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By Mihar Dias April 2026
There is something almost comforting about hearing Mahathir Mohamad ask a philosophical question. It reminds Malaysians of a simpler time—when geopolitics could be reduced to a well-aimed rhetorical grenade and the moral high ground was always within arm’s reach, preferably from Putrajaya.
This time, the good Tun asks: who is really civilised? https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BNtVbTc1K/
His answer, unsurprisingly, points a firm finger at Donald Trump—a man whose diplomacy often resembles a property developer threatening eviction on a planetary scale.https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BNtVbTc1K/
Trump, we are told, has threatened the destruction of a civilisation three millennia old. The irony, Mahathir notes, is delicious: a 300-year-old “modern civilisation” presuming to erase one ten times its age.https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BNtVbTc1K/ It’s the geopolitical equivalent of a teenager threatening to burn down a museum because the exhibits don’t match his Instagram aesthetic.
And yet, before we all rush to carve this into stone tablets, perhaps we should ask: is civilisation really measured by age? If so, then termites inhabiting a centuries-old wooden house would qualify as UNESCO heritage.
History, inconveniently, is littered with ancient civilisations that were perfectly capable of barbarity. The Roman Empire lasted over a thousand years and still found time to perfect crucifixion as public entertainment. Longevity, it turns out, is not a reliable moral compass.
But Mahathir’s point is less about archaeology and more about attitude. There is something grotesque about threatening total destruction—whether it’s ancient ruins, modern cities, or inconvenient narratives. Civilisation, in its truest sense, ought to include restraint, respect, and perhaps the basic decency not to announce annihilation like a campaign promise.
Still, listening to this from Mahathir, one cannot help but appreciate the layered irony. This is, after all, a man who has spent decades shaping Malaysia in his own image—sometimes preserving, sometimes demolishing, always convinced of the righteousness of the blueprint. If civilisation is about preservation, then development projects everywhere might need to file an appeal.
Of course, Trump is an easy target. His rhetoric often sounds like it was drafted between commercial breaks, with all the nuance of a wrecking ball. But he is also a symptom of a broader trend: the modern habit of equating power with the right to erase. Whether it is culture, history, or inconvenient populations, the impulse remains disturbingly consistent.
So who is civilised?
Is it the one who threatens destruction? Clearly not.
Is it the one who condemns it? Perhaps—but only if he remembers that civilisation is not just about what we say, but what we have done, and what we are willing to tolerate when it suits us.
In truth, civilisation is less a badge and more a behaviour. It is revealed not in speeches or statements, but in moments of restraint—when power chooses not to act, when anger chooses not to destroy.
By that measure, the world today is a crowded room of people insisting they are civilised, while quietly reaching for matches.
And somewhere in that room, Tun is asking the question again—perhaps knowing, as all seasoned politicians do, that the most powerful rhetorical device is not the answer, but the discomfort it leaves behind.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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