Mid-autumn, 1980. As a young Malaysian student in London, I was caught in the turmoil caused by Margaret Thatcher’s ascent to power. As a new Prime Minister, the Iron Lady, as she was known, brought some sweeping changes to the British government’s existing policies relating to the Commonwealth.

One of these changes was the extremely reviled and controversial fee hike for foreign students that she introduced. Prior to her inauguration, students of the Commonwealth enjoyed fees that were slightly above what a British student would pay, which on average would run between 300 to 500 pounds per annum. Considering that a pound was close to RM6 at the time, that was still a considerable amount of money.

However, with one stroke of a pen, she raised the fee from 370 pounds in my particular case to 2,470 pounds per annum. It plunged me into the throes of a dilemma as it did my father who was then financing my education.

There were some 14,000 of us stuck in this quagmire. And it was at that time, as we were struggling to find alternatives and solutions to survive, that a young, vibrant, vigorous Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister from Malaysia came forth to challenge the Iron Lady on this very overbearing and controversial rule.

Dr Mahathir as he was then known, challenged her not only in the press but also in the Parliament. He was outspoken, vocal and sharply critical of this totally insensitive and rather destructive policy. This particular rule set back the British relationship with the Commonwealth by several decades. He made no bones about it and he was our champion.

I travelled all the way across London on a cold autumn evening to hear our Sir Galahad speak at Malaysia Hall in Bryanston Square in London. I still remember peering through the gaps in the throng that filled the hall that night to catch a glimpse of this already famous Malaysian leader.

It was his fiery oratorical skills that warmed my heart that day. I went home feeling that little much better. Despite having no clear solutions in sight, just hearing him made me feel a little prouder of being Malaysian in London.

As a result of his attempts, there was, a year later, a slight softening in the stance of the UK government, resulting in grants that enabled many of us to continue our education. To this day, I owe this to this veritable icon who strode across the globe and changed the lives of a few thousand students such as I.

At that point in time I did not even have an inkling of the colossus that he would become, a virtual monument to the eternal rebel in all of us.

The Malaysia that I had left as a student was very much in the words of this great man himself, ‘a sleepy hollow’ -- a collective grouping of kampungs scattered all throughout the peninsula -- and it was a kampung style culture that I had left behind.

I spent the next 13 years abroad and returned to find in the early 1990s a Malaysia that had transformed itself into a virtual economic powerhouse, a first world country in the making amongst the third world. This sleepy hollow had morphed into a young dragon that was throwing its head back and roaring out into the temporal universe. Malaysia, the trendsetting leader of the third world that many a nation, be it in far flung Africa or South America, the Middle East and even Central Asia looked up to, admired and was in awe of. This then, was the Malaysia I came back to. There is no doubt in my mind that this was solely due to the prowess, the perseverance, the persistence, the patience, the pragmatism and the non-conformist leadership of this man, Tun Dr Mahathir.

I am sure there are many that are critical of his style of leadership, yet even among the worst of his detractors, none can deny that Malaysia before Mahathir and the Malaysia post-Mahathir are virtually in two different eras.

Twenty-nine years since that autumn day in London, in what would be mid-autumn in UK, on November 2nd, 2009, I was filled with awe as I was ushered into the office of Tun Dr Mahathir himself. I was totally speechless as he walked out from behind his desk and invited our entourage to be seated in his meeting hall.

My first words when he looked at me were, “Tun, I stand here today because of what you did for us and for me in particular in 1980, nearly three decades ago.”

He was completely taken aback but with a smile and a self effacing gesture he said, “That was a long time ago.” I reiterated to him that over the past two decades that I had lived abroad as a Malaysian, I had walked with pride and lifted my head up high because of what he had done for my motherland, Malaysia.

We broached a number of subjects ranging from controversial ones, such as the curved bridge with Singapore, the Palestine conflict and his defiance of the IMF to his dream of creating a new world financial trading currency based on gold as opposed to the US dollar. It proved to be an enlightening time for me. Tun Mahathir’s incredibly sharp mind was reflected in his encyclopaedic recollection of times, dates and incidents throughout his career.

He expressed the wish to see the end of conflict, and of wars being fought needlessly across the planet. He still wishes above all to see the eradication of poverty. The undercurrent that I felt throughout the discussion was his total dedication, devotion and determination to see Malaysia take her place among the league of nations as a first world country. The one thought that I came away with is that here is a man truly driven by a vision even today.

As he led us into the 21st century, we as Malaysians wherever we were had a greater buoyancy in our step and we essentially stopped being just another third world country and became instead the Malaysia which is home to such marvels as one of the world’s tallest buildings, the third longest bridge and one of the world’s best airports. Some of these things that other 3rd world countries did not even dream of aspiring to! And no more was I asked “And where is this Malaysia?” As Tun Dr Mahathir put us on the map, he also gave us pride and respect. And for this, if nothing else, we as Malaysians owe him.