As Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad marked his 100th birthday on July 10, 2025, the occasion highlighted not just a personal milestone, but a reflection of a century’s worth of progress and turbulence that he has experienced firsthand.
Born in 1925, his early years unfolded in a world devoid of television, computers, or even penicillin. Television would only be invented two years after his birth, personal computers would take nearly five more decades to become a reality, and penicillin—arguably one of the most significant medical discoveries—was found three years after he was born.
His youth was shaped by the Second World War, a global conflict that spanned from 1939 to 1945, during which he was just a teenager. The post-war years saw the rise of Malaya’s struggle for independence and eventually, the formation of Malaysia in 1963—a moment he witnessed at age 38, already serving as a medical doctor.
Tun Mahathir has also seen the country through the reigns of 17 Yang di-Pertuan Agong, beginning with Tuanku Abdul Rahman in 1957. He’s older than all 20 of Malaysia’s public universities, including Universiti Malaya, established in 1961.
Notably, his first term as Prime Minister began before the World Wide Web was created. The internet, now a daily necessity, only came into being in 1989, well into his leadership. In 1999, he officiated the opening of the Petronas Twin Towers, then the tallest buildings in the world—an iconic symbol of Malaysia’s ambitions under his governance.
Dr Mahathir’s lifespan has also encompassed at least seven global pandemics, starting from the Asian Flu in 1957 to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019. These global health crises tested leadership and systems worldwide, including during his tenures in office.
Whether regarded as a statesman, reformer, or polarizing figure, one cannot deny that Dr Mahathir has been both a witness and a contributor to history. From colonial rule to nationhood, and from pre-digital days to artificial intelligence, his century-long journey mirrors the extraordinary transformation of Malaysia and the world.
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