Dr M among Time’s 100 most influential people
KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly a year into his second tenure as prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been listed as one of
Time magazine’s most influential people this year.
Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown wrote the profile summary for Dr Mahathir on the Time magazine 100 website, calling him a “formidable old warhorse who dazzled during a gruelling campaign”.
“You don’t have to be young to fight the power... take Dr Mahathir, the (then) former Malaysian prime minister who came out of retirement last year to lambast his successor (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak, who is accused of embezzling millions of US 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 last year at the age of 92.”
Rewcastle-Brown said Dr Mahathir had gathered vast crowds during campaigning.
“His reliance on core values united electoral groups, and his age inspired trust in a grand man of politics.
“Now 93, (Dr Mahathir) has committed to hand over power to the former leader of the opposition, (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim, 71, whom he released from jail days after his victory. For Malaysia, the episode has reestablished democracy in a country that almost teetered into totalitarianism,” she wrote.
Dr Mahathir is listed in the Leaders segment of Time’s 100 most influential people this year.
Among those listed with him are United States President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed and Pope Francis.
Other categories in the list were Pioneers, Artists, Icons and Titans.