Mahathir bin Mohamad: A Foreigner Who Visited Keio University

2018/02/02

Dr. M. This is the name given to Mr. Mahathir, who served as Prime Minister of Malaysia for over 22 years. He is still called that today with affection.

Mr. Mahathir was born on December 20, 1925, in Alor Setar, Kedah, in the northern Malay Peninsula, as the youngest of nine siblings. After graduating from King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore (now the University of Malaya Faculty of Medicine) in 1953, he began his career as a doctor. After being elected as a member of the House of Representatives from his home state of Kedah in 1964, he chose the path of contributing to the development of Malaysia as a politician. His leadership was recognized within the ruling party, and he served as Minister of Education in 1974, Deputy Prime Minister in 1976, and also held the post of Minister of Trade and Industry.

After being elected as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1981, he led Malaysia's stability and development with an outstanding vision and firm will until his retirement in 2003, although his forceful methods were sometimes criticized. Externally, as a leading figure in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a leader of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Mr. Mahathir's leadership and presence were prominent on the stages of regional and international politics. He is truly a politician who represents Asia in both name and reality.

Mr. Mahathir has visited the Keio University Mita Campus twice so far. The first time was in 1983, and the second time was in 2004.

1983 was the year Keio University celebrated its 125th anniversary. From November 7 to 11 of that year, an international symposium titled "Asia and Japan" was held as part of the commemorative projects. Mr. Mahathir was invited there as a keynote speaker. Addressing an audience that filled Classroom 518 of the West School Building (now the West School Building Hall), he spoke boldly about his "Look East" policy in a lecture titled "Malaysia, Whither Bound?" This policy was an ambitious one that aimed to use the labor ethics and economic, industrial, and trade policies of Japan—which had achieved high economic growth (sometimes metaphorically referred to as Japan Inc.)—as a model and apply what could be learned to the development of Malaysia. This policy reflected the seriousness of Mr. Mahathir, who is known as a Japanophile. To support the Look East policy, Japanese universities and companies, including Keio University, have accepted thousands of international students and trainees from Malaysia from 1982 to the present.

On June 2, 2004, Mr. Mahathir once again set foot on the hill of Mita. This was to participate in a ceremony to receive an honorary doctorate from Keio University and to give a commemorative lecture. There is a back story to this. Keio University had inquired about awarding an honorary doctorate at the time of its 125th anniversary, but the response from Mr. Mahathir's side was that he would be happy to accept it after his retirement, rather than during his term as Prime Minister. Keio University waited for the timing. He retired as Prime Minister in October 2003. Seizing that opportunity, the Faculty of Law inquired again about the honorary doctorate, and he readily agreed. The honorary doctorate conferral ceremony was then held in the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall) in a solemn atmosphere.

In 2004, we were able to witness Mr. Mahathir's political philosophy and political stance once again. After the honorary doctorate conferral ceremony, the venue moved to the same West School Building Hall as 21 years prior, and a commemorative lecture was held. Before an audience of over 800 people, he spoke passionately about the future of East Asia in the 21st century under the theme of "East Asian Community and Japan's Role." There, one could catch a glimpse of his pride that East Asia, including Southeast Asia, is both the driver of the world economy and a magnetic field for international politics in the 21st century. As the leader of Malaysia, the core of Southeast Asia, he called for building an East Asian community in partnership with Japan.

In fact, in 1990, just before the end of the international Cold War, Mr. Mahathir had proposed the East Asia Economic Caucus as a forum for the six ASEAN countries (at the time) and Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to discuss common economic issues. However, due to opposition from the United States, which was excluded from this concept, and a lack of support from Japan, it was not realized. History is ironic. Ten years later, in 2000, ASEAN Plus Three, consisting of the ten ASEAN countries plus Japan, China, and South Korea, was realized. The East Asian community had truly begun to stir.

This effort regarding the East Asian community was symbolic of Mr. Mahathir as a politician with foresight. In addition to this, he had set up two domestic initiatives since the 1990s. One was a long-term development vision project called "Vision 2020," launched in 1991. Its content was to make Malaysia join the ranks of developed nations by 2020, 30 years later. Initially, the goal was to increase the gross domestic product to eight times its 1990 level. Although it did not proceed as planned due to the 1997 Asian currency and financial crisis, as of 2017, the gross domestic product has achieved growth of more than four times.

The other was the Multimedia Super Corridor concept announced in 1996 to accelerate progress toward "Vision 2020." Through this, the new administrative capital was moved to Putrajaya, and the area between it and the capital, Kuala Lumpur, was developed as a region to anticipate the information and communications society of the 21st century. Competing with developed nations, Malaysia has worked on experimenting with and implementing applications aimed at establishing high-speed communication infrastructure and cyber laws, and realizing electronic government and multi-purpose cards.

Mr. Mahathir boldly faced the harsh international situation faced not only by Malaysia and Southeast Asia but also by the Islamic world. In the mid-1990s, there was an event where Asian countries and Western countries confronted each other. The debate, termed the "Asian Values Debate," involved the governments and societies of each country. Representing Asia, he discussed Asian values that emphasize harmony and confronted Western individualism. His arguments even found sympathizers among social conservatives in the United States.

When the Asian currency and financial crisis hit Malaysia in 1997, Mr. Mahathir, who was Prime Minister, rejected loans from the International Monetary Fund that came with strict conditions and maintained a fixed currency system between the Malaysian ringgit and the US dollar. This brought about a steady recovery of the Malaysian national economy.

After the simultaneous terrorist attacks that hit the United States in 2001, Mr. Mahathir stated that Muslims are not extremists and gave lectures around the world to spread a correct understanding of Islam, taking on the role of a mediator with non-Muslims. These activities continued even after his complete retirement from politics in October 2003. At the same time, he expressed opposition to the US-led war in Afghanistan and the attack on Iraq, stating that they would involve ordinary people. His exquisite sense of political balance was brilliantly displayed here.

Ten years after the doctorate conferral ceremony, Mr. Mahathir stepped into a Keio University space for the third time. On November 24, 2014, the third general meeting of the Southeast Asian Union Mita-kai was held in Kuala Lumpur. On that occasion, he attended as an “Honorary Keio University alumni.”

He gave a special lecture titled "Look East Policy—Its Importance and Future Role" for about an hour, making one forget that he was 89 years old. The talk looked back on his own journey and that of Malaysia. Among the more than 200 Keio University alumni who gathered, many Malaysians who had obtained degrees at the Juku were also in attendance.

As an attendee, I was fortunate enough to have a seat prepared next to Mr. and Mrs. Mahathir during the dinner. It was a brief but memorable opportunity for conversation. In particular, I was stunned by how he finished his favorite steak in no time.

Although Mr. Mahathir had retired from politics in 2003, his political presence increased again in the 2010s. This reflects the critical situation surrounding Malaysian politics.

The story goes back to 2009. Najib, who became Prime Minister that year, raised "One Malaysia" as a slogan. In response, ruling party conservatives led by Mr. Mahathir raised voices of criticism. Furthermore, in 2015, when allegations of massive corruption involving a government-linked investment fund surfaced around Prime Minister Najib, Mr. Mahathir launched a fierce critique of the administration, writing on his blog that "democracy is dead." Not stopping there, he left the ruling party in 2016, where he had been a member for over 70 years. This firm political stance of his drew support from the public.

Even past the age of 90, he energetically participates in street demonstrations and holds the microphone. Dr. M is sensitive to the trends of the times and reads ahead. He still raises his voice from the position of a common citizen and leads the people.

Finally, a personal note. In 1983, when I was a first-year student in the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Mr. Mahathir's lecture gave me the push to aim for Southeast Asian regional studies. As I found out later, my mentor, Professor Saburo Matsumoto, was the Vice-President in charge of the 125th anniversary project. In 2004, when the honorary doctorate was conferred upon him, I had the honor of serving as the moderator for the lecture as a faculty member of the Faculty of Law. At the Southeast Asian Union Mita-kai, I stood shoulder to shoulder with Keio University alumni. Reconstructing the relationship between Mr. Mahathir and Keio University fortunately became an opportunity to look back on my own journey as a researcher of Southeast Asian regional studies.