Mahathir bin Mohamad
H.E. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. During this period he opened up the country to foreign investments, reformed taxation, reduced trade barriers, oversaw the privatisations of numerous state-owned enterprises and created a world-class physical infrastructure. He also sought to bridge Malaysia’s ethnic divide by increasing general prosperity.
In 1991, he launched the New Development Policy, which emphasised industrial and commercial development and the elimination of poverty. Under Tun Dr. Mahathir’s leadership, Malaysia developed into one of the most prosperous and dynamic economies in Southeast Asia, with a burgeoning industrial sector, an expanding middle class and enhanced quality of life.
In 1995, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative was introduced to make Malaysia a global player in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.
Malaysia also played a more active role in the international arena, acting as the voice for developing nations in Asia and Africa. Always with one eye on the future, Tun Dr. Mahathir unveiled Vision 2020 in 1991, a blueprint for Malaysia’s journey towards becoming a developed economy and a mature democracy by the year 2020.
Despite his retirement, Dr Mahathir has been kept busy with numerous invitations and speaking engagements locally and abroad.
He is the Honorary President of Perdana Leadership Foundation (PLF), a think-tank set up to preserve, develop and disseminate the intellectual heritage of past leaders. Tun Dr Mahathir is also the Chairman of Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) and President of Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF). Both these organisations aim at promoting global peace and criminalising war.
In 2015, Tun Dr. Mahathir decided to come out of his political retirement and spearheaded a campaign to oust Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from office.
Following that, Tun Dr. Mahathir and several like-minded political leaders had formed Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in which he is the chairman.
Other political parties opposed to the Prime Minister had also rallied around him and elected Tun Dr Mahathir to be the chairman of Pakatan Harapan (Coalition of Hope) as well as naming him as the Prime Minister designate if they won the 14th general election.
On 9th May 2018, the result of the 14th Malaysian General Election declared the Pakatan Harapan as the winner. Tun Dr Mahathir wins sworn in as the 7th Prime Minister the following day.
Tun Dr. Mahathir is married to a doctor, Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and they have seven children and sixteen grandchildren.
