Crying Crocodile Tears?(Mohamad Mahathir, Malaysia)(Brief Article)

Mahathir Mohamad is nothing if not complex. Detractors say Malaysia's prime minister is a strongman who has ridden roughshod over the press, the judiciary and anyone else who has stood in his way. His supporters revere him as the man who made their economy a Southeast Asian success story, kept a lid on ethnic tensions and brought their nation unprecedented international political clout. Although he has described himself as a shy fellow, on the world stage he is loud, controversial and, most of all, unpredictable.

Last week, in a televised closing speech at his party's annual conference, Asia's longest-serving leader did not disappoint. In a bizarre scene, a clearly emotional Mahathir announced his resignation. Both his tears and impassioned pleas from cabinet ministers for him to stay on prevented him finishing what he had to say, and the 76-year-old could only stammer: "No, no, I have decided, I have decided." An hour after being led away from the podium by shocked party officials, Mahathir's deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, told the Malaysian people that the prime minister had been persuaded to remain in power. Three days later, while Mahathir vacationed on the Italian coast, his party announced that he would continue to serve in office until October 2003, when power should pass to Abdullah, a moderate voice and longtime fixture in Malaysian politics.

This most recent episode in the political life of Mahathir seems to have caught everyone by surprise. "All of us were shocked; we really hadn't expected it. We had never seen such a scene; it was truly emotional and truly overwhelming," says cabinet minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir. In recent years Mahathir has made headlines for blaming the International Monetary Fund and financier George Soros for regional economic troubles, and for promoting Asian values over Western mores and for the jailing of Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy. Such moves suited his public image as Asia's unapologetic defender with a firm hand on domestic politics. "Whatever people say about him, Mahathir is an extraordinary person. Not just because he is smart and has cunning ways, but because he has survived so long," says Syed Husin Ali, leader of an opposition party that has sparred with him for more than 30 ...