I don’t know if Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will ever see this post. But I’m counting on the fact that he has staff who are tasked to trawl the Net to keep tabs on the number of times his name is mentioned on posts and websites and that they will see this post and duly pass the message to him.

So, here’s to you, Tun: Wishing you a happy 94th birthday!

Tun has lived to an effective ripe old age and truly boasts of a lifetime of achievements — borrowing the phrase from Mix.fm’s birthday greetings to him. When he was prime minister the first time from 16 July 1981 – 31 October 2003, he was stern and driven, quick to modernize the country and expected everyone to fall in line and somehow manage the stress of leapfrogging into modernization! Many buckled and rebelled, but that doesn’t matter any more because these were the same people who grew as a result of his policies and are now in government with him!

Development was the priority then, and if some rights had to be sacrificed to ensure development was implemented unimpeded in an expanded economy in order for the Malays to come up, hold their own and ensure their own survival, together with other Malaysians, he sacrificed them. So, during his first term, his human rights record wasn’t exactly exemplary!

In his second term, however, after leading the opposition to a historic win of the 14th General Elections and assuming the premiership on May 10, 2018, after 15 years out of office, he brings decades of experience to his role, and, perhaps, over the years have become more grandfatherly. Age, no doubt, has mellowed him, but he remains sharp as ever and fully aware of what are the important issues to tackle now to set the nation back on course to success.

Malaysians are so appreciative of him for making change possible that there seems to be no end to expressing gratitude to him, judging from all the birthday greetings he has been getting. Even the King feted him to a birthday party!

So, wishing you a very memorable 94th birthday as we Malaysians celebrate it with you, Tun! May God bless all your endeavours as you reset this nation on course to success and a bright future built on nothing less than integrity, justice and equality for every Malaysian!