Provoked By Mahathir

Dr Mahathir Mohamad's controversial work, "The Malay Dilemma" (1970), did not flinch from spelling out the economic backwardness of the Malays, and the need for the state to assist in their rehabilitation to a level playing field. The book, penned without resorting to journalists seconded (pro bono?) from national newspapers, was banned for presenting a bitter truth. He went on to write also "The Way Forward" and a "New Deal for Asia".

But it is the slim volume "The Malaysian Currency Crisis" that is a fascinating read of how he faced down the 1997 Asian crisis, and spurned IMF intervention to defend the Malaysian ringgit with his own initiative. Most of the other Asian tigers turned pussy cats and let Camdessus call the shots. He identified the ravenous currency traders, named George Soros who had shorted the British pound to profit US$1.1 billion, on the hunt for fresh meat. Licking his wounds after Mahathir's capital controls won the day, Soros had to admit his adversary did the right thing by not submitting to IMF doctrine. Mahathir took it upon himself to study the mechanics of offshore money transactions to enjoin in battle. Nor for him the stock response of some prime ministers, "my cabinet minister will be providing the details." And when his deputy failed him, he didn't just say, "what to do, done already." In other words, he's no wuss.

Love him or hate him, this guy had the gravitas to lead a nation. That's why you sit up when he denounced MM Lee for his remarks in the odious volume which should really be called, “Lee Kuan Yew: Half Truths To Keep Singapore Sinking”.

“I’m not surprised by his statement because to him religion is not important. For him, the end justifies the means, so if he wants racial integration in Singapore, he won’t let Islam stand in the way of his goals. That is Kuan Yew. He totally does not respect religion and the sensitivities of other races.”

Mahathir also blamed Lee for breaking a promise not to contest in east Malaysia in the 1964 elections, saying it was his actions that led to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. The fairy this side of the causeway blames everybody else, the most recent of which was that Goh Keng Swee "decided on his own that it would be better for Malaysia and Singapore to have a clean break."

And as for the tit-for-tat about Mahathir criticising his successor, guess who described Goh Chok Tong on national TV as "wooden" and that he might have to see a psychiatrist about it? Poor Goh, he recalled the awkwardness after the inexplicable speech, "How would the people come and greet me? It was very awkward. They looked at me...they didn't know whether to smile or to sympathise with me." So much for "Mahathir undermined his successors, I never did."