Mahathir Mohamad

Born in a family of a school teacher in the city of Alor Setar, Kedah. ^[2] Doctor by education: in 1953 he graduated from the medical faculty of the University of Malaya in Singapore . Until 1957 he worked in the civil administration, later he led private medical practice.

In 1946, he joined the newly founded United Malay National Organization (OMNO) ^[3] . In 1964 he became a member of parliament from OMNO ^[4] . In 1969, for criticizing the policies of the Prime Minister, Abdul Rahman was expelled from OMNO and deprived of a deputy mandate ^[4] . Then he wrote the book "The Malay Dilemma", which was immediately banned in the country.

In 1972, under the new Prime Minister, Abdul Razak was reinstated in OMNO and a year later he was appointed senator. Since 1974 - Minister of Education and again a member of parliament. As a minister, he strengthened state control over universities, which met with dissatisfaction among the university community. Since 1975 - one of the three vice presidents of OMNO. In 1976 - 1981 - Deputy Prime Minister, at the same time in 1978 - 1981 - Minister of Trade and Industry. He actively advocated for long-term investment in production, especially in the heavy and automotive industries ^[5] .

Country Leadership

From July 16, 1981 to October 31, 2003 - the president of the OMNO party and the prime minister (the first who did not study in Britain and did not have Malaysian-royal roots) after the resignation due to the health of Hussein Onna .

One of the first steps was an amnesty for 21 political prisoners (including journalist Samad Ismail and former deputy minister Abdullah Ahmad) and the appointment of Musa Khitam, his associate, as deputy prime minister. Then his main goals were to consolidate the leadership of the ruling party and the government and prepare for the 1982 elections . Having won them (the party gained 60.5% and 132 of 154 seats in parliament), he began to strengthen the centralization of power in the country, which caused a conflict with the sultans of individual states. Economic policy was distinguished by the desire to privatize state-owned enterprises in the style of " Thatcherism ." Airlines, utilities and telecommunications firms were privatized. The construction of the North-South Motorway from the border with Thailand to the border with Singapore was launched. A project was also carried out to build a modern auto industry (the first time together with Mitsubishi ) of the Proton brand, which became the largest automaker in Southeast Asia by the end of the 1980s ^[6] .

In the 1986 parliamentary elections, the OMNO headed by him won again, receiving 57.3% of the vote and 148 out of 177 seats in parliament. In addition to continuing its economic course, there was a period of suppression of the opposition, in which 119 people were arrested and held in prison without charge.

In the 1990 parliamentary elections, OMNO received 53.4% ​​of the vote and 127 out of 180 seats in parliament. After the selection, the program “ Vision 2020 ” was announced. At the same time, after long, difficult discussions, the Prime Minister managed to remove immunity from the heads of state (sultans) and members of the royal families, reduce their powers and at the same time reduce their financial support. In 1994, relevant constitutional amendments were adopted.

The 1995 parliamentary elections ended in a triumph for OMNO and him personally - the party received 65.2% and 162 out of 192 seats in parliament. Soon, the Multimedia Super Corridor project began to develop, the Malay analogue of Silicon Valley , located south of Kuala Lumpur on an area of ​​15x50 km and a number of other ambitious projects (including the construction of the Formula 1 highway in Sepang ).

During the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, it rejected a tight monetary and fiscal policy contrary to IMF recommendations, which also called for curtailing government support for major projects, which were the cornerstone of Mahathir Mohamad’s development strategy. Government spending and a fixed rate of ringgit to the US dollar were increased. The result shamed its international and domestic critics, as well as IMF experts. Malaysia recovered from the crisis faster than other countries in Southeast Asia. This became the political triumph of Mahathir Mohamad. After the next elections in 1999, the OMNO party won (56.5% and 147 out of 192 seats in parliament), although leading Western countries and the United States supported the opposition.

Mahathir Mohamad’s reaction to the crisis and his disobedience to the IMF caused a sharp confrontation between the prime minister and the deputy prime minister and deputy head of the OMNO, Anwar Ibrahim (who demanded that the IMF be met) - the latter was removed from all posts and imprisoned on charges of corruption and sodomy . Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience , calling the case politically motivated ^[7] .

Resignation and follow-up

At a congress in 2002, OMNO announced its imminent resignation and declared Abdullah Badawi his successor. October 31, 2003 resigned.

However, already in 2006, he tried to gather around himself opposition parties to the new leader, but to no avail. On May 19, 2008 , after the elections, during which OMNO lost the parliamentary majority in 2/3, and trying to put pressure on Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi , forcing him to leave office in favor of his deputy Najib Razak , announced his withdrawal from OMNO. He returned to the party as soon as Najib Razak took over as prime minister (in 2009).

In 2015, he began to urge the Razak government to resign ^[8] , sharply criticizing it for corruption scandals such as those associated with 1MDB ( 1Malaysia Development Berhad ). Having split from the United Malay National Organization, Mahathir Mohamad September 7, 2016 with his supporters (including Deputy Prime Minister Muhiddin Yassin ) established a new political force - the United Party of Sons of the Land of Malaysia . On September 9, 2016, his new batch was registered. She joined the opposition coalition of predominantly leftist and centrist Pact / Block of Hope forces ( Pakatan Harapan ), formerly traditional critics of Mahathir Mohamad in the People’s Block ( Pakatan Rakyat ).

On January 8, 2018, Mahathir Mohamad was announced as a candidate for the “Pact of Hope” for the post of prime minister following the upcoming elections in May 2018, so that if he wins, he immediately pardon his former ally and then implacable opponent Anwar Ibrahim and transfer control to the government his. If elected, Mahathir Mohamad, 92 years old, is the oldest former prime minister of Malaysia, will be the oldest of the current heads of state and country.

On May 10, 2018, he was elected Prime Minister of Malaysia. As part of his seventh cabinet, −10 ministers. After July 1, 2018, the number of ministers increased.

Almost from the very beginning, he proclaimed priority to Asian development models, rather than European or American. He considered the main priority of stability and economic growth and welfare over civil liberties in their Western sense. At the same time, from the very beginning, he was publicly criticizing US foreign policy ^[9] , although the United States retained its role as the main investor and main military partner of Malaysia. After breaking up with Anwar Ibrahim, the United States officially sided with the latter.

In 2003, he criticized the Iraq war , which began without UN sanction. In an interview with the Malay newspaper The Star on October 18, 2004, he said: “Americans are, by and large, very ignorant and know nothing about the rest of the world ... Nevertheless, they are people who decide who will be the most powerful person in the world. ".

He was always a supporter of the creation of a Palestinian state and an opponent of Israel ( Israeli citizens have long been forbidden to enter the country), the crisis of 1997 was declared by him “the result of a Jewish conspiracy to bring down the ringgit” ^[10] (later he partially disavowed this accusation, but exclusively for foreign observers). In 2003, during the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he made the following statement:

Along with this, he stated: "I am not anti-Semite ... I am against those Jews who kill Muslims and who support Muslim killers."

At the same time, he considered the West and especially the European Union anti-Muslim and using double standards to protect Jews and Muslims ^[12] .

He took part in the settlement of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (which he subsequently actively visited), for which in 2007 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ^[13] .

In 2014, he expressed the opinion that in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it was not Muslims who organized it, but special services and the US government ^[14] .

Under him, Malaysia turned from a country with an underdeveloped agricultural economy into one of the “Asian tigers” . He promoted “Asian values” as opposed to Western ones , and led the international non-aligned movement . The set of his views (considered, in particular, a nationalist) was called "Mahathirism" ^[15] .

He is the author of the Vision 2020 program, which aims to turn Malaysia into an industrialized state by 2020 and is calculated on average annual GDP growth of 7% and a stable increase in the standard of living of the country's population (by 1995, the number of poor was reduced to 9%). Before the 1998 crisis, GDP growth averaged 9%. Mahathir’s great merit is considered to be the rapid overcoming of the 1998 financial crisis with self-reliance and increased government spending, contrary to all IMF recommendations. As a preventive measure in relation to such economic shocks in the future, he put forward the “ Golden Dinar Project,” which implies the creation of a gold-backed international currency.

To eliminate his political opponents, he resorted to the Law on Internal Security, which allowed him to arrest and imprison any citizen of the country without trial or investigation. In 1987, four newspapers were thus closed and 106 political activists arrested. Mohammed's persecution of his political opponents provoked protests by non-governmental organizations at home and abroad.

He led the delegation of Malaysia in many international forums. Initiator of the creation by developing countries of the South non-governmental development commission. In 1987, he was elected chairman of the international conference on combating drug abuse and drug trafficking. In July-August 1987 he visited Moscow on an official visit.

Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (2000) ^[16] . The Great Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Kingdom ( Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara , which gives the right to the title of “Thun”) ^[17] . Honorary Doctor Perdana University (2018).

His official residence, Sri Perdan, in which he worked in 1983-1999, turned into a museum. In 1998 and 2007 stamps with his portrait were issued.

Wife (since 1956) - City Hasma Mohamed Ali (born 1930), a well-known physician in the country, nominal president of the University of Multimedia.
7 children - Marina (a public figure and writer), Mirzan, Melinda, Mokhzani (one of the richest entrepreneurs in the country), Mukhriz (born 1964, a businessman, a deputy of the country's parliament since 2008, and since 2013 the chief minister of Kedah state), Mizura and Mazhar.

• Knight of the Great Ribbon of the Order of the White Elephant ( 1981 , Thailand ) ^[18] .
• Commander of the Grand Cross of the Order of the North Star ( 1981 , Sweden ) ^[19] .
• Order of Diplomatic Merit, 1st class ( 1983 , Republic of Korea ) ^[20] .
• Grand Cross of the National Order of Mali ( 1984 , Mali ) ^[21] .
• Large ribbon of the Order of the Liberator ( 1990 , Venezuela ) ^[22] .
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle ( 1991 , Mexico ) ^[23] .
• Order of the Rising Sun, Class 1 ( 1991 , Japan ) ^[24] .
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit ( 1991 , Chile ) ^[25] .
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator of San Martin ( 1991 , Argentina ) ^[26] .
• Bosnia Dragon Order ( 1996 , Bosnia and Herzegovina ) ^[27] .
• Commander of the Order of the Great Star of Djibouti ( 1996 , Djibouti ) ^[28] .
• Order of the Royal Family of Brunei I degree ( 1997 , Brunei ) ^[29] .
• Order of Mubarak the Great ( 1997 , Kuwait ) ^[30] .
• Grand Ribbon of the Order of Merit ( 1997 , Lebanon ) ^[31] .
• Order of Jose Marti ( 1997 , Cuba ) ^[32] .
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit in front of the Republic of Poland ( 2002 , Poland ) ^[33] .
• Order of Friendship ( July 4, 2003 , Russia ) - for a great contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the Russian Federation and Malaysia ^[34] .
• The Order of the Flowers of Paulownia ( 2018 , Japan ) ^[35] .
• Order of Pakistan 1st Class ( 2019 Pakistan ) ^[36] .
• Order of the Republic ( 2019 , Turkey ) ^[37] .

• The entire period of being for the second time as prime minister since May 10, 2018 is the oldest working head of government in the world.
• It is one of the oldest heads of state and government in the world (whose years of life are precisely known) in the entire history of mankind.
• He is the oldest leader in Malaysia in its history.
• Author of several poems, including “Malays easily forgive”, which is put to music ^[38]

• The Malay Dilemma. Singapore: Asia Pacific Press, 1970
• "On behalf of his people." M .: "Chronicle", 1998 ^[39] .
• Mohamad M. The Way Forward = The Way Forward. - Minsk: Harvest, 2009 .-- 192 p. - ISBN 978-985-16-7710-4 .

• Antonov MF Chapter 10. The communist state-corporation of Mahathir bin Mohamad // From false capitalism to totalitarianism! The world in the XXI century and the fate of Russia . - M .: Alta-Print, 2008 .-- 592 p. - 1,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-98628-110-0 .
• Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Politician and personality. M .: Forum, 2001. ISBN 5-89747-030-8
• Pogadayev, V. Phenomenon of the personality of Mahathir. Political portrait. // " Asia and Africa today ." No. 5, 2001, p. 66-68.
• Victor A. Pogadaev . 20 Tahun Yang Mengubah Wajah Malaysia (20 years that transformed the face of Malaysia). Berita Harian, 13.3.2002

• Mohamad Mahathir. The way forward in lib.ru
• Mahathir - the prime minister who changed Malaysia // pereplet.ru
• Dr. M. He plundered the country for 40 years, and now returned to power. He is 93 years old // Ribbon. Ru , July 24, 2018