IT was bound to happen, and the Arabs have beaten us to it.
Speeches by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad have been compiled into 10 comprehensive volumes and are now being marketed as an encyclopaedia.
Hassan el-Zein, an influential publisher from the Middle East, whose admiration for Dr Mahathir is an open secret, personally approached the Prime Minister last year with his idea.
He strongly felt that Dr Mahathir’s ideas were on par with the Arab philosopher Ibn Khaldun who, back in the 1300s too, espoused on economic strategies and innovations for the success of the Ummah in this world and the world after.
The Lebanese national was given the go ahead, and started work with 10 other academicians from Cairo University, Alexandria University, Hallwan University, Ein-Shams University and al-Azhar University in the Middle East to translate the speeches.
Datuk Hashim Makaruddin, special officer to the Prime Minister was appointed the editor for the English version. Within a year, the Encyclopaedia of Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia had materialised and had sold a whopping 30,000 copies even before it was launched.
Printed on 80gsm paper and bound by Hassan’s company, Dar al- Kitab Allubnani in Beirut, the hardcover books are decorated with Islamic designs and are available in English, Arabic and also a combination of both languages.
The Bahasa Melayu version will be out by early next year, with Hamidah Baba from the Malaysia Institute of Translation (ITNB) heading the effort.
The encyclopaedia does not carry even a single picture of Dr Mahathir, what more additional graphics. It is after all, meant to be a reflection of his “serious works.”
There are no references to his personal life, as it concentrates on presenting Dr Mahathir’s ideas and aspirations, neatly dividing them into the 10 volumes.
Each volume covers specific issues; they are; Islam and The Muslim Ummah, The Challenge, Asia, Globalisation, Malaysia, Globalisation and the New Realities, Science, Technology and Human Rights, Politics, Democracy and the New Asia, Development and Regional Corporation and Contemporary Issues.
Selected keynote addresses, speeches, papers and lectures presented all over the world by Dr Mahathir over the past 22 years are neatly divided into the 10 books.
From the indexes, one can look up his views on terrorism, hedge funds, the Look East policy and such intriguing acronyms such as GATT, UNCTAD, MTDC and ZOPFAN to name a few. Slim volumes of Mahathir’s work – A New Deal for Asia, The Malaysian Currency Crisis and Reflections on Asia are also thrown in.
This encyclopaedia is a must have for the thinking Malaysian as it is largely a testament to what a true statesmen Dr Mahathir is.
For RM1,300, the encyclopaedias can be purchased online at www.darulfikir.com.my, from Darulfikir Sdn Bhd at 329B, Jalan Abdul Rahman Idris, Off Jalan Raja Muda, 50300 Kuala Lumpur or all major bookstores.
