Politician

I cannot accept this country being destroyed by selfish people who only think about themselves.

As far as Malaysia is concerned, Singapore is a foreign country.

The West only talks about how you can militarily defeat the terrorists, but terrorists are very difficult to defeat because they can appear anywhere.

We say less things about Australians than Australians say about us, calling me a dictator, authoritarian government.

I resigned on my own, and during my time, the country enjoyed a period of great prosperity.

Big corporations don't just belong to one person or two persons but to a whole nation. If you let big corporations fail, then a lot of people are going to suffer.

I've had quite a long time in government, and I've learned a few things.

We want to defend the rights of Malaysians. We don't want to sell chunks of this country to foreign companies who will develop whole towns.

All leaders must have some power. Without power, you can't be a leader.

Not many dictators announce their resignation, but I did because I didn't want to stay on and overstay my welcome.

It is always the right of the mighty which prevails over the weak, and that is very primitive.

I know I'm not popular with all the people. Remember, I am 'cruel' or a 'pharaoh.' That's all right. In politics, you get called all types of names.

Being a medical practitioner enables me to get in touch with people, understand their problems, feel sympathetic towards them, and the natural thing is to want to help them, and if you become a politician and if you are successful, you can help them even more.

If India is not too democratic, it will be like China in terms of development.

I believe that every leader has a right to implement his own policy. But when I see things that are done that are not right - abuse of power, wrong approaches, wrong strategies, making use of foreign consultants, including those discarded by other countries - I feel that I have to have my say.

Malaysia has got all the things in place to continue growth: the policies are there; the mechanisms are there. So, I think even when I am not around, Malaysia can do with other people who are converse with our policies.

A country without engineering skill and knowledge will never become a developed country.

I believe that currency trading should not be a business at all.

There are certain things that we can deal with by following the rules. But at times, we find the rules restrict you from doing the right things. On such occasions, we have to rethink - either you change the rules or break the rules.

In Asia, we live within our means. So when we are poor, we live as poor people. I think that is a lesson that Europe can learn from Asia.