Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia is the Great Statesman of Malaysia. Many may agree with me and many may disagree with me. Everyone is free to have his or her own opinion towards Tun Dr Mahathir. As a normal human being Tun Dr Mahathir certainly has good as well as bad qualities. When we look at his good qualities, we will love him and admire him and will certainly agree with me that he is a great statesman of Malaysia. Tun Dr Mahathir was born at the time when the British colonized this country. Allah has blessed him with intelligent and he manage to study medicines where Tun Mahathir attended a Malay vernacular school before continuing his education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Star. Mahathir then attended the King Edward VII Medical College (the predecessor of present-day National University of Singapore) in Singapore, where he edited a medical student magazine called The Cauldron; he also contributed to the The Straits Times newspaper pseudonymously under the nickname “Che Det”. Mahathir was also President of the Muslim Society in the college. Upon graduation in 1953, Mahathir joined the then Malayan government service as a medical officer. He married Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali—a fellow doctor and former classmate in college—on 5 August 1956, and left government service in 1957 to set up his own private practice in Alor Star. He certainly has great determination to succeed. The medical training that he has undergone certainly has contributed towards making him to be a person with strong personalities. Whatever he set his mind to achieve he work hard towards making his dream materialized. He is a person with a vision and he wants everyone to be like him. He set his mind and he set the mind of all Malaysians to make Malaysia an advance nation by the year 2020.

According to Tun Dr Mahathir, everyone should work hard with a vision in front of him or her and he wants Malaysians to work hard with a vision. He set the vision of making Malaysia and advance country by the year 2020. Prior to Tun Dr Mahathir Malaysian does not have any vision. Although Malaysia can progress even without a vision but the country will not be progressing at a faster rate and towards the desired goal. Tun Dr Mahathir knows that vision 2020 can only be achieved when all Malaysian have positive mental outlook. Malaysians especially the Malays are very negative in their mental outlook and so Tun Dr Mahathir has comes with the positive slogan of ‘Malaysia Boleh’, which means Malaysia is able and capable.

This is indeed the great achievement of Tun Dr Mahathir in his twenty-two years as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In my opinion an award is given to Tun Dr Mahathir in recognition for his achievement in changing, the mental altitude of the Malaysians. By the grace of Allah, we can say that Tun Dr Mahathir is able to change to a certain extent the negative mental attitude of the Malaysians to a positive mental attitude. The only comment that I want to make with the slogan is that the slogan is suitable only to non-Muslims but not suitable to Muslims. In my opinion the more suitable slogan for the Muslims is ‘With Allah Grace Malaysians are able and capable’ or in Bahasa Malaysia, ‘Allah izin Malaysia Boleh’. The Muslims in Malaysia will definitely be able to accept this slogan better than the one without the izin of Allah. When the Muslims accept the slogan, they will be happy to hear and to say the slogan repeatedly. When the Malaysians who predominantly are Muslims repeatedly hear and say the slogan, their negative mental outlook will become positive mental outlook. Tun Dr Mahathir has come with the slogan that change the negative mental outlook of the Malaysians to become positive mental outlook and this has becomes the basis towards making Malaysia an advance country by the year 2020.
Tun Dr Mahathir has set the vision that Malaysia is to become an advance country by the year 2020. An advance country to Tun Dr Mahathir is not only advance materially but also spiritually. He wants Malaysia to becomes advance in all fields and to become advance in their thinking and achievements. In order to achieve vision 2020 all Malaysians especially the Prime Ministers must cling to the vision, slogan set by Tun Dr Mahathir. Unfortunately the Prime Ministers Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi comes with the vision of Islam Hadari, and the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak comes with the slogan of Satu Malaysia. In my opinion, we should stick to the vision, slogan set by Tun Dr Mahathir. All of us should work hard to achieve the vision that is to make Malaysia an advance country in the year 2020.

During the times when Tun Dr Mahathir becomes the Prime Minister of Malaysia, there were so many infrastructure developments in Malaysia. We have the north and south highways built during his time, the twin towers, once the highest building in the world, the airport and many others built during his time as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Malaysians are sent abroad to study and acquire knowledge and it is during his time that Malaysia start sending students to Japan and Korea. Tun Dr Mahathir is in the opinion that we do not sent student only to acquire knowledge but also to acquire good working attitudes. Since the Japanese and Koreans have better working attitudes than the Americans and Europeans, the decision made by Tun Dr Mahathir to send our students to these countries to learn good working attitudes are commendable. Tun Dr Mahathir knows very well that having only knowledge without good working attitudes will not make Malaysia an advance country. In order to become an advance country Tun Dr Mahathir want the Malaysians to acquire knowledge as well as to acquire good working attitude.

Tun Dr Mahathir is a leader with a vision and clear mind and understanding to achieve the vision. I admire him for the love he has for his people, the great vision that he has for his country and his ability to work hard even at an old age to achieve his vision. He remains calm and steady whenever he is being criticized by his enemies. In love of him and in admiration of his qualities and his achievements as the Prime Minister of Malaysia for twenty-two years I have written lyrics of song by the title ‘Tun Dr Mahathir, Jasamu Di Kenang’

The lyric has been made into a song and sing by a singer with the nickname Man Ferrow.
Prof Dr Nasoha Saabin
February 2010
Integrative Holistic Wellness Centre