PROFILE OF DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD

 Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad became the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16 July 1981.

Born on 20 December 1925 in Alor Setar, the capital of the State of Kedah, Dr. Mahathir did his early and secondary education in his home town. In 1947, he gained admission into the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore.Upon graduation, he joined the Malaysian government service as a Medical Officer. He left in 1957 to set up his own practice in Alor Setar.
Dr. Mahathir has been active in politics since 1945. He has been a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) since its inception in 1946.He was first elected as a Member of Parliament following the General Elections in 1964. However, he lost his seat in the subsequent General Election in 1969.Owing to his keen interest in the country's education, he was appointed Chairman of the first Higher Education Council in 1968, Member of the Higher Education Advisory Council in 1972, Member of the University Court and University of Malaya Council, and Chairman of the National University Council in 1974.In 1973, Dr. Mahathir was appointed a Senator. He relinquished this post in order to contest in the 1974 General Elections where he was returned unopposed. Following the elections, Dr. Mahathir was appointed the Minister of Education.

In 1976, Dr. Mahathir was made Deputy Prime Minister in addition to his Education portfolio. In a Cabinet reshuffle two years later, he relinquished the Education portfolio for that of Trade and Industry. As Minister of Trade and Industry, he led several investment promotion missions overseas.

Dr. Mahathir was elected as one of the three Vice Presidents of UMNO in 1975. In 1978, he won the Deputy President seat and in 1981, he was appointed President of the party. He was returned unopposed as President in 1984.

In the 1987 party elections, Dr. Mahathir defeated his challenger to retain the Presidency and in 1990 and 1993, he was again returned unopposed as party President. Under his leadership, the ruling party Barisan Nasional (National Front) won landslide victories in the 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1999 General Elections.

Dr. Mahathir is married to a doctor, Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah bt Mohd Ali, and they have seven children Marina, Mirzan, Melinda, Mokhzani, Mukhriz, Maizura, and Mazhar.

CONTRIBUTION 

Without us realizing, there are many of Dr. Mahathir's contribution to the country that he has already achieved. 

For his efforts to promote the economic development of the country, Dr. Mahathir has been granted the soubriquet of Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernization) while his official residence, Sri Perdana, where he resided from 23 August 1983 to 18 October 1999, was turned into a museum (Galeria Sri Perdana).During his administration, Dr. Mahathir was considered to be one of Asia’s most influential leaders. He is also noted in the Western world as an outspoken critic of Western-style. Then, “Mahathirism” is a pejorative term used by Malaysians to describe the policies and methods used by Dr Mahathir to maintain his political power. Mahathirism has been critically defined as a “Machiavellian ploy to exploit race and religion for financial gain and power.” During this period, Dr. Mahathir embarked on various large scale national projects, such as:

i. The North-South Highway, which has cut transport times in half on the west coast of Malaysia;

ii. The Multimedia Super Corridor, a flagship project based on Silicon Valley designed to enable Malaysia’s foray into Information Technology (it includes Malaysia’s new administrative capital Putrajaya,

iii. Port of Tanjung Pelepas

iv. The glittering Kuala Lumpur Internatinal Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and an adjacent Formula One circuit;

v. The Bakun Dam, meant to supply all of the electricity needs of the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and which has enough capacity to enable exportation of power to Brunei. The project has since run into various difficulties and controversies, leading to at first, its cancellation and then its revival as a greatly scaled down project.

vi. Olympic-class stadium in Bukit Jalil; and;

vii. The Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, and the world’s tallest building from 1997 to 2003. (Even there’d been debate roses of which should be the tallest building, whether The Petronas Twin Towers or Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). That have become symbolic of modern Malaysia.

In 2003, President Vladimir Putin of Russia bestowed the “Orden Drusby” (Order of Friendship), the highest state award of Russia, on Dr. Mahathir for his effort in strengthening bilateral relations. Other than that, his book Selected Letters to World Leaders was voted the most popular book under the non-fiction category in the Popular-The Star Readers’ Choice Awards. Last but not least, Dr. Mahathir was conferred “Tokoh Takaful Award” at the Malaysian Takaful Association inaugural Dinner and Awards Nite 2009 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Takaful (Islamic based Insurance policy) industry.

The Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, and the world’s tallest building from 1997 to 2003.

The glittering Kuala Lumpur Internatinal Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and an adjacent Formula One circuit

The Multimedia Super Corridor, a flagship project based on Silicon Valley designed to enable Malaysia’s foray into Information Technology (it includes Malaysia’s new administrative capital Putrajaya

• The Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, and the world’s tallest building from 1997 to 2003.

• The glittering Kuala Lumpur Internatinal Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and an adjacent Formula One circuit

• The Multimedia Super Corridor, a flagship project based on Silicon Valley designed to enable Malaysia’s foray into Information Technology (it includes Malaysia’s new administrative capital Putrajaya