COMMENT Dr Mahathir Mohamad has to realise that his objective to save Malaysia without first changing the regime that is still in control over the public institutions in this country will not work.

In my article yesterday, I had stood up in defence of the former prime minister. The truth is that he has an important role to play, but unless he plays it well, he will never be able to redeem his reputation and furthermore to save Malaysia.

It is not Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak alone who is at fault, albeit the major scandal implicating him and his associate Low Taek Jho in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fiasco.

Although the auditor-general’s report has been placed under the Official Secrets Acts (OSA), we now know from a copy of the report provided by whistleblower site Sarawak Report how things went wrong.

There is nothing that can be hidden, which will not eventually be brought into the broad daylight. This is a universal truth that Najib should realise by now.

And Dr Mahathir, too, should realise that whatever he has sown, he will also reap in return. In fact, in the last past one year, he has been reaping what he had sown for the 22 years that he was in power, throwing people like Suaram’s Dr Kua Kia Soong into prison under Operation Lallang; now, will he also face the same risks?

Najib, too, will reap what he sows now. There is no escape from this universal law: “You shall sow what you reap.” For this reason, those in the corridors of power may think they can escape with their wrongdoings; but the time will come when the long arms of the law will catch up with them.

Someone has said that Dr Mahathir is finally having to experience his own bitter medicine which he had concocted for the nation, under his very own protégé. I cannot agree more.

Realignment of forces

Under the current circumstances, Dr Mahathir has to look to the opposition for support to help achieve his own objectives. He needs the opposition more than they need him.

There is therefore no reason to believe that Dr Mahathir will now replace the de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim or PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also opposition leader in the August House.

Besides the stamina, Dr Mahathir does not command the same amount of respect amongst the supporters of Pakatan Harapan and I do not think he even cares if he is not the leader of the pact. He is too old for that. As a veteran, he simply fill the gap that former Umno leaders choose not to take up.

I believe most of us do indeed welcome Dr Mahathir joining the force, despite his single objective - to remove Najib. He created the ‘beast’, now he has to take on the role as the Terminator MM.

Never in the past has Malaysia’s name been maligned so much as it is now. Most people may not have travelled to Malaysia for their holiday, but they have at least heard or read about Malaysia, no thanks to the 1MDB mother of scandals. The perception of Malaysia is nothing positive!

Therefore, if Dr Mahathir wants to save Malaysia, he has to agree for now that the game has to be played right instead of appeasing his own ego. He has to admit that Umno has become allegedly so corrupted that its leaders are now unable to see between what is right from wrong.

Despite all the expose of wrongdoings by the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report, Umno division leaders are still giving their blind support to Najib, when investigators in other countries have tracked the money flow which suggests that Najib may be responsible by virtue of Article 17 of the Memorandum of Association for the huge amount of money that has been siphoned into a blackhole.

Until and unless Barisan Nasional loses big in the coming general election, Najib’s position will remain secure for many years to come.

At this juncture, not even the Conference of Malay rulers appears to be in a position to dislodge Najib as prime minister. He may be a weak prime minister the way I look at it, but he is well-protected within the fortress that was engineered by Dr Mahathir.

For that reason, I have said that we should welcome Dr Mahathir as the Terminator, and should he defect and return to Umno, it should not derail the people’s struggle for a more just society.

Give a chance to Pakatan

In the last two terms that Pakatan has been in power in two major states, both Selangor and Penang have been administered well.

For example, Selangor’s reserve has hit a high of RM4 billion and Penang has also become a key tourist attraction in the region. Penangites who return to the island state tell me that the atmosphere has changed under the able leadership of Lim Guan Eng.

I can see for myself that the coastal towns in Selangor, for example, Tanjung Sepat and Sekinchan have become key tourist attractions in the last few years. Whereas people hardly talked or even heard about these coastal fishing villages in the past, these towns are now booming.

In my own constituency, I also see that the roads have been re-paved and trees trimmed, while walkways have been done up properly by the local council.

There may be occasionally one or two cases of corruption, but it is hardly anything in the magnitude of RM4 billion for an individual.

In the case of the late Teoh Beng Hock, it was over a couple of thousand ringgit - and that, too, was to purchase Malaysian flags. The recent corruption case against Penang chief minister also appears to be trumped up, in much the same way that Anwar was accused and charged with sodomy, acquitted, and subsequently found ‘guilty’.

Anwar is clearly a political prisoner from the numerous statements issued by world leaders. We know there is a ‘political agenda’ behind his imprisonment. So, in order for justice to return to this country, and to save Malaysia from going to the dogs, Dr Mahathir and his fellow Umno supporters must agree that they must allow Umno and Barisan Nasional to suffer a big defeat in the coming general election.

Until then, Dr Mahathir can rest assured that it will be status quo; while he may pass on, Najib will remain in his position for many years to come.

There are really no other options that I can see unless all the forces start to realign themselves, and decide on how to play their individual roles towards a common objective.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

Related stories

Riza Aziz, Jho Low and 2 others named in US Justice Dept lawsuit

Dr M: Set up tribunal, invite foreign judges to hear 1MDB case

DIGP mum on 1MDB probe, passes buck to top cop

US expected to seize 1MDB-linked assets, possibly biggest in history

NYT: Najib not named in US Justice Department complaint