COMMENT | It was a frosty morning at Seattle airport in November 1993. Then Australian prime minister Paul Keating, surrounded by journalists, was asked about Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s refusal to attend the inaugural Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting.

Dismissing Mahathir’s absence, Keating quipped, “Apec is bigger than […] Dr Mahathir and any other recalcitrant.” That one word – recalcitrant - sparked a Malaysian media storm and high-level spats.

Recalcitrance has indeed marked Mahathir ’s political life. He’s going to do what he’s going do – oust Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional from power. And, if the window remains open, to reclaim the prime minister’s seat for the third time despite his age.

As he remarked in an interview with Astroawani: “Before long, I will be gone. Who knows when. Maybe in a year, maybe three years […] so while I still can, it is my duty to correct the situation for the Malays.”

Mahathir will be 95 on July 10. We wish him well as he shuffles towards ...