Opinion | How ‘polarising’ former strongman Mahathir Mohamad could bring unity to Southeast Asia
Richard Heydarian writes that the ageless, tough-talking new Malaysian prime minister is well equipped to help Asean assert its voice and influence global affairs
Malaysia’s election stunner, which brought a nonagenarian back to power, is expected to have immense strategic ramifications for the region. At the remarkable age of 92, Mahathir Mohamad is the oldest elected leader on Earth, yet is far from a spent force.
The return of the still fiery and feisty leader, who spent two decades in the previous century ruling his country with an iron fist, is likely to mean a more assertive Malaysian foreign policy.
If anything, Mahathir is set to reassume his historical position as one of the titans of Asean, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He will be inclined to push for a more strident and cohesive collective stance on central geopolitical and humanitarian issues facing the region.
To be fair, domestic political exigencies will absorb much of the newly minted Malaysian prime minister’s attention. After all, he is overseeing a de facto regime change in the wake of Barisan Nasional’s first electoral defeat in history.
Paradoxically, the Malaysian opposition had to reach far into the past, recruiting a former strongman to carve out a new democratic future. As part of a grand bargain with the opposition, Mahathir is expected to pave the way for his former rival and deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, to take power in the coming years.
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In the meantime, the Malaysian leader has to address the public clamour for improved economic conditions, and especially rising housing costs and youth unemployment. More crucially, he will have to oversee the potential prosecution of former prime minister Najib Razak, currently under a travel ban amid the 1MDB corruption scandal.