Challenge

Encyclopedia Of Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad - موسوعة الدكتور محضير بن محمد #2

by Mahathir Mohamad

Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's Prime Minister since 1981, is well known for his original ideas and incisive plain-speaking. Both traits are grippingly evident in this book, where he takes a hard and honest look at certain modes of thinking and living that ver vying for spremacy in the modern world, in general, and within the Malay community in Malaysia, in particular.
With charateristic aplomb bd straight forwardness, Dr Mahathir explodes fallacies and exposes distortions concerning religiosity, education, role models, democracy, communism, freedom and dicipline, and the concerns of this world and the next. Only by striking an equilibrium between an interest in things spiritual and secular, can the Malays hope ro face and overcome the conflicting forces and challenges of the modern world.
'The Challenge' is thought provoking and is of special interest today as Dr Mahathir is at the helm of a nation striving for racial balance and religious sanity. He expounds the need for a new system of values, ethics and attitudes which the Malays must adopt in the country's quest to become a developed nation by the year 2020. By championing his Vision 2020 and the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), Malaysia, under his stewardship, will reach even greater heights.

Genres: Nonfiction

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad ( born 10 July 1925) (Jawi:محتير بن محمد) was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister, and one of the longest-serving leaders in Asia. Mahathir's political career spanned almost 40 years, from his election as a Malaysian federal Member of Parliament in 1964, until his resignation as Prime Minister in 2003.

Reviews

[Ahnaf Yunus · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book written by local writer. I see that Mahathir observe things well during his young times. Definitely, he must have read a lot. These writings however is bound to cover those decade issues. Though now no longer be relevant, but still the arguments are worth to think of. Some of critical ideas have been discussed in this book. Such, about the concept of worldly activities vs spiritual activities. Also, Capitalist vs Socialist vs Communist. Third, the islamic studies vs non-islamic studies. Then, about West vs East. Further, about Malay's unity. And lastly, corruption. His sharp observation has thought about the dilemma of the Malays in the old times. The Malays are very neglectful to further their study owing to see the secularity of foreign education. Whereas, the effect had come to what we see today, we are quite fallen behind. Another crucial points that I love is, some islamic values that has truly been mis leaded from the past. The concept of dunnya(world), the understanding of knowledge and the misunderstood of being rich. In my humble opinion, the mis leaded understanding of Islamic teachings are somehow a troublesome. If we belief faithfully about Islam as the ideal way of life, then, why is it that it's devotees aren't achieving most of their life goals. The answer is, because they misunderstood the true concept of Islam.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a cheat to fulfill my yearly book targets. The five-star ratings lies not so much in my agreement with Mahathir's thesis but how much the thesis reveals about Mahathir (with hindsight, of course). I would say it says even more about the man's thinking as compared to The Malay Dilemma, unsurprising given that it was written in the 1970s (the last book he would author before becoming Prime Minister), when the 'radical' had accumulated some political and administrative experience. But characteristic of Mahathir, there is no mellowing down of his forthrightness, making this book a useful guide to understanding his tenure. The man has strong thoughts prior to his strong rule.

Most interestingly, The Challenge sets the stage for understanding Mahathir's leaning towards neoclassical economics and a more 'Islamically-guided' administration. In fact, the book represents Mahathir's first endeavour to engage with Islam intellectually, with the same kind of systematicity he showed in The Malay Dilemma, making this a revelling read from the usual self-celebratory, self-righteous discourses that were, ironically, a product of his Islamisation programme. He spoke about money politics and corruption too, a chapter he seems most struggled to write given his sober view of human nature and the pragmatic nature of politics. Tellingly, that became one of the greatest paradox of Mahathir. Money politics flourished under his watch, but, unlike other cartoon dictators, he maintains at least a moral distance from it. The disciplinarian presided over the unfettered excesses of his party and the political economy surrounding it.

In short, The Challenge sets up the challenges anticipated of a rising political star. Poetically, it seems like things have come full circle. He is back, but the challenge remains.

[Kelv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a concise and succinct essay style that is easy to follow. The arguments are logically stated and appears to honestly and (mostly) unbiasedly state both arguments. The authors has done a very good job of presenting what could be considered dull and boring topic in an even and interesting way.

Good overview of Malaya and its recent history.

This book is relevant even though it was published some 30 years previous.