YOURSAY | 'Mahathir should not be forgiven until he confesses to all his crimes and makes penance.'

Siti Hasmah: I thought Mahathir was being too harsh on Najib at first...

Anonymous_4171: Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, please also bear in mind that your husband former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is equally, or more, to blame for the present state of this nation.

Corruption in his time was rampant too, but he closed his eyes if it did not touch or hurt his position.

Dont Just Talk: Siti Hasmah, the Najib Razak that you once knew has sadly grown into an ugly butterfly, backed and ill-advised by those who seek wealth and riches without a care for the rakyat.

When in the past, millions had been lost through corruption, it is now by the billions and 1MDB takes the cake.

Never in the history of Malaysia have Malaysians felt so ashamed with the daily exposure of the massive 1MDB financial scandals, the latest being the US Department of Justice (DOJ) suit to seize US$1 billion in assets owned by businessman Jho Low and Najib's stepson Riza Aziz.

From the codename '681 American Pies' and now ‘Malaysian Official 1’, it is only idiots from Umno Baru and BN leaders who cannot connect the dots or refuse to connect the dots.

But sadly the monster that we have today is the result of poor mentorship under Mahathir.

Ipoh PP: Mahathir wanted a quick fix to help the Malays. So he put them on the New Economic Policy, NEP (a drug), so all would be handed on a plate to them. They didn't have to think much, work hard or sweat it out. Marks were lowered to help them.

Today they are handed everything on a silver platter. Look at the civil service. For all this, Mahathir is to be blamed.

Malaysia's downfall has to be placed squarely on Mahathir too. So Mahathir, suffer in silence for the harm you had brought to this beautiful nation of ours.

Just A Malaysian: Umno has created a race trapped by its own fear, which has no confidence in its own ability and depends on formal power to feel good about itself.

It fears globalisation, fears other races, fears other religions, and needs constant reminding from others that they in charge.

It has lost the ability to discuss, debate and intellectualise. It has weak conceptual skills and is prone to emotional outbursts, and primitive and tribal instincts are often seen to take over.

Mahathir has to bear this blame when he tried to move our Malay brothers up too quickly and too fast.

Former premier Tunku Abdul Rahman on the other hand realised that the evolution of our Malay brothers have to be gradual and natural, so that a strong and confident race of people would emerge.

Anonymous 1034721438846003: God created every human equally but there are exceptions to the rule.

Perhaps due to the cultural and religious entrapment, where there is no such thing as freedom of choice as everything in their lives is 'takdir' or God's will, Malay people somehow end up being controlled by their leader.

In this case, the ultimate leader of the Malay people is the prime minister. We cannot say Malay people cannot think, but we must not rule out that they are afraid to think independently. This is the problem of this country.

Try to go to Indonesia, where Muslims there are many times smarter, more hard working and creative than our people. Why? Because their politics are not based on race and religion but based on policies.

I just came back from a remote village of East Indonesia and if we give them the same opportunities that we give our bumiputera, the Indonesians will beat us hands down.

Anonymous #33227154: Yes, Mahathir should not be forgiven until he confesses to all his crimes and makes penance. The NEP and 'ketuanan Melayu' created by Umno is the downfall of Malays in Malaysia.

Many Malays here are hooked like drug addicts to Umno for their livelihood. In contrast, the Indonesian Malays are hardworking, resourceful and they have freedom of religion.

That's because there is no NEP or 'ketuanan Melayu' in Indonesia. Indonesia will overtake us one day and 'Malaysian maids' will become our export.

Worldly Wise: Mahathir always knew what he was doing. It is not his mistake that high standards of integrity had not been observed. Maybe he is at fault for keeping the Malays poorly educated.

For example, the kampung Malays are not bothered with mismanagement in government as long as they get their handouts. Educating rural folk should be the next priority.

Fair Play: Dr M, with sadness, I have to say this: you could have been a great political leader.

But as a medical doctor, you have 'implanted' the crutch mentality into the majority community's psyche.

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