For subscribers

Commentary

Dr M at 100: Still haunted by the Malay Dilemma

Sign up now: Get STs newsletters delivered to your inbox

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in an interview with The Straits Times in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on July 8.

ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Summary

• Dr Mahathir still advises and aims to unite Malays, feeling his suggestions are possible, despite past political defeats and limited success.
• He regrets resigning as premier in 2003 and believes his successors wasted 17 years, admitting flaws in choosing them, including current leader Anwar.
• He blames the Malay mentality for economic disparity, referencing his 1970 book and the limitations of the New Economic Policy.

AI generated

PUTRAJAYA - As he turns 100, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has acknowledged a flaw.

“Maybe I am not so good at communicating,” he told The Straits Times on July 8, just two days shy of becoming a centenarian.