COMMENT Some friends have asked me as to how history will remember former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad. This has led me to thinking about Ho Chi Minh, Sukarno, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lee Kuan Yew and other Asian giants of colonial and post colonial history, and how Mahathir measures up to them.

However, comparing him to other leaders in our Asian neighbourhood may be unfair to Mahathir as it may be demanding too high a standard in leadership, given the unusual and extraordinary crop of leaders in our part of the world.