MAHATHIR SPEAKS

Mahathir Star interview

Dr M - Taking the world by storm even after retirement
18 October 2004, the Star

Last week, The Star team interviewed Tun Dr. Mahathir again. It took place at his office on the 86th floor of the Petronas Twin Towers. He is currently the Petronas advisor.

Below are passages extracted from the interview:

Star: It has been said former US president Bill Clinton gets up to RM1mil for a speaking engagement. Do you get any fee for yours?

Mahathir: No, all of them seem to be poor (laughs). The Japanese will give some payment if I give a talk there – I suppose the Japanese can afford it – but practically none of the others pays me anything at all. It is very costly for me because I have to fly there and come back. Sometimes they pay for the hotel and travelling but mostly I get nothing.

Star: You have also been invited to speak at the Doha International Conference for the Family in Qatar next month. Isn’t that something which is more associated with your wife than you?

Mahathir: I am interested in this. For one thing, there seems to be a trend towards redefining what constitutes a family. Today homosexuals living together are considered to be a family and people who have children out of wedlock are also considered as families. So there seems to be a change in people’s attitude towards the family and what constitutes a family. I have some very strong views about this. That is why I accepted this invitation.

Star: During the Umno general assembly, you received a standing ovation that lasted a minute or so. What was in your mind at that moment?

Mahathir: I think it is a nice feeling to know that people still remember and appreciate you. Of course when other people asked me about this, not the Press, I told them, “Actually I paid all of them to stand up” (laughter). But I am glad as I think it is genuine. I feel very satisfied; at least people remember me.


Star: There has been talk that Pak Lah has sought your advice on certain matters?.

Mahathir: No, never, never. I have not been asked for any advice nor have I given any, except for only one case. That was when I thought that he was going to drop someone and I thought that this someone should not be dropped. I sent a letter (to say) “Please don’t drop this person because he is not what other people say he is and that I am sure he would perform.” And indeed he has done very well.

Star: You have spoken with great passion on the problem of our graduates not being able to find suitable jobs because they took the wrong courses and they are not prepared to be market-oriented. Can you elaborate on this?

Mahathir: Why is this only happening to Malay graduates and not Chinese graduates? The reason is probably the Chinese graduates choose the right subjects so they are employable. We find that the Malay graduates, especially those from the Malay stream, can’t speak English at all.

No matter how much value you put on a certificate, the fact remains that an employer wants somebody with whom he can communicate. The employer is not Malay, he is a foreigner. And if he’s not going to be able to communicate with you, he will not take you.

There is also attitude. There are some who start off by demanding good pay. Obviously, if you ask how much even before he has decided to take you, he won’t think you have the right attitude for the job. So there are many reasons why the Malay graduates are not being employed.

Star: Many people feel that you are frank and you speak your mind because you were PM for 22 years. But it looks like fewer and fewer Umno leaders are prepared to stick out their necks because they are quite new in the party, they just got elected and got new government posts, and they also want to be popular. But the clock is ticking away and the competitors are not the Indians or Chinese but foreigners. Globalisation is also at our doorstep. The subsidies and crutches will be meaningless. How do you see this?

Mahathir: We have tried to tell them if you depend on subsidies, you are going to be very weak. But they don’t seem to understand. We tell them if you use crutches, you will not be able to stand up. Throw away the crutches, stand up straight because you still have the capacity.

I have talked about this thing and as a doctor I know very well the meaning of crutches but somehow or rather they want the easy way out. If I get an AP and I sell it and make some money, it’s all right, they say.

The great debacle was the computer labs. We tried to help as many people as possible because we were accused of giving things to only a selected few. But every one of them sold their contracts. Sold and sold and sold until finally the last man could not sell and had to do the work. He then found he would make terrible losses and so he tried to cut corners, used bad materials and the labs collapsed.

They know it, they see it right before their eyes but they learn nothing. Next time they will do it again.

Star: For 22 years when you were in office, you tried very hard to fight corruption. Do you think that Pak Lah can do anything?

Mahathir: (Only if) people are prepared to name names. The moment you are offered money, you should inform (the authorities) that so-and-so is in my office offering money or demanding money from me. That would stop it completely. If somebody does not report then you can consider that person corrupt.

Comments by Author:

The question of being employable and job suitability of Malays, Chinese and Indians, I believe, is not due primarily to the courses the students choose but rather the willingness of each graduates to be prepared to face the real commercial world when they seek employment.

According to Mahathir, the Chinese graduates do not face the problem because they choose the right subjects so that they come employable. But that’s not true. Students who choose to join public universities were provided places as allocated by the universities - they don't have a choice at all, except for the few who scored straight As. Only those students whose parents could afford them with private universities could pick their subjects and degrees and that too, they may still not choose the "right" degree that is wanted by the industries

But there are many Chinese graduates who failed to get employed and many are still loitering around jobless - I'm not sure why these categories of failures among Chinese are usually not counted when there are discussions among politicians and Ministers. Not all Chinese succeed, either in job seeking or business. Many do fail and failed miserably, except that, when it comes to National Economic Policies, the tendency is to speak of the Malays who are not successful without any emphasis that many Chinese and Indians are equally poor and unsuccessful in economic status. There is such rhetorics as "Malay Dilemma" but seldom (or if none) do we hear of the issues discussed regarding the Malaysian "Chinese and Indian" Dilemmas.

Tho' I like to feel good of the praises Mahathir heap on the Chinese (and at times Pak-Lah), whenever he compares the Malays achievement, I must be honest and realistic that the Chinese are no better than the Malays in terms of economic prosperity except, probably, some MCA cronies. Although, UMNOs politicians tends to believe that the Chinese are doing well in business, in reality, it is not true - tens of thousands have failed and gone bankrupt and they have no shoulders to cry on, unlike in UMNO where, whenever, they face minor problems, like not getting new projects (to make more money), they cry "Foul"!

Employability is generally not a problem - the problem is a CAREER, a FUTURE

Once a student graduate, he or she must be prepared to face the real world - a world of commerce and a world that requires you to sacrifice your time, your energy and your total dedication to your work and to the company who pays you a salary. There is no free lunch or dinner - you get paid to do things the employer wants you to do; like it or not. You must excel in what you do or else ... out you go!

The reality is that - whether Chinese, Malays or Indians (and Sikhs and other Malaysian races), everyone who aspires to succeed in the world of employment and business must have the courage, guts, brains (intelligence, innovation & creativity), a lot of energy, and must be willing to sacrifice their time, willing to put in long hours of hard work, and willing to take risks and most of all, willing to accept and tolerate "abuses, bashing and punishment" that comes along in their career, in the name of commerce, for the sake of their future, their intended career and to fulfill and sustain their needs and those of their dependents.