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The sheer force of Mahathir's assault, and Anwar's counterattack, has shaken Malaysia to the core. After Anwar's dismissal, tens of thousands took to the streets in support of the fallen deputy. Anwar was soon arrested. But when he was produced several days later for arraignment, he sported the black shiner that shocked the nation. The mini-People Power movement gained strength, rallying behind calls for reformasi, a term that encompasses greater democratic freedoms, less heavy-handed rule from the top and, clearly, an end to the Mahathir era. Rallies during Anwar's current trial for four counts of corruption and illegal sex have been curtailed by riot police. But few believe the battle between Mahathir and Anwar has ended. "Never before has Mahathir been so seriously challenged," says Khoo Kay Kim, a professor of history at the University of Malaya. "It's not over yet."
And so Mahathir is right where he seems to like to be, in the middle of a firestorm. The Anwar trial has been full of surprises. A top policeman testified he would lie under oath if ordered to do so. A chauffeur who said he had been sodomized by Anwar appeared during cross-examination to have contradicted himself. But what will ultimately determine Mahathir's fate isn't the trial, but the economy. If he succeeds, he could inspire others worried about capitalism's excesses. But if Mahathir fails, his time will surely be up. "He gave us 16 years of tremendous development, prosperity and shared wealth," says Paddy Bowie, a naturalized Malaysian citizen who has known Mahathir for about 30 years. "But history is being erased."
Or perhaps clarified: the events of 1998 have put a sharp focus on the Mahathir era. Much economic progress has been wrought by entrepreneurs hand-picked by the Prime Minister, and many of those fortunes are being protected by government bailouts. Mahathir has been revealed as someone for whom virtually any means is justified to accomplish an end, whether it's GDP growth or quashing a leadership challenge. Mahathir's outspokenness has put Malaysia, indeed the developing world, on the map. But it can cause trouble, too, and Dr. M may be ignoring the primary rule of the medical profession: "First, do no harm."
Reported by Kim Gooi/Bangkok, David Liebhold/Jakarta and David Yong/Kuala Lumpur
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December 28, 1998
MEN OF THE YEAR
For rewriting the book on crime and punishment, for putting prices on values we didn't want to rank, for fighting past all reason a battle whose casualties will be counted for years to come, Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr are TIME's 1998 Men of the Year
Click here for TIME.com's full coverage of the 1998 Men of the Year
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
How we made the choice
WHAT A YEAR!
You want history? In 1998 Asia experienced Suharto's downfall, Pol Pot's demise, two new nuclear powers and the glittering productions of Turandot in Beijing and the Olympics in Nagano
MAHATHIR MOHAMAD
Asia's newsmaker of 1998
OSAMA BIN LADEN
Another man who left his mark
POLL
Tell us your choice for Asia's newsmaker of the year
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