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By Mihar Dias May 2025
Every once in a while, you’ll see them. Those brave warriors of the comment section. Armed with keyboards and revisionist memory, they type with fury: “22 tahun apa Tun buat untuk Melayu?”
Well, dear Facebook historians and Twitter philosophers, allow me to refresh your conveniently selective memories. Because while you were busy deciding between nasi lemak or roti canai for breakfast, the man you love to hate was, oh I don’t know — reclaiming thousands of hectares of Malay reserve land from British control. Ever heard of Sime Darby? No? That’s fine — ignorance is bliss, after all.
And while you're critiquing from your IKEA sofa, sipping on overpriced coffee, Mahathir was quietly producing over 3,000 Malay doctors during his time. https://www.facebook.com/share/16G6WxxvsC/
Not TikTok doctors, mind you — actual medical professionals who can tell the difference between a kidney and a liver.
As for the narrative that Tun didn’t help the common folk — let’s talk about those.
Rumah Flat in KL. Built to house setinggan from all over, mostly Malays from kampungs who came chasing city dreams. More than 100,000 low-cost landed homes for Malays nationwide. https://www.facebook.com/share/16G6WxxvsC/
But sure, let’s pretend those sprouted like mushrooms after rain without leadership.
And for those who say Tun only helped cronies, allow me to introduce you to the concept of Malay millionaires and billionaires. Names like Rashid Hussain, Azman Hashim, Syed Mokhtar, Tajuddin Ramli, and the late Tan Sri Yahya. These weren’t born into it; they were built by policies that gave Malays a seat at tables previously reserved for the “towkays.”
Don’t forget ASB — the financial lifeboat for the everyday Malay. Or Khazanah Nasional, the sovereign wealth fund most countries would kill for. Or how about making it mandatory for listed companies to have at least 12.5% Malay equity? https://www.facebook.com/share/16G6WxxvsC/
But of course, in your narrative, Tun was only interested in building highways and attending Formula 1 races.
He also pumped lifeblood into institutions like Tabung Haji, PNB, MARA, and FELDA, not with empty slogans, but with actual funding. https://www.facebook.com/share/16G6WxxvsC/
The kind of tangible support that meant your cousin from Kampung Hulu could become an engineer, lawyer, or architect without having to sell his father’s kebun getah.
And while some now brandish placards and hashtags, asking “Apa Tun buat 22 tahun?”, they do so with smartphones made possible by policies that opened Malaysia’s economy, attracted foreign direct investment, and created the infrastructure and industries we now take for granted. https://www.facebook.com/share/16G6WxxvsC/
Was Tun perfect? Of course not. Only angels and Twitter trolls are. But to pretend he did nothing for the Malays is the intellectual equivalent of saying a durian has no smell.
So, the next time you feel the urge to tweet “22 tahun apa Tun buat?”, do yourself a favour — look around.
The roads you drive on, the flats you live in, the ASB dividends your parents collect, the job you have, and the very seat at the table you now occupy in this country — Tun Mahathir had something to do with that.
And that, my friends, is what he did for the Malays. And the rest of Malaysia.
You’re welcome.
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