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YOURSAY ‘As they said in the ancient Roman senate, ‘Serves you rightus!’’

 

Dr M expresses regret in picking Najib

                       

Quigonbond: PM Najib Razak pandered to "opposition wishes" because he knows he needs to tap into the right side of history.

 

Unfortunately, BN cannot cope because they are still using an outdated operating system which breeds abuse of power, corruption and racial/religious disintegration. Hence all that Najib comes up with is empty talk and promises of reform.

 

Crime rate has nothing to do with the abolition of Internal Security Act (ISA). It has to do with police ineffectiveness, spending more time going after opposition targets, shying away from doing the tough and efficient investigations, and generally lacking intelligence thanks to our national education policy.

 

If former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad blames Najib, it simply means he wants to stick with his old ways - which have failed anyway, by his own account. Hence, if his way cannot work, and Najib's way cannot work, might as well throw the towel and invite Pakatan Rakyat to take over and give Malaysia a real chance at reform.

 

Aries46: Though it has been late in coming, we finally get to hear it from the horse’s mouth that Najib is useless. Mahathir never seem to get it right, does he?

 

Musa Hitam, Ghafar Baba, Anwar Ibrahim, Abdullah, Badawi, Najib and I wonder who else he has in mind now. Muhyiddin Yassin, Hishammuddin Hussein, Ibrahim Ali, Bung Mokhtar Radin? 

 

Mahathir started the ball rolling when he snuffed out the vision of the nation’s leading light Tunku Abdul Rahman and set the nation on his divide and rule path of racism, religious extremism, corruption and cronyism that led to the destruction of the very foundation of civil administration, educational institutions, an independent judiciary and most of all, the interracial and religious harmony among Malaysians - the priceless legacy of our beloved Tunku.

 

What we have today is a divided nation and compromised institutions under the control of a minority government where mediocrity is the order of the day. The classic legacy of the Mahathir era and yet again true to self, he passes the buck to his handpicked blue-eyed boy Najib.

 

Bash: The trouble with you, Mahathir, is that you seem to see it fit to single-handedly pick the choice of PMs to the detriment of democracy. You seem to have repeatedly made the wrong choice.

 

What good are you and why do you think you have more right than the vast majority? Please don't try that again for we know the next one that you champion will be another lemon. For goodness sake, let the people and their chosen leaders determine their fate.

 

Not Confused: "I am reprimanding because I believe that leaders who are not reprimanded will believe that all they have done is good," said Mahathir.

 

This must be the biggest joke ever perpetrated by the senile ex-PM. Ever since he became PM to date, any criticism of the performance or actions of the PM and his sycophantic followers have been harassed and often charged with sedition.

 

This octogenarian has definitely now lost the plot and should just disappear into the far distance. Najib will bite the dust in time anyway.

 

Ferdtan: Mahathir has withdrawn support for Najib as PM? That is blunt as it gets; in fact brutal. In the past Mahathir often gave his sarcastic, yet witty, comments and criticisms against PM, but never so direct.

 

It is the beginning of the many campaigns to come to topple Najib. And it takes an old hand himself to start the first salvo. This is a telling effect that they are dead serious. The battle has begun.

 

I guess Mahathir is running out of time. He is now 89 years old. He has to put plans to protect his legacies and as well as putting his son, Kedah MB Mukhriz, who has no party position, in a much better state when he is no longer around.

 

No wonder “the entire leadership of Pahang Perkasa has resigned en masse from their positions after disagreeing with the national chapter's decision to ‘study possibilities’ of becoming a "political body" in the 14th general election.”

 

This was denied by its president Ibrahim Ali later. The Pahang Perkasa bloc was loyal to PM Najib. They knew that national Perkasa leadership was using the NGO to launch an attack on Najib.

Exactly how? Maybe it is to threaten Umno of a split among Umno members (Malays) to convince Umno powerful Supreme Council to force Najib to step down.

 

Therefore we cannot blame Najib for taking holidays in Europe before an expected bruising ‘battle royal.’ Politics in Malaysia is interesting. Sad, at the same time the welfare of the people takes the back seat.

 

Progressive: This is to put pressure on Najib to ensure that Anwar's appeal in the Federal Court is rejected and the opposition leader is send to prison to end his political career. Simple as that. A warning from Mahathir to Najib.

 

Vijay47: Pardon my ignorance, but on re-reading this news article, I am perplexed by a few things. First, Mahathir says, "I had no choice but to withdraw my support. I now have to reprimand Najib."

 

Yeah, so? Who are you? You are only a former member of the government and also a former Indian. But you seem to be talking as though you are some Roman emperor. Hello, in case you forgot, you name is Mahathir Mohamad, not Tiberius Claudius Caesar.

 

Secondly, (this is the part that gives me a real high) you are so envious of Lee Kuan Yew that you cannot even mention the name Singapore. As they said in the ancient Roman senate, "Serves you rightus!"

 

Tholu: The few alleged statements of Mahathir in this article that piqued my interest:

 

1) "I am reprimanding because I believe that leaders who are not reprimanded will believe that all they have done is good.” (So who has reprimanded you while you were the PM? Who dared to even give contrary views and opinions to your decisions and policies - Musa Hitam? Anwar Ibrahim?

 

2) “I am not like any other Malays.” (Of course, you are not. You are of Indian origin but who want to be Malay more than the indigenous Malays are.

 

3) Mahathir said the government’s funds are used to buy votes especially during general elections... (Tun, at least Najib’s government is only bribing voters who are Malaysians. You on the other hand “imported” voters from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines to secure BN’s victory and by extension your premiership. Your act is treasonous, Tun).

 

Mushiro: When former PM Abdullah did not listen to Mahathir and implement some of Mahathir's mega projects, Mahathir started a move to oust Abdullah until Abdullah finally left.

 

Mahathir should do the same to Najib. But then, who is to replace Najib. Mahathir does not like Khairy Jamaluddin or Nazri Abdul Aziz. Who is acceptable to Mahathir?

 

Azlan Ahmad: Ought to be a post script on his blog entry: “I believe my son Mukhriz will do a much better job.”

 

David Dass: The country has changed. The world has changed. People have access to news through the Internet. They are no longer ignorant. They can no longer be fed a steady diet of filtered news.

 

Najib was trying to respond to those changes. As did Abdullah Badawi. Mahathir thinks that both removed the tight lid he had imposed on the country. He is wrong. People will no more accept his brand of government.

 

Too much damage has already been done. The ISA cannot be used to curb dissent. We do not have enough jails to imprison the dissidents. The government must change.

                                                           

Why is change so difficult? Why don't we simply shore up our democratic institutions? We have them. They are the reason for our stability and growth. Make them better. Do not weaken them.

The rule of law is firmly established in the country. We are not subject to the whims and caprices of despots. We are not a feudal state. We are a democracy. That is a good thing. Embrace it. The country will be in a better place.


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