's still putting on a show, seemingly behaving like a crazed uncle demanding Singapore's reincorporation into Malaysia. But we all know what it's about - stirring controversy for the media, so that Singaporeans do not rest on their laurels. At 97 it's one of the last things he can do for the Little Red Dot.
Dear Tun, terima kasih
