Malaysian Politics Under Mahathir (Politics in Asia)

246 Pages·1999·1.01 MB·English

by  Diane K. Mauzy

Malaysian politics under
Mahathir

Economic success and authoritarian government have been the hallmarks of
Mahathir Mohamad’s administration. Since Mahathir became prime minister in
1981, the Malaysian economy has grown dramatically and Mahathir has remained
firmly in control of the political scene throughout.
Malaysian politics have been decisively shaped by Mahathir and this book
provides a balanced and detailed account of his character, ideas, and temperament.
The social and political scene in Malaysia is examined, as are the Prime Minister’s
successes such as the careful management of ethnic tensions between Malays and
Chinese, the program of modernization and industrialization, and his emergence
as a champion of Third World causes. Mahathir’s faults are also honestly
examined, including his preference for grandiose projects and his failure to check
corruption. The abrupt dismissal from office, arrest and trial of Anwar Ibrahim,
Mahathir’s deputy, in late 1998, and their implications, are assessed.
The recent economic crisis in Asia has had a major impact on certain Southeast
Asian states including Malaysia. Malaysian Politics under Mahathir considers these
recent developments and their implications for Malaysia’s, and Mahathir’s, future.
R.S.Milne is Emeritus Professor and has held professorships at the University of
British Columbia, Singapore University, London University and Victoria
University, New Zealand. Diane K.Mauzy is Professor of Political Science at the
University of British Columbia. Both have published widely on Malaysia and
Southeast Asia.
Politics in Asia series
Edited by Michael Leifer
London School of Economics
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Mohammed Ayoob
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David Brown Managing Political Change in Singapore
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The Politics of Nation Building and
Kevin Y.L.Tan and Lam Peng Er
Citizenship in Singapore
Michael Hill and Lian Kwen Fee Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy
Shanti Nair
Politics in Indonesia
Democracy, Islam and the Ideology of Political Change in Thailand
Tolerance Democracy and Participation
Douglas E.Ramage Kevin Hewison
Communitarian Ideology and Democracy The Politics of NGOs in South-East Asia
Participation and protest in the Philippines
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Beng-Huat Chua
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The Challenge of Democracy in Nepal
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Indonesia and China
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1945–1995 State, Capital and Military Power
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Malaysian Politics
under Mahathir

R.S.Milne and Diane K.Mauzy

London and New York
First published 1999 by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 1999 R.S.Milne and Diane K.Mauzy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-415-17142-3 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-17143-1 (pbk)
ISBN 0-203-00622-4 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-21214-2 (Glassbook Format)
To Portia and Alexa, whose quantum leaps have
helped us to extend the bounds of knowledge

Contents

Foreword ix
Acknowledgements xi
List of acronyms xii
Malaysian proper names and titles xv
Key dates xvi
Map 1 Southeast Asia xviii
Map 2 Malaysia xix
Introduction: leadership in Malaysia 1
1 Malaysia: how Mahathir came to power 8
2 Mahathir’s assertion of executive power 29
3 The economy and development 50
4 Containing ethnic discontent 80
5 Human rights 103
6 Foreign policy 122
7 The succession to Mahathir: Anwar Ibrahim 144
8 Mahathir as Prime Minister 159
Postscript 187
Notes 189
Further reading 210
Index 217

Foreword

Ever since he became Prime Minister of Malaysia in July 1981 at the age of 56,
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has exercised an extraordinary dominating influence
over his country’s public life. An economic modernizer without fear of registering
a scepticism of democracy and human rights, he has bent the politics of Malaysia
to his will and in the process has successfully subordinated the constitutional
monarchy, the judiciary and the predominant political party, the United Malays
National Organization (UMNO) which he has led continuously despite a major
challenge in 1987 which was only narrowly defeated. His sustained political
dominance was demonstrated in the way in which he removed his deputy, Anwar
Ibrahim, from national and party office in 1998. Indeed, in so doing, he effectively
rewrote the rules of Malaysian politics.
Dr. Mahathir is exceptional as a Malay leader in contrast to his three
predecessors as Prime Minister. He is not only authoritarian but also highly
combative and confrontational and adept at open invective. Such behaviour is
out of keeping with Malay cultural style and indeed with the notion of “Asian
values” which Dr. Mahathir has espoused. It may be that his medical training as
well as his personality has been a factor in shaping a political style that brooks no
opposition to his diagnoses and prescriptions. His sense of rectitude in telling
Malaysians that they should swallow the equivalent of so many pills a day in
their own interest conjures up the image of medical infallibility translated to
politics.
In locating Dr. Mahathir at the centre of their impressive study of Malaysia’s
politics, Professors Stephen Milne and Diane Mauzy have acknowledged a fact
of life which will not go away. They bring to this study considerable first-hand
experience of Malaysia’s politics and its personalities and the text is informed by
a deep understanding of its complexities. The role and political conduct of Dr.
Mahathir is treated in a sober and balanced manner with credit given where it is
due, while his early chequered political career is taken into full account. His
accomplishments in economic modernization and his tolerant management of
ethnic and religious matters as well as achievements in foreign policy are accorded
full acknowledgement. Matching sober treatment is provided of his idiosyncracies
and love of power. Indeed, it is pointed out that for him “power is a necessary
food”. In this context, the authors discuss political succession and his chequered