THE GREAT LEADERSHIP OF TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMMAD.

The autobiography Of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad said he had Indian ancestry (from his father), with its origins tracing back to Kerala in India, while his mother was a Kedah-born Malay. Mahathir, however, considers himself to be a "full Malay", in line with Article 160 of the Constitution. Under Article 153 of the Constitution, Malays are granted particular rights not available to other citizens.

Mahathir first attended a Malay vernacular school before continuing his education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Star. Mahathir then attended the King Edward VII Medical College in Singapore, where he edited a medical student magazine called The Cauldron; he also contributed to the Straits Times newspaper anonymously under the nickname "Che Det". Mahathir was also President of the Muslim Society in the college ^[1]In 1953, Mahathir entered the then Malayan government service as a medical officer upon graduation. He married Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali — a former classmate in college — on August 5, 1956, and left the government service in 1957 to set up his own practice in Alor Star.
.

While in the political wilderness, Mahathir wrote his book, "The Malay Dilemma" ^[3], in which he sought to explain the causes of the May 13, 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur and the reasons for the Malays' lack of economic progress within their own country. He then proposed a politico-economic solution in the form of "constructive protection", worked out after careful consideration of the effects of heredity and environmental factors on the Malay race. The book, published in 1970, was promptly banned by the Tunku Abdul Rahman government.^[3] However, some of the proposals in this book had been used by Tun Abdul Razak, the second Prime Minister, in his "New Economic Policy" that was principally geared towards affirmative action economic programs to address the nation's economic disparity between the Malays and the non-Malays. The ban on his book was eventually lifted after Mahathir became Prime Minister in 1981.^[.Tun Hussein Onn appointed Mahathir as Deputy Prime Minister on 15 September 1978, and in a cabinet reshuffle, appointed him concurrently as the Minister of Trade and Industry..Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad Mahathir became the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 10 July, 1981 when Tun Hussein Onn stepped down due to health reasons. He resigned as Prime Minister on October 31, 2003 after 22 years in office, making him one of Asia's longest-serving political leaders. Upon his retirement on 31 Oct 2003, Mahathir was awarded a "Tun"-ship, Malaysia's highest honour...
.
'' The Great Leadership He is My Idola Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad...''
- Azwan Syed Abdullah