# Political positions of Mahathir Mohamad

* This article is part of a series aboutMahathir Mohamad
Political positions
Awards and honours
Prime Minister of Malaysia
First term (1981–2003)
North-South Expressway
MSC Malaysia
Proton Holdings
Wawasan 2020
National Development Policy
1993 constitutional amendment
Bangsa Malaysia
Operation Haze
IMT-GT
Reformasi
"Asian values"
Putrajaya
Petronas Towers
Second term (2018–2020)
Shared Prosperity Vision 2030
International trips
THM fund
Borneo states bill
2020 political crisis
Cabinets
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
Political parties
UMNO (1964–2016)
BERSATU (2016–2020)
PEJUANG (2020–2023)
PUTRA (2023–present)
Coalitions
Alliance Party (1964–1974)
Barisan Nasional (1974–2016)
Pakatan Harapan (2017–2020)
Gerakan Tanah Air (2022–2023)
Family
Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali
Mukhriz Mahathir
Mokhzani Mahathir
Marina Mahathir
Related
KL War Crimes Commission
The Malay Dilemma
Citizens' Declaration
Asian values
Teater Tun Siti Hasmah
Mahathir, the Musical
Mahathir Science Award
Gallery
Quotes :
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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's political views have shifted during his lengthy career. Support for "Asian values," liberal Islam and Malay nationalism have long been part of Mahathir's political ideals. He has long been a critic of the foreign policy of the United States and other Western nations. Mahathirism has had an influence over subsequent Malaysian administrations.

## Overview

During the 1980s, he was a supporter of Third-Worldism, while during other periods he has been a proponent of "Asian values" and globalization.
Mahathir is a vocal critic of neoliberalism and the Western world. In 2011, Mahathir suggested that the September 11 attacks might have been staged by the United States government. Mahathir condemned the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1997, suggesting it be revised to place greater importance on economic growth over civil liberties.
A Muslim thinker, he holds Islamic political views. In 2002, he characterised himself as an Islamic fundamentalist. Mahathir is generally respected in developing and Islamic countries, particularly due to his oversight of Malaysia's economic growth and his support of liberal Muslim values.
He has been described as anti-royalist by Libération, owing to his efforts to oppose immunity for members of Malaysia's monarchies.

## Malay nationalism

Mahathir has been described as a proponent of Malay nationalism. In The Malay Dilemma, he argued that the Malay race had been marginalised, and voiced his support for affirmative action policies for them. Upon his first resignation, he expressed his disappointment at the progress made towards his "principle task" of supporting the Malay race. In 2021, Mahathir said he did not believe in "Ketuanan Melayu", calling it a "fantasy", and said instead that he believed in "Bangsa Malaysia".

## Environment

Mahathir has advocated for a balance between environmental protection and natural resource use for economic growth. He referred to the outcomes of the Earth Summit as "eco-imperialism", arguing that Global North countries put an undue burden on Global South countries for environmental degradation. In response to international scrutiny, he said in 2019 that linking palm oil production to deforestation was "baseless, unfair and unjustified" and that the Malaysian palm oil sector had developed sustainably.

## Allegations of antisemitism

A strident critic of Israel, Mahathir has been accused of antisemitism throughout his political life. In The Malay Dilemma, he wrote that "Jews are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively". In August 1983, Mahathir claimed in a speech that Jews control the international media. In March 1994, he banned the screening of Schindler's List on the grounds that he viewed it as anti-German, pro-Jewish propaganda. During the collapse of the ringgit and the economic crisis in 1997, he made a series of remarks blaming Jews, in particular George Soros, a Jewish "agenda", and "an international Jewish conspiracy" attempting to destroy the economies of Muslim countries.
During an Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit held in Kuala Lumpur in 2003, he accused Jews of "ruling the world by proxy" and getting "others to fight and die for them". His speech was denounced by President George W. Bush. In 2012, he claimed he was "glad to be labelled antisemitic". In a 2018 BBC interview he repeated similar statements, as well as disputing the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. In 2019, when asked why he had previously claimed that Jews are "inclined towards money" he responded that he had Jewish friends, and that "they are not like the other Jews, that's why they are my friends." Mahathir has defended his comments about Jews as an exercise of free speech, and by claiming that "the Jews do a lot of wrong things which force us to pass comment."

## LGBT rights

Mahathir opposes an expansion of LGBT rights in Malaysia. In 2001, Mahathir said that any homosexual ministers from the United Kingdom would be barred from entering Malaysia. During an October 2018 lecture to university students in Bangkok, Mahathir contrasted Malaysian values with those of Western nations and cited "the institution of marriage [and] the family" in his opposition to LGBT.

## Foreign affairs

In 2020, Mahathir expressed support for Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election, saying that the re-election of Donald Trump would be a "disaster".