Mahathir Mohamed is Malaysia's savior, having raised the country from the ashes to its heights. He served twice as 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981-2003 and 2018-2020 respectively. The peak of Malaysia’s development was reached during his first term in office. During his time, there is significant industrialization, privatization, modernization, and economic growth. During his time, some well-known
mega projects including
1)Petronas Towers
First, Petronas Towers
The 88-story Petronas Towers are the tallest buildings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They are the tallest twin towers in the world, standing at 451.9 meters (1,483 ft). The buildings have a double-decker skybridge, the tallest 2-story bridge in the world, connecting the two towers on the 41st and 42nd levels.
2) Proton
Established in 1985, Proton is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer. Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional is referred to as “Proton” in Malay (National Automobile Company). The United States was their biggest export destination. Proton Saga, Proton x50, and Proton x70 were some well-known models.
3) Pinang bridge
The Penang Bridge E36 is a 13.5-kilometre bridge. The bridge was the first and, until 2014, the only road connection between the peninsula and the island. This is the second-longest bridge in Malaysia and the fifth-longest in Southeast Asia by total length.
4) The International Airport of Kuala Lumpur
It is one of the biggest airports in the world and Southeast Asia, serving as the primary international airport for Malaysia. The biggest and busiest airport in Malaysia, KLIA, opened its doors in 1998. By total passenger volume, it is the 23rd busiest airport in the world
5)Sepang International Circuit,
It is a track for motorsports that was inaugurated in 1999 in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. Between 1999 and 2017, it served as the venue for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix. It also hosts the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race, and other significant motorsport competitions. It is approximately 5.543 kilometers (3.445 miles) long and had 15 turns.
6) Multimedia Super Corridor
It is a Special Economic Zone and high-tech business district in central-southern Selangor, Malaysia. It is also known as the MSC in Malaysia. On February 12, 1996, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gave the MSC programme its formal debut.
7) Putra Jaya
Putrajaya is a planned city that was built in 1995 at an estimated cost of US$8 .1 billion and serves as the administrative and judicial capital of Malaysia.Putrajaya has the name of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the country’s first prime minister. It was one of Southeast Asia’s and Malaysia’s largest projects.
Foreign policy
1)Israel
In a speech in 1983, Mahathir asserted that Jews are in charge of the global media. Again in 1997, he made several statements attributing the economic collapse of Muslim nations to Jews, a Jewish “agenda,” and “an international Jewish conspiracy.” Getting “others to fight and die for them” and “controlling the globe by proxy,” he charged, were Jewish practices.
2)Singapore
Albeit Mahathir studied in Singapore, relations with Singapore were tense throughout Mahathir’s presidency. Many contentious issues were brought up during his reign. There were other issues, including those involving the Pedra Branca island and the Malaysia-Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990 disagreements over water rates.
3) Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mahathir has been described as that country’s most important ally. He spoke about Bosnia’s need for arms during the Bosnian War in 1993. In the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Mahathir also inaugurated the friendship bridge between Malaysia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also presided over a private gathering of influential investors in 2009 at the Malaysia Global Business Forum – Bosnia, which also included the presence of the president at the time, Haris Silajdi.
4)Australia
When Paul Keating called Mahathir “recalcitr
ant” for skipping the APEC summit, relations between Mahathir and Australia’s leaders hit a low point. The Australian government asserted that Keating’s remark was a language error and that what he had in mind was “intransigent,” while the Malaysian government threatened trade sanctions in response.
6) the USA
Occasionally, especially under the administration of George W. Bush, Mahathir publicly criticized American foreign policy.
During Mahathir’s administration, the United States was both Malaysia’s largest investor abroad and its largest trade partner.
7) the UK
Early during his tenure, a small disagreement with the United Kingdom over university tuition fees sparked a boycott of all British goods led by Mahathir, in what became known as the "Buy British Last. It also led to a search for development models in Asia, most notably Japan. This was the beginning of his famous "Look East Policy".Although the dispute was later resolved by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Mahathir continued to emphasize Asian development models over contemporary Western ones. He particularly criticized what he believed were the double standards of Western nations.
Conclusion
For Malaysia, Mahatir Muhammad is a Messiah. He imprisoned his political opponents, manipulated the different ethnicities, and silenced the media. Malaysia’s GDP per capita has increased over ten times in two decades. Mahathir Mohamad did very well during the financial crisis that shook entire Southeast Asia in 1997. Mahathir's government cut corporate taxes and liberalized financial regulations to attract foreign investment. In 1991, he announced Vision 2020, under which Malaysia would aim to become a fully developed country within 30 years. Mahathir also fought against Malaysia’s royalty. In a nutshell, Mahatir Muhammad made Malaysia one of the strongest nations in Asia.