The Political Leadership of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad - Case Study Example

Executive Summary The purpose of this paper is to research the political leadership of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. His capacity as a leader is viewed in terms of the globalization of the Malaysian Economy and his influence on the respective policies and public. Malaysia has specifically caught the eye from amongst the countries of East Asia suffering economic crisis. It has almost become customary on the part of the policymakers of Malaysia to scoff at the conservative ways of overcoming crises that are best suited. That especially holds true for handling the country’s economic situation and to some extent the enhanced political and economical global assimilation. It is worth mentioning that the neo-liberal conventions of liberalisation and economic opportunities have been rejected by Malaysia under the rule of Prime Minister Mahathir. Not only that, but the external financial pressures were countered by the Malaysian government methodically in order to preserve its individual autonomy as far as the country’s national policy is concerned. 1. Introduction 1.1 Mahathir bin Mohamad was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia who stood for a long term that spanned over twenty-two years- 1981 – 2003. This was the longest term served by any Prime Minister in Malaysia and was recorded to be the one of the longest serving leaders of Asia. Mahathir was admired and given credit in history as being the leader who transformed Malaysia through modernization of a global strategy that was based on non-individualistic Asian values. Furthermore, he was intrinsically against the policies and developmental plans of the west and his policies reflected the strong criticism that he upheld in his vision (Shome, 2002). 1.2 In order to understand the type of leadership that Mahathir may be seen mostly to execute, it may be necessary to generalize and overview leadership and its aspects. Leadership is the number of the total qualities that exist in an individual or a team that makes the difference between taking initiative from those who follow that initiative. The eight major types of leadership theories reflect upon different aspects of human behaviour. Great-man theory looks at leadership as being inherited and that the trait is an innate natural tendency in people that comes naturally. On the other hand, trait theory examines the leader as the inherent traits of any person and their development in respect (Northouse, 2006). 1.3 In contrast to the above two theories, contingency, behavioural and participative theories do the actual examination of behaviour and define responses to individuals in different environments. Management and relationship theories stage leaders as group co-ordinators and examine their strength in the ability to replicate group behaviour and transform their tasks into a group process (Northouse, 2006). 2.0 Aim 2.1 The aim of this document is to study the values and techniques of the leadership approach used by Mahathir. His leadership style will be studied in order to determine which theory is optimum for the running of his manner of leadership and how his leadership style may be adopted in the engineering field. This leadership style will be derived form the vision of Mahathir to promote the economy and political structure of Malaysia and the concepts will be used to derive a leadership style and furthermore will be applied in the academia of engineering. 3.0 Leadership 3.1 Recognized in the history as one of the most significant leaders of the area, Dr. Mahathir is labelled as boldly criticizing the western policies and culture. Mahathir and Malaysia in general have been chiefly associated with the economic facets of globalization. However, it should be acknowledged that it was basically the reformation of the “actual” principle economic activity spanning national borders that finally elevated the economic growth of countries like Malaysia and integrate them more fully into the international economic scene. The reconfiguration of financial activity that was spatial and the presentation of a “new international division of labour” in the 1960s and 1970s through the disaggregation of production processes permitted companies to transfer their activities globally and especially in East Asia, so as to profit from the discounted labour or expensive government incentives (Northouse, 2006). 3.2 Malaysia was particularly reliant on foreign investment and also on being exposed to vital markets in Europe (Chung, 1987) and North America. This was due to the broad reconfiguration of the global-political economy in states like Malaysia that opened up Export-oriented strategies. Globalisation is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon in essence. It is as essential to recognize that some of the “flows” illustrated above are potentially much more required and favourable than others, as it is to unpack its basic elements. Mahathir clearly realizes the meaning of this, as is evident from his hard-line attack on a different important element of globalization: the progressing power of financial markets (Chung, 1987). 3.3 Mahathir has dealt the globalization problem in a fashion, which may be seen as him functioning as a leader who follows the contingency theory. The complex structure of globalization may have yielded contingencies that are internal and external in nature. Based on the varied culture of Malaysia and the perception of different classes in globalization had made the process and the demands of the problem explode in the face of the country. However, Mahathir realised the complexity of the problem and used a strong mission strategy to infuse the elements of culture along with skills to rectify these problems. 3.4 Furthermore, the highest financial level is a direct consequence of a process in which precise national even local interests are accommodated and not as a part of a global process of singular change arising out of industrial advancement and economic reshuffle. Instead of beholding the withered state sovereignty and the surfacing of the strong transnational or inter-governmental institutions like the IMF, the World Bank or the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) as expressions of a third, political feature of globalization which is a general reconfiguration of government authority and tradition in response to obligations widely present, Mahathir views such happenings as extensions of courses that originated in the West, and favours specific interests there. Hence, the process in which all states are seeing a “leakage” of power to markets is not ubiquitous, but in fact a dominating application of neo-political power designed to gain “Western” interests (Shome, 2002). 3.5 The way the political connections are exploited is not alien to Malaysia or East Asia, however there remain certain aspects of Malaysian case that in themselves oppose them and are prominent as well. Malaysia stands apart from the laudatory depictions of “miraculous” East Asian development in which a relatively autonomous bureaucracy is believed to have instigated the process of economic development (Shome, 2002).. 3.6 Unlike countries as Japan, the elected government plays a central role in Malaysia. The elected government in Malaysia is not only a real functioning unit compared to countries like Japan, but Mahathir in specifically has little regard for the bureaucracy and has systematically diminished its independence and worth. Mahathir expresses high bonded unsure feelings on bureaucracy and market forces. On one hand he has been actively exploiting the energetic market forces to disturb the bureaucracy and Malay values and on the other hand strongly spoken against, the mechanism that might change Malay values-market forces, and help make the Bumiputeras more “authentic” capitalists and less dependent on either state assistance or politically strategic relationships with Chinese business people (Shome, 2002). 3.7 The above examples once again state the diverse nature of problems that mahathir had to face in bringing Malaysia into the progressive state. Each problem had specific requirements and differed to a great extent in the values of the stakeholders associated with each problem. However, all the internal contingencies such as: structural contingencies, output, demographic, spatiotemporal and traditional contingencies had been targeted specifically in the strategy by mahathir to apply the cognitive approach the problems. 3.8 Briefly speaking, Mahathir endeavours to exploit what he reckons as valuable, changing effects of market forces without leaving government control or administration. The segregation of politics and economics in Malaysia explains this variation: much of the UMNO’s appeal has been derived from what Crouch calls “patronage-dispensing function” (Verma, 2002). The well being of the UMNO’s well known political position still depends on its capacity to control and distribute economic assets. This is something threatened by the sort of big scale developments that have been recommended, and in a way applied, in countries like Indonesia. 3.9 The kinds of privatisation measures, for instance, that have become such a ubiquitous part of public policy in the world, in a Malaysian context, have become a conveyance for the consolidation of political and economic power for a privileged, predominantly Malay elite. Searle opines that whatever the economic arguments for privatisation, the motivation for the program in Malaysia has been primarily political (Verma, 2002). 3.9a Looking from another angle, the filter of Malaysia’s renowned ethnic and political structures, even one of the hallmarks of globalisation, privatisation, and the supposed retreat of the state, seems to be very different from the prevailing stereotypical depiction. Mahathir has described the “foreign beasts” of international financial markets, as emblematic of globalisation and, and he perceives them as a threat to Malaysia’s existent political economy. Still, one point lashes back in all this and that is of an element of hypocrisy in Malaysia’s position which is the central bank (Bank Negara). The concerned bank took a great constructive notice of financial markets before it lost about US$ 2 billion speculating in international currency markets. The removal of the central bank governor Anwar Ali, Tan Sri Ahmad Mohamed Don and his deputy by Mahatir was the step that most likely proved influential in winning the domestic policy debate over responses to globalisation. This very well discriminated the end of possible central bank independence of the sort encouraged by the IMF and other multilateral agencies (Ahmad, 1990). 3.9b Behind the objective of overcoming the restrictions of both “late’ development and a post-colonial economic structure, was Mahathir’s logic with his “Look East’ policy, and the self-conscious emulation of the Japanese model. The thing worth remembering here is that while the Malaysian variant of the developmental model may have been misrepresented by the related ethnic aspects and the need to maintain a regime asserted on support. However, the persuasive virtues of Mahathir’s initiatives has potential merit and broader inferences. Mahathir recognised the significance of manufacturing capacity, that the secular downturn in the value of resource products on world markets, and the corresponding relative increase in the value of manufactured products, meant a decline in the living standards of such states. Prospering in a global economy was dependent in other words in producing the kinds of products that fetched the highest prices on international markets. In an increasingly competitive international environment government assistance appeared to be an vital component of the development process in which many governments put up efforts to encourage a similar transition to an industrialised economy (Ahmad, 1990). 3.9b This was specifically the case where established industrial powers dominated many of the most profitable areas of the global economy and where the international system failed to facilitate ambitious industrial nations than when it had been Japan, and the first generation of newly industrialising countries (NIC) flourished (Ahmad, 1990). 3.9d Mahathir’s prestigious mega-projects reveal an extremely sophisticated and increasingly mainstream understanding of the preconditions for sustained industrial development, although it has been acknowledged generally by criticism both inside and especially outside Malaysia. Their essential logic often The “Multi-media Super-corridor” (MSC), for instance, is based squarely on a widespread belief that industrial evolution and innovation is dependent upon (or likely to occur more readily where) “clusters” of similar industries exist, and where individual companies can take advantage of crucial “spill over”, externalities, and the benefits of agglomeration. 3.9e The shape of any national institutional setting for the coordination of economic activity may reflect contingent aspects, however the fact that gains acceptance and popularity in all this is that some are more useful and important to industrial innovation comparatively and that the governments play the vital role in this regard. The MSC project is an emblematic and integral part of a wider goal of national economic and social development outlined in Mahathir’s Vision 2020. What differentiates one from this vision of establishing such advanced advocated competence, of course, is the way Mahathir has used the national company, Petronas, to finance theoretically dubious projects like the national capital, Putrajaya, or to bail out high-profile corporations prone to little public accountability or oversight (Gill, 2006). 3.9f Contingency theory of leadership may be applied in the Engineering field as being more unpredictable than any other theory. The filed of engineering is such that it has many dynamic variables and spanning over projects does not always yield the best possible team development that a leader or project manager would admire for. Since contingency theory relies heavily on the variables, any weakness in the team members and environment may lead to an unstable leadership pattern and may give birth to conflicts, which may delay the decision taking process (Northouse, 2006). 3.9g However, on the other hand, the contingency leadership style may also be of the most effective form as it may suit the global environment of many engineering companies. Cross-cultural differences in handling and managing people may be dealt better through this form of leadership style. As the global environment demands more flexibility in the roles of the leaders and project managers, it is necessary that the personal perceptions are adapted to the global scenario of the project (Northouse, 2006). 4.0 Conclusions 4.1 Putting subjective opinions aside about him as a person or his tactics employed to maintain power, he has no doubt made an impact by giving voice to much wanting issues of volatile importance in East Asia. His opinions continue to highlight what is central to the operation of the contemporary global political economy. In short, the Malaysian experience is an eye opener for national economic autonomy possibilities in an era characterised by processes of globalisation. There are thus a number of important lessons to be drawn here and points to ponder about. Even in an increasingly integrated global political economy first, contingent national circumstances continue to matter. Although Malaysia’s domestic political imperatives may be more acute than most, but they hint that the politicians, even authoritarian ones, will find ways to reflect the interests of influential domestic forces. 4.2 The distinguishing genius of Malaysia’s political leadership may be, as Jesudson argues, its capacity for reflexive monitoring of internal and external economic and political conditions, and for reflecting such forces in policy. Whatever outsiders may think of Mahathir and politics in Malaysia, he on the other hand has remarkable domestic support. The ethnic cataclysm that continues to menace Indonesia in the wake of the crisis is the frequently cited spectre that Malaysians seek to avoid. In the wake of such circumstances, many Malaysians do no appear averse to trading off immediate political liberalisation for the continuing ethnic and economic stability expectancy. 4.3 The lesson to be learnt here is that the size of economies is not mandatory in attainment of autonomy for even small economies like Malaysia’s retain effective policy instruments that allow political elites to continue exercising a surprisingly high degree of autonomy. Whether it is industrial policies that have some connection to East Asian development generally, or in such specific innovations as the application of currency controls, a number of strategies available to policymakers, which appear both to confer autonomy and to be actually capable of achieving some of their intended goals. 4.4 However there is another associated point that earns emphasis. The Malaysian experience strongly suggests that such policies can be implemented effectively in the absence of an autonomous bureaucracy of the sort associated with Japan in its heyday. Whether the possible benefits of such interventions benefit to Malaysians, in general, or to a well-connected elite, is another, highly political, question. The key point, however, is that whatever the motivations may have been for pursuing policies of insulation and independence, Malaysia exemplified that such policies are possible, even in an international system dominated by the interests of financial capital and powerful multilateral agencies. 5.0 Recommendation 5.1 Contingency theory has evolved out of years of research and has been applied in the field of military rule and defence. The analysis have included several important leaders to develop the structure of the theory. The applications of this specific leadership style can be seen in companies and industries of diverse interests and goals. The theory can be applied in terms of least preferred co-worker (LPC) in the field of engineering. Low LPC is seen to form as to structure themselves as task oriented to lead them towards a goal. Whereas high LPC delve upon relationship building while goals are achieved. These situations, internal and external, lead to identification of problems, environment and in the end eventually the result that may be achieved through a specific individual or group that acts as a leader. This leader entity may get the job done through gaining trust of all the people associated and especially those who are under the hierarchy of the leadership entity. 5.2 The field of engineering that needs a comprehensive task structure, drives most of its components from the contingency methods in relation to assignment of task up to the completion and assessment. Furthermore, identification of the number of ways a project may be completed may also be derived form the environment variables of the contingency theory. Read More