Dr Mahathir Mohamad is realising that power and influence comes through patronage. The inheritor of the Umno mantle takes all. Mahathir is a 'nobody' now in the eyes of the Umnoputeras because he has lost his power of patronage. It is sad to see this old man demeaning himself.

The Umnoputeras are not interested in him anymore because he has nothing to offer them. The 22 years of sycophancy was just a 'perk' of the Umno leadership. Unfortunately, Mahathir allowed himself to believe that he was a superhuman figure which he certainly is not.

History will judge Mahathir to be nothing more than an opportunist racist politician who decimated democratic governance in Malaysia and did much to destroy the social, religious and environmental fabric of our nation.

Governance by Umno is feudal in nature and capitalises on a sense of insecurity and helplessness in face of the real world. Notice how Umno threw tantrums when it was reported by Asli that bumiputera equity could have reached as much as 45%? It almost seems that Umno despairs when indices of Malay economic advancement show improvement.

The tussle between Pak Lah and Mahathir is purely about grabbing the cake meant for the upliftment of the Malays for whom the non-Muslims have sacrificed for. The bumiputeras' relative backwardness equals more elite Umno wealth. Simple as it seems, that is the magic formula.