Barry Wain

Recent Speaker

Fmr Editor Asia Wall Street Journal, Author, Journalist

February 15, 2010

Mahathir's Legacy Haunts Malaysia

Barry Wain, author of Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, publsihed in December by Palgrave Macmillan, is writer-in-residence at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. An Australian journalist who has lived in Asia for 38 years, he is a former editor of the Asian Wall Street Journal. He is currently working on a thematic treatment of Southeast Asia since World War II that will draw heavily on his extensive reporting in the region.

Mahathir's Legacy Haunts Malaysia


When he was not feuding with Australian prime ministers, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was driving his country's development at breakneck pace. During his 22 years in office, Malaysia became one of the developing world's success stories, but progress came at the expense of political repression, stunted institutions and fragile ethnic relations. Recent arson attacks on Christian churches amidst a rancorous debate over the use of the word "Allah" are symptomatic of a deepening political, economic and social crisis that clouds Malaysia's future.