Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
The longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia and Asia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is a hero who brings Malaysia from the third-world country to the 17th largest trading nation in the world. His outstanding vision and breadth of principles were impressed and feared by many other world leader. The purpose of this biographical recount is to highlight on his personal life, political history, and achievements. The reason behind this is because, during that, his father wants to avoid hassles regarding age while registering for entering the school’s session. Grow up in a family that emphasized the importance of academics, as well as the teachings of Islam, are the secret that makes him as a great leader. Despite being only half Malay and half Indian Muslim heritage, he generally considers himself to be Malay. He is known as the sole fighter of Malay nationalism, who fights for Malay Supremacy or Lordship. Due to his primary profession as a government doctor, he had to restrain himself from getting involved in either politics or business.
However, after he left Government service in 1958 to set up his own medical practice, her political journey began when he was elected as a member of the Kedah UMNO committee. From Minister of Education to Deputy Prime Minister, he finally reaches the top on 16 July 1981 after the former third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn. Although there were numbers of events, significance and controversial happenings under his leadership include removing the veto power and the Royal immunity from prosecution, he never gives up but stands proud with his own stance without failure. During his 22 years of serving period, he embarked on various large scale national projects, such as the Multimedia Super Corridor, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and an adjacent Formula One circuit, Olympic-class Stadium in Bukit Jalil, and the Petronas Twin Towers that once become the world’s tallest building. In addition, he was considered to be one of Asia’s most influential leaders and also noted as an outspoken critic of Western-style in the Western world. As for Malaysian, he has been granted the soubriquet of Father of Modernization as for his economic development efforts. It is obvious that Dr. Mahathir was a remarkable leader sent by Heaven. Whatever judgments that neither his admirer nor his critics gave, his place in Malaysian history is secure as the number of efforts he possessed for Malaysia’s peace, security and prosperity are amazingly remarkable.
Reference
- Abdullah, A. (2008).
- Dr. Mahathir’s Selected Letters to World Leaders, Marshall Cavendish, Malaysia, pg. 16-21 Cox, K. & Hill, D. (2004).
- EAP now! English for Academic Purpose, Pearson Longman, Australia, pg. 111 Mahathir, M. 2011.
- A : The Memoirs of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, MPH, Malaysia, pg. 1-326 Savage, A. & Mayer, P. (2005).
- Effective Academic Writing 2, Oxford University Press, New York Suzieana, U. A. (2009).
- http://www.nst.com.my/channels/learning-curve/internships-understanding-an-icon-1 ( 17 April 2012)
