Communication Skills 2 Final Draft

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Good morning to all my fellow friends and my beloved lecturer, Miss Freda. Today, I would like to present a speech about the Father of Modernization in our country. I bet not all of you have heard his name before, especially our Philippino friends, even our local students also maybe no idea with this person. Our Father of Modernization, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad. Mahathir was born in July 10, 1925, at Alor Setar, Kedah,the youngest of nine children of a schoolteacher and a housewife. His father, Mohamad Iskandar, was of Indian origin, being the son of a Malayalee Muslim (who migrated from Kerala, South India) and a Malay mother, while Mahathir's own mother, Wan Tampawan. He is a retired Malaysian political figure. He was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister, and one of the longest-serving leaders in Asia. During his term in office, he was credited for engineering Malaysia's rapid modernisation.
During World War II, he sold pisang goreng (banana fritters) and other snacks to supplement his family income during the Japanese occupation of Malaya. Mahathir attended a Malay vernacular school before continuing his education at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Star. Mahathir then attended the King Edward VII Medical College in Singapore, where he edited a medical student magazine called The Cauldron; he also contributed to the The Straits Times newspaper under the nickname "Che Det". Mahathir was also President of the Muslim Society in the college. Upon graduation in 1953, Mahathir joined the Malayan government service as a medical officer. He married Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali—a fellow doctor and former classmate in college—on 5 August 1956, and left government service in 1957.
Mahathir became the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16 July 1981 when Tun Hussein Onn stepped down due to health reasons. He was the nation's first Prime Minister that came from a modest social background, whereas the first three prime ministers were members of the royal or elite families.
After 22 years in office, Mahathir retired on 31 October 2003, making him one of Asia's longest-serving political leaders. Upon his retirement on 31 October 2003, Mahathir was awarded a "Tun"-ship, Malaysia's highest civilian honour.
The reason why I choosing this topic and share with everyone of you is because, I think as a Malaysian, we should know every political figure, their achievement, and how our country achieve by everyone of them. Hope all of you will appreciate their achievement and remember those who put effort to our country. Thank you.