Our current Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad needs no introduction; he was the powerhouse behind the historical win by Pakatan Harapan during GE14 and made his comeback to be the leader of Malaysia once again. Now, he can add another feather in his cap as he has been named in TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2019.
Source: The Malaysian Reserve
His profile was written by Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown, who said that he came out of retirement and swept back into power when he defeated Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the landmark election polls last year. She also said that he was a “formidable old warhorse” that managed to fight the power despite his age.
“You don’t have to be young to fight the power. Take Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian Prime Minister who came out of retirement last year to lambaste his successor Najib Razak, who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the country’s 1MDB development fund. Venting moral outrage, the colloquially called Dr M swept back to power in a landslide election victory in May 2018 at age 92,” the profile reads.
Source: The Star
She also described his political campaign as dazzling and relied on core values to unite electoral groups, and coupled with his age, this inspired trust in a “grand man of politics”. “For Malaysia, the episode has re-established democracy in a country that almost teetered into totalitarianism,” she added.
Tun Mahathir is listed in the leaders category, along with the likes of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pope Francis and Jane Goodall. Meanwhile, other notable icons on the list include Dwayne Johnson, Emilia Clarke, Michelle Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg. It appears that he is also the only Malaysian on the list.
Congrats Tun M for this notable achievement!
Also read: Tun Mahathir Shares Secret to Staying Sharp & Healthy at 93 Years Old
