From The Economist, UK
Issue 3 April 2002

A qualified success
On balance, Dr Mahathir has done well by Malaysia. But he should not
linger

It hurts to say goodbye

BY HIS own exacting standards, Dr Mahathir should probably be rated a
failure. Barring a miracle, it is hard to see how the plans he
outlined for Malaysia in a speech made in 1992, which became known as
the “Vision 2020”, could possibly be realised. The main goal he set
out was that by 2020 Malaysia should become a “fully developed
country”, meaning that its income per head should get close to that of
the 30 countries of the OECD. But last year the country's GDP per head
was around $3,900, against an OECD average of $23,100, and the gap is
widening.

The other targets in the “Vision 2020” are scarcely less ambitious,
and equally unlikely to be accomplished. Malaysia has done well in
fostering racial harmony in difficult circumstances, but in a land
where discrimination remains legally embedded in most walks of life, a
“united Malaysian nation” is still a long way off. A third great
challenge, of “fostering a mature democratic society”, remains unmet
too, as the treatment of Anwar Ibrahim and of the Keadilan opposition
attests.

But it is unfair to judge Dr Mahathir by his own criteria. By less
stringent ones, his rule has, on balance, been a time of success for
Malaysia, especially when compared with neighbours such as Indonesia,
the Philippines and Thailand, all of which have known worse government
and weaker economic performance.

On October 23rd, days before he steps down, Dr Mahathir will welcome
the other 55 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
(OIC) to Putrajaya for their triennial summit meeting. One task for
the summit may be to choose the next secretary-general of the OIC in
succession to Abdelouahed Belkeziz, who is likely to stand down at the
end of next year. Dr Mahathir must be the leading candidate for the
job if he wants it.

He would be a good choice. Dr Mahathir is the nearest thing on offer
to a candidate who can bridge the chasm of misunderstanding between
the Islamic and the western worlds. Although he has at times been
famously critical of the West, his country, unlike most other OIC
members, shares many western values. Malaysia is a democracy, if an
imperfect one, which is true of only a very few Islamic countries. It
is also tolerant of other religions, as many OIC members are not. It
embodies a secular, modern Islam.

Most important, Malaysia is an economic success story, well integrated
into the world trading system, and steadily increasing the living
standards of its people. One of the principal sources of the new
Christian-Muslim divide is the economic failure of most Islamic
states, and the resentment of the West that this naturally if
mistakenly breeds. Despite its government's heavy-handedness, Malaysia
offers a good role model for the rest of the OIC.

Installing Dr Mahathir in Jeddah, where the OIC is based, would have
another great advantage, for Malaysia at least: it would get him out
of the country. The idea that he might install himself as a sort of
honorary president-for-life, as Lee Kuan Yew has done in Singapore, is
unappealing. His successor will need the freedom to make changes, such
as loosening the over-cosy links between UMNO and business, easing the
government's iron grip on the press and releasing people who are, in
effect, political prisoners.

Even if he takes no formal title, Dr Mahathir is hardly likely to fade
away. He has already tried to impose his choice of future deputy prime
minister on his successor, though Mr Badawi has so far held firm. He
has also said that he may remain an MP.

According to an old joke, the difference between Malaysia and Britain
is that in Britain the prime minister is chosen every five years and
the monarch rules for life; whereas in Malaysia the king changes every
five years and the prime minister rules for life. There is some truth
in that: since independence in 1957, Malaysia has had 12 kings
(because the title rotates among Malaysia's sultans and rajas) but
only four prime ministers. The greatest service Dr Mahathir could
render Malaysia after all these years would be to retire, full stop.

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