Evergreen Mahathir

The world, ever-ready to buy into an underdog story, is abuzz over the win of Mahathir Mohamad, who at the age of 92 has become the world’s oldest elected leader. Mahathir’s win proves once again that in politics there are no permanent winners or losers but his legacy is now at stake. 

The tributes have been swift. Reuters described Mahathir, who led the coalition as Malaysia’s prime minister for 22 years, starting in 1981, as “one of the country’s most eminent leaders”. He was seen as “pugnacious, uncompromising and intolerant of dissent,” but turned Malaysia from a sleepy backwater into one of the world’s modern industrialised nations.

He was never far from the headlines in retirement, and two years ago he came back to active politics, this time in the ranks of the opposition, vowing to oust his protégé Najib Razak from the prime minister’s chair over a financial scandal at the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Even with the publicity that his criticism of Najib provided at the start of the election campaign, Mahathir’s odds did not look good. He was up against a party that had remained in power for 61 years, led by a Prime Minister who had been in power for a decade. But voters proved that they were ready for change and moved away from voting on religious lines to focusing more on the economy. A shift that was also reflected in population numbers favouring greater urban voters. 

One of Mahathir’s key pledges was removal of a 6% Goods and Services tax that had earned the ire of people as it pushed up cost of living and its ad hoc removal has raised worries of increasing Malaysia’s debt. He has also, interestingly, said he would move away from a transparently priced fuel policy, which could be challenging given a possible increase in global fuel prices. Even though Malaysia has enjoyed good growth of about 5%-6% in the last few years investors are also worried and the Malaysian currency is expected to come under pressure as global markets await Mahathir’s first policy hints as Prime Minister. 

Mahathir, with his typical “on the nose” statements, was quoted as saying he would take a tougher stance on deals with China just hours after his Prime Ministerial post was secured and is likely to get much global attention as trade tensions between the US and China rise. Yet the Mahathir magnetism is one that is shared around the world, including Sri Lanka, where the public remains fascinated (possibly horrified) but still fascinated by strongman leaders. 

The attraction for such leaders over traditional politicians, whether they be Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was also sworn into his fourth term recently or Philippine President Duterte or US President Donald Trump is the public belief that they will “get things done”. In this belief the masses sometimes embrace strongman politicians by sacrificing other civil liberties because the pragmatic voter prefers economic growth above all else and when faced with a tough choice is not shy to make hard decisions. 

The victory of Mahathir is due to the incapacity of the previous government to stem corruption and its failed credibility as a government that stood for the people’s interest. In this there are many lessons for Sri Lankan politicians to learn.