ENTRY 4: Mahathir's achievement & contribution

Without us realizing, there are many of Dr. Mahathir's contribution to the country that he has already achieved.

For his efforts to promote the economic development of the country, Dr. Mahathir has been granted the soubriquet of Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernization) while his official residence, Sri Perdana, where he resided from 23 August 1983 to 18 October 1999, was turned into a museum (Galeria Sri Perdana).During his administration, Dr. Mahathir was considered to be one of Asia’s most influential leaders. He is also noted in the Western world as an outspoken critic of Western-style. Then, “Mahathirism” is a pejorative term used by Malaysians to describe the policies and methods used by Dr Mahathir to maintain his political power. Mahathirism has been critically defined as a “Machiavellian ploy to exploit race and religion for financial gain and power.” During this period, Dr. Mahathir embarked on various large scale national projects, such as:

i. The North-South Highway, which has cut transport times in half on the west coast of Malaysia;

ii. The Multimedia Super Corridor, a flagship project based on Silicon Valley designed to enable Malaysia’s foray into Information Technology (it includes Malaysia’s new administrative capital Putrajaya,

iii. Port of Tanjung Pelepas

iv. The glittering Kuala Lumpur Internatinal Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and an adjacent Formula One circuit;

v. The Bakun Dam, meant to supply all of the electricity needs of the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and which has enough capacity to enable exportation of power to Brunei. The project has since run into various difficulties and controversies, leading to at first, its cancellation and then its revival as a greatly scaled down project.

vi. Olympic-class stadium in Bukit Jalil; and;

vii. The Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, and the world’s tallest building from 1997 to 2003. (Even there’d been debate roses of which should be the tallest building, whether The Petronas Twin Towers or Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). That have become symbolic of modern Malaysia.

In 2003, President Vladimir Putin of Russia bestowed the “Orden Drusby” (Order of Friendship), the highest state award of Russia, on Dr. Mahathir for his effort in strengthening bilateral relations. Other than that, his book Selected Letters to World Leaders was voted the most popular book under the non-fiction category in the Popular-The Star Readers’ Choice Awards. Last but not least, Dr. Mahathir was conferred “Tokoh Takaful Award” at the Malaysian Takaful Association inaugural Dinner and Awards Nite 2009 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Takaful (Islamic based Insurance policy) industry.

The Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, and the world’s tallest building from 1997 to 2003.

The glittering Kuala Lumpur Internatinal Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and an adjacent Formula One circuit

The Multimedia Super Corridor, a flagship project based on Silicon Valley designed to enable Malaysia’s foray into Information Technology (it includes Malaysia’s new administrative capital Putrajaya