Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times by Barry Wain (fantasy novels to read .TXT) 📕

harmony. It took the form of an Alliance linking UMNO with political parties representing the Chinese and Indians. The three parties negotiated what came into focus later as an unwritten "social contract", which most Malays hoped would lead to economic improvement while most non-Malays hoped to gain political influence. Although Malay was the national language and Islam "the" religion, qualified non-Malay residents of Malaya would share citizenship with Malays, and they would enjoy freedom of worship. The terms of the agreement remained contentious, making the future nation-state subject to continuing racial pressures and challenges.[66] Just as some Malays always would be ready to press even harder for ketuanan Melayu, Malay supremacy, there would be non-Malays prepared to resist. Dr. Mahathir would be in the thick of the recurring wrangling.

Although Dr. Mahathir was well placed to plunge into national politics, trouble loomed in the form of his nagging disagreements with Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was acclaimed as Bapa Merdeka, Father of Independence. At one level, it might be considered an inherited clash: Master Mohamad Iskandar had found it necessary to get outside help to keep a young Tunku Abdul Rahman in check in his school. The first to admit in adulthood that he was naughty and in need of discipline as a child, the Tunku used to arrive every day on the shoulders of an aged palace attendant, resplendent in a gold-studded cap as part of his royal regalia. With the approval of the Tunku's mother, Mohamad Iskandar had put a stop to the fancy dress, in the interests of equality among the students, and he devised a quick solution to a teacher's complaint that the Tunku was disrupting his class. He sat him near the teacher's table.[67]

Differences between Dr. Mahathir and Tunku Abdul Rahman, however, were much deeper. The irritation and periodic ill-feeling, which would be a factor in Malaysian politics for 40 years, was mutual. The two came from vastly different backgrounds and generations, and saw the world through different eyes. It was hard to imagine two more opposite personalities, who happened to be born in the same state and engaged in the same endeavour at such a critical juncture in the country's history.

One of 45 children of the Sultan of Kedah, Tunku Abdul Rahman was an Anglophile, who readily admitted he had misspent his youth in England on slow horses and fast women. He earned his arts degree with the lowest possible marks for a pass and was 45 by the time be passed his final bar exam, having worked in the Kedah civil service. A confirmed bon vivant who continued to drink and gamble moderately, he was superstitious, charming and put a high store on being happy, though he had natural political instincts and developed a steely resolve. "The Tunku", or simply "Tunku", as he was affectionately known even though numerous others of royal birth bore the same title, became UMNO leader fortuitously. When the post opened up unexpectedly in 1951, Razak Hussein was asked to stand, but nominated his friend, the Tunku, because he considered himself too young.

Not only did Dr. Mahathir not smoke or gamble, he strongly disapproved of the lifestyles of senior civil servants and politicians who spent their leisure hours in bars and dance halls — and on the golf course, a game played by the first three prime ministers. He was incensed by feudal aspects of royalty and scathing about the hold that some traditions had on the Malays, exemplified by the proverb, "Let the child die, but let not the custom perish." He pointed out with dour logic that "if the child dies, then the custom dies along with it".[68]

As far as Tunku Abdul Rahman was concerned, Dr. Mahathir lacked respect for Malay custom known as adat and did not know his place. He was certain he recognized in Dr. Mahathir an inferiority complex occasioned by his part-Indian ancestry, because he himself had suffered from the same "disease" when looked down upon over his skin colour while studying in Cambridge. "To overcome this feeling of inferiority," said the Tunku, "I bought the most expensive, at that time, super sports car and I sped through town in it making quite a nuisance of myself. Just to be noticed."[69]

While Dr. Mahathir had his giant Pontiac, he wanted more than personal attention. He had a cause to sell as well. Although he and Tunku Abdul Rahman shared the opinion that the Malays were not very clever or demanding, they parted sharply over what should be done about it. The Tunku figured they would be content to control the machinery of state, heading government departments, the police and the army, and issuing licences and collecting taxes. He was quite open about leaving business to the Chinese because, he said, they were good at it and the Malays "have no idea how to make money". Dr. Mahathir wanted nothing less than to teach the Malays to compete and get their fair share of the nation's riches.

Dr. Mahathir and Tunku Abdul Rahman first clashed during the anti-Malayan Union campaign back in the 1940s. The Tunku was "very annoyed" when Mahathir, still a student, corrected grammatical mistakes in a letter drafted by the Tunku to be sent to the colonial secretary.[70] Dr. Mahathir emerged as an internal critic in 1954 after Tunku Abdul Rahman — named chief minister of a government that was granted home rule after leading the Alliance to victory in 51 of 52 contested seats in the country's first general election — negotiated with London for an end to the British presence. Dr. Mahathir objected to an agreement allowing British and other Commonwealth forces to remain in Malaya after independence in return for a commitment to the country's external defence. He sometimes found himself out of step with UMNO's leadership and sharing views with opposition parties. He also opposed the adoption of the folk tune Terang Bulan, repackaged as Negaraku, as the national anthem, on the grounds of its sentimentality. He lost that