A Malaysian Abroad

When I was overseas during the time when Tun M was still the Prime Minister of Malaysia, it was not uncommon for foreigners to ask me of my opinion of this man (the other common question being the NEP) when they found out that I am a Malaysian. For those foreigners who were aware of international affairs, my conversations with them showed that most tend to view Tun M as anti-Western, dictatorial with a poor human rights record and at times, corrupted.

Therefore, I always have mixed feelings when conversations with foreigners steered towards the topic of Tun M. Happy that foreigners took the time to read about Malaysia while at the same time, should I say, uneasy that they tend to view the then Prime Minister and hence, the country in such a negative light.

For instance, most foreigners were aware of the Anwar Ibrahim episode and this was where I found myself defending the indefensible. Whatever Anwar had done, the fact remains that his reputation was dragged through the mud through the use of various government machineries and until today, people are still questioning the court proceedings. And because of the western media’s pro-Anwar and anti-Tun M stance, it was hardly surprising that foreigners did not have many positive things to say about Tun M. Throw in the corruption and the bias judiciary that were often reported in the foreign publications then and you would have a hard time convincing widely-read foreigners about Tun M’s positive side. After all, even Malaysians would tend to agree that corruption and erosion of the judiciary’s independence did happen under Tun M’s watch. These two issues certainly did not suddenly spring to life under Pak Lah’s regime and at most, we can only say that they have worsened in the last few years.

Nevertheless, I always tried to tell foreigners that we can only speculate about what really happened behind the scene regarding the Anwar incident and at the end of the day, it was a power struggle between two politicians and one miscalculated. And I also made it a point to remind foreigners to not only concentrate on Tun M’s bad points while forgetting about his positive contributions to the nation. This included charting our economic development through his vision and determination to pull Malaysia into a globalize and technologically driven world.

I am not pro or anti-Tun M and I think it is obvious that he had done both good and bad for the country for he is only human. But I do not bear any ill-will upon this man who shaped the nation during his 2 decades in power. I also like to believe that he did the best he could under the circumstances and probably with his hands tied behind his back given the maneuverings behind the scene in the complicated world of politics. Now that he is lying on a hospital bed, I can only find it in my heart to wish him well and may he have a speedy recovery.

Tun M, get well soon.

Labels: Tun M