One of my more vivid childhood memories was the monthly trip to the neighbourhood barber shop, a day which I eagerly awaited since the tantalising aromas of hair oil and cheap perfume never failed to lift my spirits.

The walls were also an optical feast, dotted with posters of scantily-clad movie stars.

Slotted in between were photographs of three elegantly dressed people, including a handsome 'uncle'. To a six-year-old, they appeared to be absolute oddballs amid the bevy of Indian and Caucasian women.

As my pilgrimage to the barbershop continued over the next decade or so, I was consistently subjected to transformations. Now and then, old movie stars made way for new ones and even two of the elegantly dressed folks changed occasionally.

However, the handsome 'uncle' remained. He was none other than Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The other two, I later learnt, were the King and Queen.

Staying power

For more than a decade more, his photograph continued to adorn the wall until the barber shop was demolished recently to pave the way for redevelopment.

Mahathir was someone I grew up with. Like Milo, he was always there.

As a child, whenever a relative visited, my parents would never fail to showcase my knowledge of national issues by popping the question, 'Who is the prime minister of Malaysia?'

And I would dutifully reply, 'Dr Mahathir Mohamad'. Nobody ever asked me who the King and Queen were but I am not complaining, since that would have been a tough nut to crack.

A few days ago, I overheard a friend asking his three-year-old daughter the same question.

"Who is this?" he asked, pointing to the television set and she promptly responded, 'Mahathir tata' - the latter word meaning grandfather in Tamil.

Such was this man's remarkable staying power.

All praise

During my early days, I never heard an ill word about him. My parents, especially my mother, holds the premier in high regard.

"He did a lot for us, especially providing the pension scheme to wives of deceased civil servants," she would say. Incidentally, my father is a civil servant.

An uncle used to remark that if not for Mahathir, foreigners would still be thinking that Malaysians live on trees and regard us as that 'country next to Singapore'.

In school, teachers were also full of praise for him and I suspect this had something to do with the pay scheme revision.

In college, we regarded him as 'the man', for he brought development and with it, cool shopping malls and happening places like the Telawi area in Bangsar.

Other side

However, as my political horizons expanded, I slowly began to learn about the other side of the beloved prime minister.

I learnt about his rise, his scathing letter to the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, his nationalist views and his controversial book, 'The Malay Dilemma'.

I learnt about the jostle for power within Umno which subsequently led to the 'silencing' of the once vocal judiciary.

I learnt about the infamous 'Operasi Lalang' where opposition politicians and activists were sent to the gulag for supposedly being a threat to national security.

I learnt about how The Star and together with it, freedom of the press and expression, were shut down.

I learnt about allegations of cronyism and nepotism.

And more recently, I learnt about the fate that befell those who dared challenge him.

Visionary leader

To be fair, Mahathir is undoubtedly a visionary and an amazing leader even at his age of 77. Under his stewardship, there has been great economic progress and the country has been spared any major ethnic conflicts.

Almost singlehandedly, he placed Malaysia on the global map and it is hard to imagine that any other leader could reach his mark.

Even malaysiakini - which more often than not features views highly critical of the premier and his policies - would not have been a viable idea if he had not given prominence to Information Technology.

Hearing his speech at the recently concluded Umno annual general assembly, reaffirmed the fact that he is one of those rare leaders who is unafraid to speak his mind.

His vitriolic attacks, peppered with humour, on the Europeans and opposition party PAS, drew smirks even from some of his staunchest critics.

Mahathir's razor-sharp bluntness has been both his strength and weakness. A dab of diplomacy may have made a world of difference but that is just not his cup of tea.

"I call a spade a spade," he explained when noting how an Umno leader had used the term 'foreigners' instead of Europeans when debating the presidential speech.

Forget about the school of Occidental Studies, let's have the school of Mahathirdental studies instead.

Now, as it dawns upon me that his political tenure has nearly come to an end, I can't help but feel sad. With his departure, he will take a part of me, who has known no other prime minister.

I will definitely miss him and believe that those who have come to love to hate him will also be inwardly mourning the absence of a worthy foe.

However, I sincerely hope and pray that Malaysia never again sees such a long-serving premier. The wheels of democracy need to be oiled now and then.