Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, Barry Wain [best mystery novels of all time .txt] 📗

on a build-operate-transfer basis: "Dr. Mahathir built it, and now he is handing it over to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to operate, and eventually transfer to his own successor."[10] The belief that Abdullah would do little more than push buttons in the Mahathir machine was almost inevitable, considering that he had rarely expressed views that set him apart from Dr. Mahathir, and he no doubt had been chosen in part to protect his former boss's reputation and interests.

Clearly, Prime Minister Abdullah lacked legitimacy. He needed to step out and allow himself to be judged not only by his political party but also by the people of Malaysia, to gain the moral authority to match his political rank. Constitutionally, a general election had to be held by November 2004, while UMNO would hold its annual meeting, to include the triennial election of office bearers, in the second half of 2004. Abdullah set his sights on those two events, one tightly linked to the other, determined to acquire the sort of mandate that permitted nobody to doubt that he was governing in his own right, and as more than an interim or accidental premier.

There was no point in Abdullah trying to fill Dr. Mahathir's outsized shoes with bigger and better dreams for Malaysia. Nor did it make sense, at the other extreme, to present himself as a pale imitation of the larger-than-life figure he replaced. Abdullah settled for a measured approach that fit his personality and sought to reassess, renovate and, where necessary, reform Dr. Mahathir's Malaysia. While talking continuity, Abdullah's administration embarked on a process predicted by political scientist Khoo Boo Teik and characterized by him as de-Mahathirization — "suitably timed, carefully calibrated and delicately performed measures to distinguish itself from the old regime".[11]

While the measures were delicate enough at first, before long they took on a life of their own. And, given the sensitive nature of some, no time would have been suitable to introduce them if it meant avoiding embarrassment and bruised egos.

Abdullah began to stake out his own space by declaring war on corruption and inefficiency in government departments. It was a logical place to start, and not just because the cheer-leading media were promoting him as Mr. Nice and Mr. Clean. The Malaysia he inherited was awash with irregular payments, from petty bribery in the bureaucracy to outrageous commissions for defence contracts and multi-million dollar abuses in affirmative action policies. At the apex of this mountain of black cash was UMNO, a "one-stop shop for handouts and favours", as a critic put it.[12]

Shrewdly borrowing from former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's Reformasi campaign, Abdullah promised greater transparency and accountability and less red tape at the head of a "clean, incorruptible" administration that was "beyond suspicion". He pledged open tendering for government contracts, which would mean an end to one of the most notorious forms of cronyism. Announcing a national integrity campaign, he allocated RM17 million to establish a regional anti-corruption academy and pledged Malaysia would sign the United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention.

The enthusiastic reception for Abdullah's rhetoric confirmed the public's deep disquiet over Dr. Mahathir's failure to check the spread of corruption in its myriad and multiplying forms. Although he was never suspected of plundering the economy for personal gain along the lines of President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, Dr. Mahathir could not escape responsibility for an entrenched culture of greed and graft. As a strong leader, he had set the tone as well as the standard of behaviour in his regime. For, as he once observed, "If a society does not want corruption, it should not create a climate so conducive to corruption."[13]

Despite being aware of corruption's corrosive nature, Dr. Mahathir had given higher priority to realizing his vision than ensuring honesty and integrity in the people who were supposed to deliver it. Long before he climbed the political ladder, Dr. Mahathir wrote a lengthy essay in which he described corruption as a "disease" and a "crime" that could weaken a country and allow it to be conquered. He blamed corruption, in the form of regular payments to local chiefs, for the fall of the Malay states into British hands in the nineteenth century. It was not sufficient to condemn corruption, he said; society should actively "cleanse itself of corruption".[14]

But once in the political fray, Dr. Mahathir compromised. As deputy prime minister, he had tried to persuade Prime Minister Hussein Onn not to prosecute for corruption Harun Idris, a former chief minister of Selangor, who helped Dr. Mahathir return to UMNO. Hussein, with a reputation for rectitude, sent Dr. Mahathir packing — and Harun to trial and jail.[15] As prime minister, Dr. Mahathir had promised to instill the fear of God into the hearts of civil servants on the take,[16] but again his actions belied his threat. He held nobody accountable for the half dozen financial scandals that cost Malaysian taxpayers tens of billions of ringgit during his time in office. Even friends noted his backsliding. Zainuddin Maidin, an associate from Kedah who was later appointed a deputy minister, said Dr. Mahathir had shown "extra anxiety not to lay himself open to accusations of abuse of power" by requesting guests not to give gifts at his second daughter's wedding in 1982. But ten years later, said Zainuddin, Dr. Mahathir had exposed himself to criticism over his children's participation in business, with some observers seeing "similarities" between him and Indonesia's President Suharto.[17]

Dr. Mahathir's stock response was that he lacked evidence to prosecute. "If you show us the proof, we will surely take action," he said a few years after taking office,[18] a line he used up to and beyond retirement. While it was undoubtedly difficult to prove corruption, Dr. Mahathir rarely indicated that exposing and punishing the corrupt was a serious objective. Indeed, he frequently sent signals to the contrary, indicating that meeting ambitious growth targets and raising the status of bumiputras was paramount. "I don't want the Malays to ask too many questions about the wealth of their