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

and confirmed three years of rumours of trouble inside what was dubbed the 2-M administration. Dr. Mahathir had never liked the label, bestowed by the local press, grumbling that it should have been understood to mean Mahathir Mohamad rather than Mahathir-Musa. Sure enough, when the breach came, at the heart of the friction was Dr. Mahathir's conviction that Musa saw himself as nearly equal and wanted his job prematurely.

Admittedly, the two had sharply contrasting political styles. While Dr. Mahathir was assertive and brooked little criticism, Musa tended to be more personable and moderate. And they differed sometimes over policies, with Musa decidedly unenthusiastic about some of Dr. Mahathir's plans for heavy industry. But it was Dr. Mahathir's belief that Musa was disloyal and trying to topple him from the premier's perch that caused the breach. "Your accusations toward me are a terrible blow to my dignity and credibility," Musa wrote in a seven-page resignation letter that was reported by the foreign press but not by domestic news outlets.

For a replacement deputy premier, Dr. Mahathir turned to Ghafar Baba, the wealthy businessman who had quit Hussein Onn's Cabinet ten years earlier in protest at Dr. Mahathir's selection for the same post. He was a sound bet for Dr. Mahathir, who had his eye on UMNO's next triennial election. Experienced in government, Ghafar had been a vice president since 1962, proving his consistent party appeal. At 61 and dependent on the government for business, he was unlikely to risk it all for a shot at the prime minister's office. Even at this stage, 60-year-old Dr. Mahathir's choice to succeed him — eventually — was Anwar Ibrahim, but he was not about to let Anwar, 38, get too near too soon.

As the Malaysian economy began to contract and patronage available to keep followers on board dwindled, even deeper factional alignments coalesced around Musa and Tengku Razaleigh. Sharing a common desire to curb Dr. Mahathir's growing strength, they joined forces to oust him. As the 1987 UMNO General Assembly approached, it was decided that Tengku Razaleigh would oppose Dr. Mahathir while Musa would defend his deputy president's position against Ghafar. The clash between the two sides, dubbed Team A and Team B by the Malaysian press, compelled almost all aspirants for party posts to declare their allegiance openly.

Dr. Mahathir used a general election in August 1986, which he called a year before his five-year term expired, to narrow subtly the options open to Tengku Razaleigh and Musa. While the election was little more than a sideshow, Dr. Mahathir risked weakening his hold on the UMNO presidency if the National Front polled poorly. At the same time, he left his UMNO rivals no choice but to close ranks and campaign against the opposition on some of the same issues they sought to use against him in the intra-party feud. Despite a sagging economy, disunity in the Malaysian Chinese Association as well as UMNO, and scandals over state-owned Bank Bumiputra and Malaysia's attempts to rig the international tin price, the government won easily. The National Front took 148 seats in an expanded 177-seat Parliament, and retained control of all states. And while the Malaysian Chinese Association paid a heavy price for its internal bickering, UMNO performed exceptionally well. Completing a minor cabinet reorganization he began three months earlier when naming Ghafar deputy premier, Dr. Mahathir moved his people into more strategic positions and demoted some of Musa's allies.

With the battle lines drawn publicly in early 1987, the contest for UMNO represented a radical departure in Malay politics, which traditionally eschewed confrontation and made a virtue of unity, consensus and loyalty to leaders. Team A enjoyed many of the benefits of incumbency that the National Front took for granted in a general election. The press gave members more favourable coverage, the police cooperated in issuing permits for meetings, and the tax authorities harassed some Team B supporters. Team A was able to draw on UMNO assets and generate additional funds by allocating government contracts.

Dr. Mahathir lined up pledges of support from leaders of the other National Front component parties and from state chief ministers. But five cabinet ministers and four deputy ministers defected. Team B also received both a moral and a morale boost from the support of the country's two surviving former prime ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Hussein Onn. Hussein told close friends he had made a colossal mistake in selecting Dr. Mahathir as his deputy. "The fellow was behaving himself at the time," Hussein confided to one intimate. "I didn't know he was going to turn out like this."[41] As for the normally genial Tunku, he volunteered his distaste for Dr. Mahathir, repeatedly calling him "scum" in private conversations.[42]

Team B members made much of Dr. Mahathir's pursuit of showcase projects in heavy industry and public works, claiming they were poorly conceived and would be a long-term drain on the state. They also alleged mismanagement, corruption and cronyism, pointing to huge losses at Bank Bumiputra and in the prime minister's secret intervention in the world tin market. They further claimed a few of his friends were benefiting disproportionately from state munificence, identifying Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin as the principal offender in mixing private business with public office.

Characteristically, Dr. Mahathir sought to cultivate among UMNO delegates the fear that a vote against Team A would usher in a period of uncertainty in which the most unlikely or outrageous turn of events — in brief, instability — was possible. He said that if Ghafar lost to Musa for the deputy presidency, Ghafar would stay as his deputy premier. He also said that technically he could remain prime minister if he lost the presidency, and that only a vote of no-confidence in Parliament would remove him. Malaysia's Constitution was silent on both points. Since Dr. Mahathir was unpredictable and was acquiring a reputation for making his own rules, nobody could be sure how he would react if the vote went against him. His own supporters were apprehensive. As