Mahathir mohamad to malaysia’s rescue

Mahathir mohamad to malaysia’s rescue

The surprise victory of the Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, led by the 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resulting in the defeat of Najib Razak’s United Malays National Organisation-led Barisan Nasional that has been in power for more than six decades, marks an important moment for Malaysia. It shows evolution of Malaysian democracy to make it impossible for a powerful incumbent to defend corruption and misgovernance through gerrymandering of constituencies and none-too-covert appeals to religious sentiment. Malaysia’s ability to throw out an unpopular leader peacefully and democratically is bound to have a positive effect on other countries of Southeast Asia, not to speak of rekindling hope in elderly politicians deemed to be beyond the pale, closer to home.

The former prime minister came out of political retirement to take on his one-time protégé Najib Razak, who has been at the centre of a major corruption scandal over misappropriation of state funds Mahathir tapped into popular discontent pledging to repeal the unpopular goods and services tax and to dismantle the kleptocracy. As Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister between 1981 and 2003, Mahathir is credited with the country’s economic rise. But to expect Mahathir to fashion a free, competitive Malaysian economy and a harmonious, multiracial society is a leap of faith. He presided over a paternalistic regime of quotas and privileges for ethnic Malays, not quite what a modern economy needs.

Hopes for creating a polity that a modern economy calls for rests on Anwar Ibrahim, one-time protégé, then foe, and then again ally of Mahathir. Anwar, who is in prison serving a second sentence for sodomy, is expected to serve as Mahathir’s prime minister, after a royal pardon.