Mahathir bin Mohamad: A Foreigner Who Visited Keio University

Dr. M. This is the moniker for Mr. Mahathir, who held the position of Prime Minister in Malaysia for over 22 years. He is still called by this name with affection today.

Mr. Mahathir was born on December 20, 1925, in Alor Setar, Kedah, in the northern Malay Peninsula, as the youngest of nine siblings. After graduating from King Edward VII College of Medicine (now the University of Malaya School of Medicine) in Singapore in 1953, he began his career as a physician. In 1964, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from his home state of Kedah, choosing a path to contribute to Malaysia's development as a politician. His leadership was recognized within the ruling party, and he served as Minister of Education in 1974, concurrently as Deputy Prime Minister in 1976, and also held the post of Minister of Trade and Industry.

After being elected as Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister in 1981, he led Malaysia's stability and development with an outstanding vision and firm will until his retirement in 2003, even while his forceful methods were sometimes criticized. Externally, Mr. Mahathir's leadership and presence were prominent on the stages of regional and international politics as a leading figure in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and as a leader in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. He is truly a politician representing Asia in both name and reality.

Mr. Mahathir has visited the Keio University Mita Campus twice so far. The first time was in 1983, and the second was in 2004.

1983 was the year Keio University celebrated its 125th anniversary. From November 7 to 11 of that year, the international symposium "Asia and Japan" was held as part of the commemorative projects. Mr. Mahathir was invited there as a keynote speaker. Facing an audience that filled Classroom 518 of the West School Building (now the West School Building Hall), he spoke boldly about his "Look East" policy in a lecture titled "Malaysia, Whither Bound?" This policy was an ambitious one, taking the work ethic and the economic, industrial, and trade policies of Japan—which was achieving high economic growth (sometimes metaphorically called Japan Inc.)—as a model to help Malaysia's development. This policy reflected the seriousness of Mr. Mahathir, who is known as a Japanophile. To support the Look East policy, Japanese universities, including Keio University, and companies have accepted thousands of international students and trainees from Malaysia from 1982 to the present.

On June 2, 2004, Mr. Mahathir set foot on the hill of Mita once again. This was to participate in a ceremony to receive an honorary doctorate from Keio University and to give a commemorative lecture. There is a back story to this. Keio University had inquired about awarding an honorary doctorate during the 125th anniversary, but the response from Mr. Mahathir's side was that he would be happy to accept it after his retirement, rather than during his term as Prime Minister. Keio University waited for the timing. He retired as Prime Minister in October 2003. Seizing that opportunity, the Faculty of Law inquired again about the honorary doctorate, and he readily agreed. Thus, the honorary doctorate conferral ceremony was held in the solemn atmosphere of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall).

In 2004, we were able to witness Mr. Mahathir's political philosophy and stance once again. After the honorary doctorate conferral ceremony, the venue moved to the same West School Building Hall as 21 years prior, and a commemorative lecture was held. Before an audience of over 800 people, he spoke passionately about the future of East Asia in the 21st century under the theme "East Asian Community and Japan's Role." One could glimpse his pride in the fact that, entering the 21st century, East Asia, including Southeast Asia, is both the engine of the global economy and a magnetic field for international politics. From his position leading Malaysia, the core of Southeast Asia, he called for building an East Asian community by teaming up with Japan.

In fact, in 1990, just before the end of the Cold War, Mr. Mahathir had proposed the East Asia Economic Caucus as a forum for the six ASEAN countries (at the time) and Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to discuss common economic issues. However, due to opposition from the United States, which was excluded from this concept, and a lack of support from Japan, it was not realized. History is ironic. Ten years later, in 2000, ASEAN Plus Three, consisting of the ten ASEAN countries plus Japan, China, and South Korea, was realized. The East Asian community had truly begun to stir.

This effort regarding the East Asian community was symbolic of Mr. Mahathir as a politician with foresight. In addition to this, he had set up two domestic initiatives since the 1990s. One was the long-term development vision project launched in 1991 called "Vision 2020." Its content was to achieve Malaysia's entry into the ranks of developed nations by the year 2020, 30 years later. Initially, the goal was to increase the Gross Domestic Product to eight times its 1990 level. Although it did not proceed exactly as planned due to the 1997 Asian currency and financial crisis, as of 2017, the GDP has achieved growth of over four times.

The other was the Multimedia Super Corridor concept announced in 1996 to accelerate the progress toward "Vision 2020." Through this, the new administrative capital was moved to Putrajaya, and the area between it and the capital, Kuala Lumpur, was developed as a region to anticipate the information and communication society of the 21st century. Competing with developed nations, Malaysia developed high-speed communication infrastructure and cyber laws, and worked on the experimentation and implementation of applications aiming for electronic government and the realization of multipurpose cards.

Mr. Mahathir boldly faced the harsh international situations faced not only by Malaysia and Southeast Asia but also by the Islamic world. In the mid-1990s, there was an event where Asian countries and Western countries confronted each other. The debate, termed the "Asian Values Debate," involved the governments and societies of various countries. Representing Asia, he discussed Asian values that emphasize harmony and confronted Western individualism. His arguments even found sympathizers among social conservatives in the United States.

When the Asian currency and financial crisis hit Malaysia in 1997, Mr. Mahathir, as Prime Minister, rejected loans from the International Monetary Fund that came with strict conditions and maintained a fixed exchange rate system between the Malaysian Ringgit and the US Dollar. This brought about a steady recovery of the Malaysian national economy.

After the simultaneous terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, Mr. Mahathir asserted that Muslims are not extremists and gave lectures around the world to spread a correct understanding of Islam, taking on the role of a mediator with non-Muslims. These activities continued even after his complete retirement from politics in October 2003. At the same time, he expressed opposition to the US-led war in Afghanistan and the attack on Iraq, stating that they would involve ordinary citizens. His exquisite sense of political balance was brilliantly displayed here.

Ten years after the doctorate conferral ceremony, Mr. Mahathir stepped into a Keio University space for the third time. On November 24, 2014, the third general meeting of the Southeast Asia United Mita-kai was held in Kuala Lumpur. On that occasion, he attended as an "Honorary Juku Member."

He gave a special lecture titled "Look East Policy—Its Importance and Future Role" for nearly an hour, making one forget he was 89 years old. The talk looked back on his own journey and that of Malaysia. Among the more than 200 Keio University alumni gathered, many Malaysians who had obtained degrees at the Juku were also in attendance.

As an attendee, I was fortunate enough to have a seat prepared next to Mr. and Mrs. Mahathir during the dinner. It was a brief but memorable opportunity for conversation. In particular, I was stunned by how he finished his favorite steak in no time.

Although Mr. Mahathir retired from politics in 2003, his political presence increased again entering the 2010s. This reflects the critical situation surrounding Malaysian politics.

The story goes back to 2009. Najib, who became Prime Minister that year, raised "One Malaysia" as a slogan. In response, conservative members of the ruling party, led by Mr. Mahathir, raised voices of criticism. Additionally, entering 2015, when allegations of massive corruption involving a government-linked investment fund surfaced around Prime Minister Najib, Mr. Mahathir launched intense criticism of the administration, writing on his blog that "democracy is dead." Not stopping there, he left the ruling party in 2016, where he had been a member for over 70 years. This firm political stance of his drew support from the public.

Even after passing the age of 90, he energetically participates in street demonstrations and holds the microphone. Dr. M is sensitive to the trends of the times and reads ahead. He still raises his voice from the perspective of a private citizen and leads the people.

Finally, a personal note. In 1983, as a first-year student in the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, I was encouraged to pursue Southeast Asian regional studies by Mr. Mahathir's lecture. As I found out later, Professor Saburo Matsumoto, who became my mentor, was the Vice-President in charge of the 125th anniversary projects. In 2004, when the honorary doctorate was conferred upon him, I served as the moderator for the lecture as a faculty member of the Faculty of Law. At the Southeast Asia United Mita-kai, I stood side-by-side with Keio University alumni. Reconstructing the relationship between Mr. Mahathir and Keio University fortunately became an opportunity to look back on my own journey as a researcher of Southeast Asian regional studies.