On July 10, 2025, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad turned 100 years old. It’s a staggering milestone, not just because of the sheer rarity of living that long, but because no other Malaysian has shaped — and haunted — the nation's destiny quite like him. He is not just Malaysia’s longest-living former prime minister; he is its most iconic, most divisive, and most consequential figure. His life’s journey runs parallel to that of the country — from colonialism to independence, from hope to disillusionment, from progress to paralysis. Mahathir is more than a man of his time. He bent his time to his will, and the nation with it.
Born in 1925 in colonial Kedah, Mahathir came of age under British rule, endured the Japanese occupation, and witnessed the formation of a new nation. His roots in the Malay nationalist movement were strong, and that ideology remained his anchor throughout his life. He began as a doctor, entered politics in the 1960s, and by the time he became the country’s fourth prime minister in 1981, Malaysia was still fragile — recovering from the trauma of the 1969 racial riots and uncertain about its future. Mahathir set out to engineer a new Malaysia, and in many ways, he succeeded.
His first tenure from 1981 to 2003 transformed Malaysia. He pushed the nation through rapid industrialisation, introduced privatisation, and launched grand infrastructure projects — the North-South Highway, Putrajaya, KLIA, the Petronas Towers, and Proton. These were not just construction projects; they were symbols of modernity, ambition, and national pride. Under his rule, “Malaysia Boleh” became a national rallying cry. His supporters called him a visionary; his critics called him an autocrat. Both were right.
Because alongside economic progress came democratic decay. Mahathir consolidated power at the expense of institutions. He cracked down on dissent, jailed opposition figures, and crushed internal party democracy. Ops Lalang in 1987 saw the arrest of over a hundred civil society leaders and politicians. In 1988, he engineered the sacking of the Lord President, crippling the judiciary’s independence. The press was tamed, and UMNO became a top-down machine loyal to the man, not the mission. The 1998 sacking and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim — his own deputy — marked the clearest rupture between Mahathir’s reformist rhetoric and his authoritarian instincts. That episode didn’t just end a political alliance; it shattered a generation’s belief in the integrity of leadership.
When Mahathir stepped down in 2003, many thought his time was over. But Mahathir has always had a peculiar grip on this country — and its refusal to escape its past. In the 2010s, when the Najib administration collapsed under the weight of the 1MDB scandal, Mahathir did the unimaginable. He returned, this time as the leader of the opposition, aligning with old foes and promising national salvation. At 92, he became Prime Minister again in 2018 after toppling the very system he once built.
For a fleeting moment, it felt like redemption. The man who once wounded democracy would now repair it. He promised to pass the baton to Anwar Ibrahim, to right old wrongs, to guide the transition to a new Malaysia. But old habits die hard. His second tenure was plagued by inertia, mistrust, and infighting. Reform took a back seat to political manoeuvring. And in 2020, his resignation triggered the “Sheraton Move,” toppling the democratically elected government and plunging Malaysia into years of instability. Whether out of indecisiveness or ego, Mahathir failed to protect what the people had fought for. That will forever taint his final act.
Now that he is 100, it is time to reflect — honestly and unflinchingly. Mahathir gave us pride and vision. He was tireless, strategic, disciplined. He stood up to global powers when few dared. He dreamed big and delivered on many fronts. But he also broke our institutions. He ruled through fear and loyalty. He entrenched racial divisions under the guise of Malay empowerment. He turned Malaysia into a nation where obedience was rewarded and dissent was punished. The seeds of today's dysfunction were planted during his long reign.
Even now, Mahathir refuses to apologise for the more damaging parts of his rule. He defends the jailing of Anwar. He denies responsibility for weakening the judiciary or suppressing civil liberties. He once said, “I do not care what people say about me when I’m dead.” But he is not dead. He has lived to 100. And so, let us say it now: Thank you for your service. But also, enough.
As a Malaysian Indian, I see Mahathir through a lens of awe, anger, and sadness. Awe for his brilliance and stamina. Anger for the policies that marginalised minorities and entrenched ethnic hierarchies. Sadness for the opportunities missed — for all the chances he had to truly lead Malaysia into a new political era, but chose power over principle, calculation over compassion. Even in his twilight years, he could not let go. He formed new parties, burned old bridges, and undermined new leaders. He simply couldn’t imagine a Malaysia without himself at the centre of it.
Perhaps that is his greatest flaw: he never trusted the nation to move on without him.
Now, we must.
His political career is over. His parties are in tatters. His influence has waned. But his legacy lives on — in our highways and hospitals, yes, but also in our racial insecurities, our weak institutions, our culture of strongman politics. We are still living in the house Mahathir built. But maybe now, we can finally begin to renovate it.
If there is one gift Malaysians can give Mahathir on his 100th birthday, it is to move forward — not with vengeance or bitterness, but with resolve. We must stop looking backward. We must stop searching for saviours. We must outgrow the father-figure politics that defined Mahathir’s reign. The future of Malaysia lies not in the shadow of any one man, but in the shared hands of its people.
Happy birthday, Tun. You gave us your best — and your worst. We thank you. We remember. And now, we move on.
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