Mahathir Mohamad

“In my years, I had the opportunity to observe peoples and countries. I see some countries doing well, others failing, and my analysis of things is that whether you fail or succeed is a function of your value system.”

“A lawyer wants to get his client off the hook. And even if he knows the client is guilty, he is going to find ways and means of getting him off the hook.”

“I am glad to be labeled anti-Semitic.”

“Why do I want to remove Najib? I should have thought the whole world would know. This man steals money. Not a few hundred dollars, not a few thousand dollars - he stole billions of dollars, and that has been verified by investigations here in Malaysia and the U.S.”

“Independence means we enjoy freedom. We are not colonised by people. And we can govern our own country and develop it independently so that our people can live a better life.”

“When the British ruled Malaysia, they burnt millions of acres of Malaysian forests so that they could plant rubber.”

“Looking back now, I realise why, as prime minister of Malaysia, I was described as a dictator. There were many things I did which were typically dictatorial.”

“Suppose a part of Britain or a part of America was taken away and given to the Jews as Israel. Do you think the Americans are going to sit quietly and say 'Welcome,' and all that? They won't.”

“Justice is the most important thing. In a plural society like Malaysia, you cannot have two laws - one law for the Muslim, one law for the non-Muslim.”

“I believe that currency trading should not be a business at all.”

“There are certain things that we can deal with by following the rules. But at times, we find the rules restrict you from doing the right things. On such occasions, we have to rethink - either you change the rules or break the rules.”

“In Asia, we live within our means. So when we are poor, we live as poor people. I think that is a lesson that Europe can learn from Asia.”

“Being a medical practitioner enables me to get in touch with people, understand their problems, feel sympathetic towards them, and the natural thing is to want to help them, and if you become a politician and if you are successful, you can help them even more.”

“I achieved too little result from my principal task, the task of making my race a race that is respected, a race that is honourable, a race that is highly regarded.”

“If India is not too democratic, it will be like China in terms of development.”

“I am saying that currency trading is unnecessary, unproductive, and immoral. It should be stopped. It should be made illegal.”

“If the countries of Europe and of North America can be almost uniformly prosperous, we don't see why we cannot be allowed to be a little prosperous.”

“I believe that every leader has a right to implement his own policy. But when I see things that are done that are not right - abuse of power, wrong approaches, wrong strategies, making use of foreign consultants, including those discarded by other countries - I feel that I have to have my say.”

“If Australia wants to be a friend of Asia, it should stop behaving as if it is there to teach us how to run our country.”

“Planning means looking ahead.”