For more than half a century, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been both the maker and breaker of Malaysian politics. He has shaped institutions, defined generations, and authored entire eras, yet what he leaves behind is not a legacy of progress, but one of division. Every time he resurfaces to comment on national issues, Mahathir reignites the same old narratives: race, blame, and betrayal. Malaysia has moved on, but he refuses to.
Mahathir’s political playbook has always thrived on polarisation. He built his career by weaponizing identity, turning Malay nationalism into political capital while sidelining anyone who dared to challenge his version of “progress.” His brand of politics promised modernisation but delivered moral exhaustion. Under his rule, Malaysia industrialised, yes, but it also internalised suspicion, between races, between regions, between citizens and their government. Decades later, that suspicion still poisons public life.
Even after leaving office, Mahathir never stopped stirring the pot. He blamed Malays for being “lazy,” non-Malays for being “greedy,” and every successor for failing the country, except himself. His criticism of others is relentless, but his capacity for reflection is non-existent. When he speaks today about corruption or moral decay, he does so as if he hadn’t presided over the very political machinery that normalised them.
Mahathir’s decades of rule entrenched a system of patronage and control that still suffocates Malaysia’s institutions. From the judiciary to the media, every lever of power was reshaped to serve the executive. He cultivated loyalty, not leadership; compliance, not competence. The result was a generation of politicians who learned to survive through fear and flattery, not vision or integrity. And even as new leaders emerge, many still operate within the political framework Mahathir built, a system designed to sustain him, not the nation.
His second tenure as prime minister was meant to be redemption, a chance to correct past mistakes and set Malaysia on a new path. Instead, it ended in chaos. His refusal to let go of control tore apart the coalition that restored him to power. Reform became rhetoric; reconciliation, an illusion. He left office once again as he always has, blaming others, never himself.
What makes Mahathir’s continued presence so corrosive is that he still commands an audience. For every scandal or national setback, there he is, on cue, offering commentary as though history had spared him accountability. But his voice no longer inspires; it divides. His relevance now rests not on vision, but on controversy.
Malaysia deserves better than to live in Mahathir’s shadow forever. The country’s challenges, economic disparity, institutional reform, and social unity demand new thinking, not recycled feuds. The younger generation no longer sees Mahathir as the father of modern Malaysia, but as the patriarch who refused to let his children grow up.
The tragedy of Mahathir is not that he failed to lead; it is that he could never stop. His enduring need to dominate every national conversation has prevented Malaysia from experiencing political renewal. Until he steps out of the spotlight for good, the country will remain caught in the loop he created: a nation forever debating the man who refuses to let it move on.
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