Hi guys, it has been a long time since I last blog about a non-fiction book. I have to admit that I'm more interested in reading the fiction books since they're more fun and enjoyable and hey! I read for pleasure after all. Non-fiction in the other hand normally discuss more about critical issues and I'm well aware that in order to gain more knowledge about these critical subject such as education, economy, politic, and social knowledge as well as self-improvement, this genre is much more useful. Ok, enough of me rambling..what I'm going to share with all of you today is an article from the Star News. The article is about a newly launched book on Malaysia former prime minister Tun. Dr mahathir Mohamad by American journalist Tom Plate. Here's the article:
Putrajaya: American journalist Tom Plate said his book on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is "neither a whitewash nor a grand jury indictment but an appreciation" of the former prime minister. In the book Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad - Dr M: Operation Malaysia, the country's fourth prime minister gives his views on the Internal Security Act (ISA) and Jews, among others. Dr Mahathir had also claimed that the 1987 crackdown when 106 people were arrested under the ISA, was a police decision and that he had met opposition leaders before Ops Lalang to assure them they would not be arrested. the statement drew flack from DAP stalwart Lim kit Siang who denied Dr mahathir had made him and other opposition leaders.
"I dont know what really motivated him (Dr Mahathir) to say the things he said. But I do think that at certain point of one's life, you want the world to know your thoughts on some of the controversies and what you were trying to do, even if it did not work out exactly like you wanted," Plate, 67, said after launching the book at the Perdana Leadership Foundation here yesterday. The book is part of his Giants of Asia series, which also included a book on Singapore's founding father Lee Kwan Yew.
"His (Dr. Mahathir) point was. if Malaysia doesn't try and just sit where it is, nothing is going to be achieved. Dr Mahathir was not afraid of failure and did not want to be timid," said Plate who is also an internationally syndicated columnist and university professor. "Sometimes, when I went back to him to confirm things hehad said, Dr Mahathir would say, 'That's what I said and that's what I want to say'. "I met him five times and spent a total 10 hours with him," said Plate, adding that the discussion was intense.
In his speech at the book launch, Plate said he decided to include Dr Mahathir in his series of Asian leaders after interviewing the former prime minister to comment and "get some dirt" on Lee for his book on the republic's Minister Mentor. "Upon hearing my request, Dr Mahathir said, 'Come on down!'."When I told him that I should do Giants of Asia book on him, he gave me a big smile," added Plate, drawing laughter from the audience.
-The Star, Wednesday, 23 Feb. 2011
Conversations with Mahathir Mohamad Dr M: Operation Malaysia: He began his professional career as a family physician but wound up prescribing innovative political medicines for the entire nation that remain controversial even today. Was he exactly the bold and fearless policy doctor that the troubled body politic of Malaysia needed? Or was he just another mendacious mediocrity with a record of persistent misdiagnoses, phony remedies and self-serving justifications? Only history s judgment can offer the final verdict but Dr Mahathir himself is in no doubt. In a riveting series of unprecedented conversations, Malaysia s most famous former prime minister reveals to American journalist and author Tom Plate a panoramic panoply of views on governing, on Islam, on Jews, on the West and on Malays that are striking in historical sweep and contemporary relevance.
This is indeed a good book as Dr Mahathir himself is a very outstanding leader and I really admire him. No doubt that under his leadership Malaysia had gone through lots of drastic development and changes. So, guys lets head to the nearest bookstore and grab this book!!
