Mahathir Mohamad

Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and 2018 to 2020

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Born 1925 · age 101

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Wikipedia
144 languages
Cross-language footprint
Age
101
Born 1925
Known for
Man on the Run
2023

Summary

Updated 2026-09-07

Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister — 24 years across two separate terms, four decades apart. At 100, he remains the country's most polarising elder statesman: credited with dragging an economy into the modern era, accused of crushing dissent to do it.

Biography

About

Born in Alor Setar in 1925, Mahathir trained as a physician before entering parliament in 1964, lost his seat in 1969, clashed with the prime minister, and was expelled from UMNO. He wrote The Malay Dilemma in 1970, returned to parliament, climbed through education and trade ministries, and became prime minister in 1981. Over 22 years he oversaw privatisation, built the North–South Expressway and Kuala Lumpur City Centre, steered Malaysia through the 1997 Asian financial crisis with capital controls that defied the IMF, and won five straight elections. His government detained activists under O…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir Mohamad

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ASEAN firmly believes in regional cooperation as a means to achieve greater prosperity and stability for our region.

Mahathir Mohamad

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We have the potential to develop a wide variety of attractions within our region and these can indeed be promoted among our own people as well as among international visitors.

Mahathir Mohamad

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Let us put our heads together to evolve ways and means to develop the tourist industry in the ASEAN region.

Mahathir Mohamad

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The dadah problem in a sinister way is very democratic in that it does not discriminate against religion, racial descent, or socio-economic background of a person.

Mahathir Mohamad

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