本研究以馬哈迪的聲譽（reputation）為案例，以記憶工程作為理論基礎，探討馬哈迪自2003年退休至2018年再度任相期間的聲譽營造。本研究以文本資料分析為研究方法，蒐集了2003年至2018年期間，馬來西亞中文主流媒體對於馬哈迪的報導作為主要資料來源，並透過不同政治陣營領袖的論述進行歸納。
研究發現，馬哈迪被「英雄化」與「妖魔化」的兩極聲譽，是在國家政治菁英的主導下所形塑而成。這兩種聲譽分別透過正面的「現代化之父」、「馬來民族主義者」、「救國者」；以及負面的「威權領袖」和「種族主義者」的形象之上進行營造。來自不同陣營的領袖透過記憶策略的進行，用以營造或打擊馬哈迪的聲望，他們透過強調與淡化特定的形象，來影響社會對於馬哈迪的記憶。這些不同形象的建構，是隨著社會脈絡的變遷，以及為了回應不同社群的需求所營造而成。因此，看似兩極化的聲譽，事實上是「拼貼畫（collage）」般的組成，我們能夠經由不同社會脈絡或社群的視角，觀察到不同形象和聲譽的馬哈迪。
On the road to democracy in the past 20 years, Malaysia finally ushered its first party switching in the 14th general election in 2018. However, paradoxically, Mahathir, the opposition party leader who led the party and won the election, is not only the former prime minister from the ruling party, but also considered as a critical figure in the shaping of Malaysia’s authoritarian regime. Accordingly, this study discovered Mahathir's image and reputation have undergone a major transition. It led to questions as in how Malaysian perceive and remember this national leader. Furthermore, how is his reputation shaped?
Based on the Mahathir's reputation, this study frames the concept of mnemonic engineering in theory to analyze the reputation building of Mahathir from his retirement in 2003 to his re-election in 2018. This study adopted textual analysis as methodology and collected reports on Mahathir by mainstream Chinese media in Malaysia from 2003 to 2018 as the main research data, and further summarized through the discourse of leaders from different political parties.
The study found Mahathir's polarized reputation for being "heroized" and "demonized" was dominant by the country's political elite. The two distinctive reputations are built respectively upon the positive image of "Father of Modernization", "Malay Nationalist", "Savior"; and negative image of "Authoritarian leader" and "Racist". Leaders from different parties adopted mnemonic strategies in building or destroying Mahathir's reputation. They shaped the memory of how people in Malaysia cognize Mahathir by emphasizing and downplaying specific images. The construction of certain images is created upon changes in the social context and in response to the needs of different communities. Therefore, the seemingly polarized reputation is in fact a "collage-like" composition. It allows us to observe Mahathir through the lens of different social contexts or communities that eventually present him in the contrasting images and reputations.
