Prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. Born on July 10th 1925, making him 100 years old in 2025. A doctor from humble origins.
He oversaw Malaysia's transformation from a commodity exporter (rubber, tin, petroleum, timber, palm oil) into a diversified manufacturing hub with electronics as its most important export. He welcomed foreign investment and oversaw rapid integration into global supply chains, as well as the building of impressive infrastructure—and some expensive flops, such as a national carmaker. GDP per person rose from about $1,900 in 1980 to about $12,500 in 2024.
During the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 he rejected IMF help, imposed capital controls and pegged the currency to the dollar. When Malaysia quickly recovered, he claimed vindication.
He published "The Malay Dilemma" in 1970, castigating Malays for accepting a second-class status and arguing that farming and fishing were lazy options that hampered the growth of the Malay community. He supported affirmative-action policies favouring Malays over the Chinese and Indian minorities, and throughout his career berated those minorities for perceived disloyalty to Malaysia.
In the 1980s he confronted the judiciary, the traditional hereditary Malay rulers of nine states and his political opponents, using an Internal Security Act bequeathed by the British to arrest more than 100 politicians, academics, activists and others in 1987. The trend was towards a stronger executive branch with weaker accountability.
His 2018 comeback, at the head of a breakaway party in coalition with his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, delivered a first-ever electoral defeat for UMNO, the party he had built as a vehicle for Malay political dominance. He lost power in 2020 and saw Anwar become prime minister in 2022.
He remains an active dabbler in politics and an obstacle to the relaxed multicultural society Malaysia might become.
Many are called, few are chosen. Fewer still get to do the choosing.