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Earlier I wrote a piece, ‘Mahathir is old, but not stupid’ on Jan 8, 2017. Now Mahathir himself has said “Dr M: Yes I’m old - but I’m not senile”.

Before this, he was labelled many other names - someone who easily forgets, leopard that can’t change its spots, practising selective memory, father of cronyism and nepotism, champion of ‘piratisation’, a racist, a destroyer of institutions, someone who curtail freedom and is anti-democracy and anti-Semitism. But I ‘love’ the latest term added to the list describing him - he is now ‘the champion of U-turn’.

I feel sad not because all these terms are used against him. To me, it does not matter any more whether these terms have merit or otherwise. The country is too critical at this stage to be delving on the past.

What I feel very sad is to see a 91 year old man, the PM of Malaysia for 22 years, standing for one hour launching a new political party. It is even sadder to see that many pertinent issues he highlighted were not linked to the nation’s new impetus for development but mundane issues trying to solve the malaise confronting this country.

Without doubt, his first concern was the hint of Malaysia losing its independence, despite after more than half a century of self-rule. I guess with the country’s finance in dire straits, ringgit in tatters, some foreign governments investigating and filing court cases, and massive ‘Foreign direct investments’ into our property and infrastructure sectors, the concern is natural, but could be overblown.

Probably it is not the naked colonialism he was talking about, but in the present time and circumstances, it is possible to lose something without us knowing or realising it.

However, I love Mahathir’s ‘U-turn’ on Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) best. It is true he said BR1M was bribery earlier. Now he is saying BR1M should be a statutory aid properly determined by laws and the annual budget with allocation, disbursement and eligibility criteria strictly followed. The quantum and eligibility of BR1M must not be based on whims and fancies.

Despite the ‘U-turn’, what Mahathir said on BR1M is discerning and astute. A major programme of the government involving billions of ringgits should be handled in a proper manner. If not, we will soon be losing control over it - I mean who would ever say no if we throw money at them. It is an idiotic question to ask BR1M recipients whether they need it or not. It is even more idiotic to ask them whether they need more than the present amount they receive.

Mahathir said many other things during the party launch. It is sad he wasn’t talking about the new impetus for Malaysia or the new initiatives to take this country to greater heights. Instead, he, like many other Malaysian leaders, is caught in the present quagmire of despondency and hopelessness.

As a nation, we are still entangled in issues that should have been settled a long time ago. Imagine we are still in endless polemics over poor democracy, lack of freedom, minimal rule of law, and unfair and improper implementation of laws. Imagine we are still in the midst of finding out a way to circumscribe the power of our leaders and hold them to account if and when they do wrong.

But are these not ground rules as provided for in our constitution and system of government a long time ago?

Frankly, I find all these very perplexing. If another leader comes along, can he not do the same thing - violate the rule of law, circumvent democracy and the constitution, and abuse power without having to account for it?

I think Malaysians have not tried to ask the more fundamental questions - how did we come to our present quagmire despite all the institutions of government and ground rules already well-established in our system. Are we saying our constitution is really that ambiguous? Are we sure there are no other forces at play?

How did power concentration come about?

Some said it was due to concentration of power. But how did power concentration come about? Some said it was bribery. But how did a person gather so much money to bribe everyone to begin with? Some said it was the speaker of Parliament, chairperson of the Public Account Committee, and heads of other institutions of government not playing their roles. But have we asked why and how they are able to behave the way they do?

I don’t blame Mahathir for bring up all these issues because without settling them, the country cannot go forward. But then, is it possible to foresee all things and to write into rules governing the things we can’t foresee? Is it possible to formulate rules to circumscribe the ingenuity and depravity of men?

How did corruption, grand larceny and gross abuse of power happen without an iota of reaction from any relevant people in the administration? It is an easy question but with no simple answer. I am sure there are counter-arguments to every answer.

To conclude, I want to share this story on US Vice-President Joe Biden to add another dimension on public service for all of us to think about.

Joe Biden was elected to the US Senate at age 29. He served in the Senate for 35 years and as vice-president for eight years, making a total of 43 years in public service.

When his son was diagnosed with brain cancer, he could not afford the expensive treatment. Biden offered to sell his house to pay for his son’s medical care. President Barack Obama had to stop him from selling his house and offered to pay the medical care on his behalf.

On Jan 20, 2017, he will end his tour of duty as the vice-president of the United States. This story is authentic, revealed at the ceremony where Biden was awarded by President Obama the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.

The point here is this - why did a man, after having served for 35 years as a US senator and eight years as vice-president, not have tonnes of money at his disposal? How did this politician get his contentment that our own here were not able to do the same?

We can all think about it, but I am sure there are many answers as disagreements.

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