Now I know why Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been hailed as a nation-builder par excellence and why his re-entry as that country’s leader in the last elections has been considered as nothing short of a miracle. A ‘Malaysian political tsunami” was how political scientists described his loose coalition Pangkatan Harapan’s (PH) victory over the once-invincible governing coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN) anchored by the Malay based juggernaut, United Malay Nationalist Organization (UMNO) which has ruled Malaysia since its independence.
In a wide-ranging interview with the South China Morning Post which I excerpted in this column, the world’s oldest elected leader issued gems of wisdom on, among others, how to promote a nation’s interest without endangering or worse, abandoning, long-standing relations with other countries which can serve our own set of leaders in good stead. Once described as a strongman in his 22 years as Malaysia’s leader at a time when most of Asean were led by leaders of the same bent like Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos and Indonesia’s Suharto, to name just three, his policies and governing style are as relevant and proper as they were when he first assumed office.
We note that even as he was credited with modernizing Malaysia he was at the same time denounced by critics, in and out of Malaysia, as a human rights violator for overly stretching the bounds of that country’s draconian Internal Security Act, jailing hundreds of dissidents including his once-putative successor and Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on what many considered ill-founded charges.
In a sense, he did what he thought at that time was good for Malaysia no matter what. So, he did not hesitate to take action as and when he believed the same was needed to get things done no matter how unpopular it maybe. “I can’t always be popular,” he noted in that interview, “One day I’ll become unpopular because when you are in the government, you have to do unpopular things. So that is not something permanent.”
If there are two or three things which stood out as PM Mahathir’s principles of leadership these could be: as much as possible unite the country around a clear vision or goal for development; always stand for the national interest, do what is best and right for your people and learn to say NO and stick by it.
At bottom, PM Mahathir’s views are those of a statesman who has been molded by fire. His road map to governance and nation building, if we may call it such, applies almost identically to what most developing countries such as ours are in dire need today as we navigate through the tricky waters in this century.
This makes me wonder whether our very own President Duterte had been in conversation with him at some point in the past as we are seeing essentially the same thread around which he is now trying to get the country to.
What stood out in that interview as well were PM Mahathir’s answers to such hot-button, divisive isues such as China as a neighbor and its presence in the SCS/WPS, the ongoing trade war between the US and China and with its closest allies (European Union, Japan and Australia) and, of course, the ongoing political wrangling which accompanied the last elections.
He is very clear as far as relations with China and for that matter the rest of the world: national interest comes first and last. No ifs and buts about it. “I have always considered China as a good neighbor,” he said, as he emphasized that Malaysia and for that matter Asean have been neighbors for 200 years and China has not invaded any of the 10-member nation alliance. He noted that he had spoken out against certain Chinese practices which were not done to Malaysia’s advantage or even good for Malaysia. He said there was nothing to fear about China, even as the disputes among the claimant countries over the South China Sea which includes Malaysia, is concerned. In fact, he had a very practical view of what needs to be done as far as the SCS (in our case the West Philippine Sea/WPS).
“I think there should not be too many warships in the South China Sea,” Mahathir said, “..as someday, somebody might make some mistakes and there will be a fight, some ships will be lost and there might even be a war…what we want is for the seas to be patrolled by small boats equipped to deal with pirates, not to fight a war. We need the sea to be open to everybody and we don’t need to create tensions by having battleships and all that there..”
Contrary to the belief of some countries (in our case certain sectors and individuals), Mahathir thinks it is to the benefit of China that the seas stay open..as there will be more trade and China is a huge trading country.
The case of the occupied islands reinforces our view that indeed even as the claims and disputes remain we must hold on and fortify our hold on what we have. Said PM Mahathir: “ ..there are certain rocks which we have developed into islands..and we hope that we will stay on those islands because it is a part of keeping the sea safe from pirates and others..so we want to retain, of course, about four or five islands that we have occupied..the rest—whoever thinks it is theirs they can occupy..it is something if China claims the South China Sea as theirs..but those islands have always been regarded as ours for a long time.. so we want to retain them..”
So there. Need we say more about the need not of babbling and shaming our neighbors over the islands in that vast sea we call the SCS or WPS but of fortifying our hold on the islands we already occupy? Take it from PM Mahathir. It is the best way forward not bludgeon the administration every time we get a chance to make a big issue out of ‘bartering’ in the open seas..
Finally, here’s from Mahathir on the ongoing US vs China vs the rest of the world trade war: “I think any idea that you can protect your interest through threats of war is wrong. War does not solve any problem. It creates problems.”
