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

at his office at 8 o'clock sharp. His first task was to check the newspapers, spending 30 to 45 minutes on them, starting with the English-language New Straits Times, followed by the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia, before going on to the others. He had time only to scan the headlines, read articles of immediate interest and mark others to read later, in the car or at home. Dr. Mahathir usually went home to have lunch and dinner with his wife, leaving the office between 6 and 6:30 p.m. at the end of the day. If they did not have an evening function, he would read or write, rarely watching TV — "because I like to be doing things, not just sitting down" — before selecting his wardrobe for the next day, and retiring about 11 p.m. for six or seven hours sleep.

Dr. Mahathir did his best to inject his sense of purpose into his ministerial colleagues and the bureaucracy. In the office, as at home, he could be aggressive and demanding if there were delays in what he wanted done.[12] Civil servants were required to wear nametags for easy identification by the public in case of poor service, and they had to clock in and out for work. He also wore a nametag. It simply said "Mahathir". Everywhere Dr. Mahathir went he carried a notebook in which he recorded things that needed attention: from a meeting with a potential investor to dirty drains and poor street lighting. "Nothing was too small and nothing too big," said Daim Zainuddin, who twice served as finance minister.[13] Dr. Mahathir opened his weekly cabinet meeting by pulling out his notebook, reading his entries and calling for action by the relevant ministers. Sometimes he produced his own photos as evidence. He gave a similar pocket-sized notebook to each minister and encouraged them all to adopt his habit.

A technology buff, Dr. Mahathir realized the potential of information technology before his colleagues and told them it would revolutionize daily life and the way business was conducted. He ensured all ministers were given computers in the early 1980s, even though few knew how to use them.[14]

Fearful that he would run out of time to introduce his far-reaching reform agenda, Dr. Mahathir was always in a hurry. His greatest regret was that he "began late"; at 56, he was the oldest person to be sworn in as Malaysia's leader.[15] Just as he read books between customers as a teenage street vendor and between patients as a doctor, he shortened his signature as prime minister to a scrawled "M", in place of a flowing "Mahathir bin Mohamad", to save time.[16] He disdained golf, the game of Southeast Asian diplomacy, because it took too long to play. In 1996, at 71, after he had been premier for more than 15 years, Dr. Mahathir said, "I don't think I should waste time. I don't know how much longer I have."[17] In retirement, discussing his development record across two decades, he remarked, "I didn't have much time."[18]

One way Dr. Mahathir could have saved a lot of time was to let his staff draft his speeches, common practice everywhere. But he insisted on writing his own, leaving his press secretary, when he was deputy premier, with little to do except arrange media conferences and prepare short forewords for souvenir programmes.[19] While Dr. Mahathir could not possibly write all of his speeches as prime minister — he delivered thousands — his forceful, didactic style was recognizable in many of them.[20] Speeches written by others "do not reflect my thinking, or my way of putting the words into sentences", he said. Although he once could touch type, he chose to labour away on each speech in longhand. "I feel satisfied writing it myself," he said.[21]

Despite intense pressures, Dr. Mahathir had no trouble relaxing. He would nap most days for 15 minutes after lunch at home in a comfortable chair, in the car while being driven to an appointment, or on a flight, arriving refreshed.[22] Even as he aged, Dr. Mahathir showed little sign of flagging. For instance, in 2003 he conducted, alert and hands-on, the annual meeting of the International Advisory Panel of Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor. From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., he asked and answered thoughtful questions, received members in his house for dinner at 8 p.m. and personally saw them off at 11 p.m. "That is a clear fifteen hours," observed Narayana N.R. Murthy, an Indian businessman and panel member. "I am sure there are not many 78-year-old people who can exhibit that kind of mental and physical energy."[23]

One reason Dr. Mahathir could rest easy was that he never made mistakes, or at least none that he admitted. He rebuked Musa Hitam as deputy prime minister for listening to critics and conceding that some things done by the government were wrong. "The biggest raging debate I had with him was simply that he said admitting mistakes is showing weakness, whereas I argued the other way around," said Musa. "I said admitting your mistake is a courageous act."[24]

Another great asset was Dr. Mahathir's ability to meet a crisis calmly and not succumb to panic. On those occasions when he suffered inner turmoil, he was able to keep it hidden behind what his wife, Dr. Siti Hasmah, called a "poker face". For the most part, though, he shrugged and uttered a favourite comment, "The world will not come to an end", maintaining a serenity that sometimes infuriated her.[25]

One day in 1989, Dr. Mahathir informed his wife without fuss that he had persistent shoulder pains and wanted to be examined by a physician. He was unfazed when an electro-cardiogram indicated he had to be hospitalized immediately. Left in no doubt a week later that the next step was a coronary bypass, in measured fashion he called Malaysia's top cardiac surgeon and directed him to perform the operation.[26] Dr. Mahathir's decision to trust Malaysian doctors and equipment with his life, instead of seeking treatment abroad as the elite