Let’s wish our most revered statesman, Tun Dr Mahathir Muhammad, a very wonderful 100 year birthday.
Without a doubt, Tun Mahathir stands as a singular figure in the nation’s history — admired, debated and undeniably consequential. His centenary is more than a personal milestone; it is a national moment that invites Malaysians to reflect on a life that has defined, disrupted and driven the country’s political and economic trajectory for over seven decades.
CAG would like to pay tribute to the man who is also known as ‘Bapa Pemodenan’ or the Father of Malaysia’s Modernisation. After all, it’s his vision that gave birth to the Petronas Twin Towers, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Putrajaya!
Known as the nation’s “Father of Modernisation”, Tun Mahathir introduced Vision 2020, a roadmap for Malaysia to become a fully developed nation by the year 2020, and championed bold infrastructure projects such as the North-South Expressway, the KLIA, the government administration hub Putrajaya and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
Under his leadership, Malaysia experienced rapid GDP growth, urban expansion and the emergence of a strong middle class.
Throughout his life, Tun Mahathir has been a polarising figure. His supporters credit him for laying the foundations of modern Malaysia and giving the nation an assertive global voice, especially within the Muslim world and the Global South.
His Look East Policy, which encouraged emulation of Japan and South Korea’s work ethic and industrial strategies, helped redefine Malaysia’s economic identity.
At 100, Mahathir remains intellectually sharp and politically engaged. While no longer at the centre of power, his voice still carries weight — a testament to the longevity of both his influence and ambition.
He has lived through colonial rule, Japanese occupation, independence, economic booms and busts, political crises and generational change. Few leaders in the world today can claim to have been active participants in shaping both the 20th and 21st centuries of their nation’s history.
For many Malaysians, Mahathir is both a product and a shaper of the national psyche, a man who embodied Malaysia’s aspirations, contradictions and challenges.
His centenary arrives not only as a personal milestone but as a symbolic marker of the country’s journey from Merdeka to modernity.
As the nation reflects on the past century, the story of Tun Mahathir remains central to understanding Malaysia’s place in the world and how one man, driven by conviction, ambition and a complex vision of nationhood, came to define an era.
Tun Mahathir at 100 is not just a witness to history, but its architect.
