MAHATHIR MOHAMAD: A VISIONARY & HIS VISION OF MALAYSIA'S K-ECONOMY.
TITLE : MAHATHIR MOHAMAD: A VISIONARY & HIS VISION OF
MALAYSIA'S K-ECONOMY.
MATERIAL TYPE : BOOK
AQUISITION NO. : 13882
Why is Dr Mahathir Mohamad a visionary? Simple, unlike many people,
he has the abilityto see the Big Picture. He can paint a picture but
he is not an artist; he can anticipate trends and the opportunities
embedded in such trends but he is not a clairvoyant. His thoughts have
no limits and he does not belive in the impossible. His is a "can do"
attitude where the unreachable is reachable. I will contend that, as a
visionary, he can see with his eyes closed. Unlike some people who
goes through the days of their lives with glorious dreams and never
having the guts to act on such dreams and make them happen, Dr
Mahathir is the opposite. He had the guts to stand up for what he
believed in and was kicked out of the party he loved for thinking the
unthinkable - a developed and prosperous Malaysia. He had the guts to
make a come-back and put into practice his vision. The result is what
we see today : a modern-day Malaysia.
Some who grudgingly accept the fact that Dr Mahathir is the father of
modern-day Malaysia would conclude that "he is lucky". I would
politely disagree. In the canons of success, there is no such thing as
luck. What these naysayers regard as luck is "when preparedness meets
opportunity". As I am counselled by an old adage, if one has not made
his canoe before the tide comes in, he would still be stranded on the
shore. Simply put, Malaysia's development under Dr Mahathir has
nothing to do withg luck. One would say that his vision is an
embodiment of his leadership. It is a truism that a competent leader
can be likened to a good captain that steers his hip through the
turbulent seas to reach its destination. The old story of the
malfunctioning steamship boiler system would suffice here. A boiler
repairman was hired to repair the boiler system of a malfunctioning
steamship. After being presented with the problems of the steamship by
its engineer, he asked a couple of questions and went down to the
boiler room. He looked at the maze of pipes, felt each pipe with the
care of a surgeon with his rough hands. He walked to his tool box,
pulled a small hammer and tapped lightly on one of the bright red
valves attached to one of the pipes. The boiler system immediately
started to hum perfectly. He sent a bill of $2000 to the owner
itemised as : for tapping with a small hammer, $1; for knowing where
to tap, $1999. The owner complained that the boiler repairman had only
been in the boiler room for five minutes and only tapped on the red
valve. Hence, how could he charge so much for just"knowing where to
tap"? Obviously, some would think that the boiler repairman was lucky.
It was not luck; it was because he knew "where to tap". Thus success
in whatever one does in life all depends on "knowing where to tap".
Similarly, modern-day Malaysia has come about because Dr Mahathir knew
where to tap.
Dr Mahathir is again tapping on another valve. His vision is to move
Malaysia into knowledge-based economy and to see the nation as a
developed society by 2020. One of the ways of doing that is through
the setting up of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a testbed for
cutting-edge technologies. The government has put the requisite
infrastructure and infostructure in place as well as the necessary
cyberlaws to help propel the country into the knowledge-based economy.
He believes that the MSC "represents a new paradigm in the creation of
value for the information age".
The compilation of Dr Mahathir's speeches in this book is a testimony
to such vision. Would he face criticism at home and abroad for such a
vision? Definitely. Would he make mistakes? Yes, he will but neither
would dampen his enthusiasm. Those who criticise him should listen to
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States : "It is
not the critic whounts; not the man who points out how the strong man
stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is
mared by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and
comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the
great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause"
Dr Mahathir's vision for Malaysia and Malaysians is a worthy cause. Is
that asking too much?
