COMMENT | Can Mahathir score an injury-time goal to save Malaysia?
COMMENT | Hearing Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad complaining about the unfairness befalling him makes me smile. Doesn’t he realise that he is now swallowing his own bitter medicine? That he himself had dished out to others when he was the fourth prime minister (PM4)?
Some may call it karma. Or in Islam, kifarah, that God will repay the good or evil deeds of a person accordingly. Here are some examples:
1) Najib’s stepson escapes money laundering charge
The recent court deal for Riza Abdul Aziz (Najib Razak’s stepson) to dodge money laundering charges left Mahathir “confused and concerned”. Did this mean, he asked, that other "thieves" could escape if they agreed to return stolen money?
To avoid contempt of court, he chose his words carefully, “I don’t question the judge’s decision. Surely it is in accordance with the law, but… if we go on this basis, the thief would be set free…”
However, what our Dear Doctor should really ask himself is - why have there been “confusing” court decisions over the years? Is it because Mahathir’s “therapy” back in 1987 was to sack three Supreme Court judges? Was this done to ensure a favourable verdict in...
COMMENT | Hearing Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad complaining about the unfairness befalling him makes me smile. Doesn’t he realise that he is now swallowing his own bitter medicine? That he himself had dished out to others when he was the fourth prime minister (PM4)?
Some may call it karma. Or in Islam, kifarah, that God will repay the good or evil deeds of a person accordingly. Here are some examples:
1) Najib’s stepson escapes money laundering charge
The recent court deal for Riza Abdul Aziz (Najib Razak’s stepson) to dodge money laundering charges left Mahathir “confused and concerned”. Did this mean, he asked, that other "thieves" could escape if they agreed to return stolen money?
To avoid contempt of court, he chose his words carefully, “I don’t question the judge’s decision. Surely it is in accordance with the law, but… if we go on this basis, the thief would be set free…”
However, what our Dear Doctor should really ask himself is - why have there been “confusing” court decisions over the years? Is it because Mahathir’s “therapy” back in 1987 was to sack three Supreme Court judges? Was this done to ensure a favourable verdict in a crucial Umno Baru case?
Tunku Abdul Rahman (above) wrote that these sackings "struck a terrible blow" to the "independence of our judiciary". So, instead of moaning over Riza’s “get out of jail” card, perhaps our Wise Tun should look deep into the mirror?
2) ROS declares that Mahathir is out
Another decision that must be “confusing” is the Registrar of Societies (ROS) confirming that Mahathir is no longer chairperson of Bersatu.
He had quit on Feb 24, during the heat of the Sheraton Move, yet it was widely reported that Bersatu had convinced the grand old leader to retract his resignation and even announced that he would remain as chairperson. Furthermore, he had retained the position uncontested after nominations for the party elections closed on March 16.
Given these facts, how could the ROS announce such a “strange” decision? To rub salt into the wound, he has even been kicked out of the very party he founded. This seems SOOO unfair and surely poor old Mahathir must have SOME way to appeal against this?
But sorry, he’s out of luck. Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966 states that the decision of a political party “shall be final and conclusive” and cannot be “called in question in any court on any ground”.
That law seems rather harsh indeed… but guess who made it happen? Yes, it was the Clever Leader himself who changed the Societies Act during the big Umno fight of the late 1980s, to cut off rival Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from appealing to the courts against party decisions. And now, Mahathir finds that the sharp keris he created is pointed back at him.
Or as the Troll-in-Chief, Najib Razak, taunted: “If the seventh PM wants to blame anyone, he should blame the fourth PM.”
3) 'Harassment' of his Bersatu people
Mahathir claimed that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is “harassing” Bersatu Youth, describing these as “Najib Razak-era tactics”.
Siti Nurul Hidayah (above), an aide of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, claimed that MACC officers had thrown her mobile phone at her, used curse words, threatened to slap her and kicked her chair when she was interrogated.
“They asked me to stand for 30 minutes while raising one leg and both my hands,” she added.
Dear Tun, perhaps your memory has some convenient “mudah lupa” spots, for these are actually the tactics not just of Najib but also of the “Mahathir era”. Have you forgotten how you locked up people (not just politicians but social activists as well) without trial during Operasi Lallang in 1987, when you were PM4?
They were not just “harassed” but subjected to psychological torture. The ventilator in an underground room was switched off and even women detainees were physically beaten.
These people were not genuine “national security” threats under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The real “danger” was that you, our Great Leader, feared losing power, and so, as Kua Kia Soong has observed, you created a “climate of terror” to fulfil your real agenda of winning the internal Team A vs Team B battles in Umno.
Given all this, any alleged “harassment” in the current Team A vs Team B battle in Bersatu is almost like poetic justice, a boomerang returning to repay your past wrongs.
Tragically, when you had the second chance as PM7 to remove oppressive laws (such as Sosma, Sedition Act, etc) and to reform the police force, you dragged your feet. So you really have little right to complain now, when the tables are turned against you.
4) Cronyism, lies, frog jumping, etc
Cronyism and patronage were well known when Mahathir was PM4. Sadly, instead of genuine repentance and reform when he became PM7, he allowed it to creep back in and those who benefitted allegedly included his own children.
Our Upright Tun now slams PN for using political appointments to the GLCs and minister posts as "indirect bribes". But his then Rural Development Minister, Rina Harun (photo, below, who has since jumped over to PN and gained fame as “Menteri Doraemon”), appointed politicians from Bersatu to GLC boards under her control. More amusingly, Najib counter-attacked by listing all the sweetheart deals that the old man had given out.
What other vile deeds does the old man cry foul of? Muhyiddin’s (alleged) lies (about the number of MPs supporting him) to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to secure power? Well, how about Mahathir’s lies to maintain power? For example, about Anwar Ibrahim punching himself to get a black eye to gain sympathy?
Is he angry about political frogs who brought down the Pakatan Harapan government? Well, the Moral Master should know that he himself exploited such slippery amphibians to overthrow Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which had rightfully won the 1994 state election.
5) Do some final good karma?
Dear Tun, by now, even you must realise that your previous sins have come back to bite you. Some people have said it was better that you should live a long life so that you could witness the fruits of your ugly tactics ripening and then rotting before your own eyes.
But you have done good things in the past too. One example was the decision not to censor the internet to promote your MSC brainchild. Good begets good, and so when you were shut out of the mainstream media after your attacks against PM5 Pak Lah, you could still run to the online media, including Malaysiakini, to make your voice heard. Unlike China’s heavily-controlled cyberspace, our much more open online space also allowed the corrupt antics of Umno to be widely known, paving the way for you to return as PM7.
We are not sure how much longer you will remain on earth. But, perhaps the age of 95 is a good time to take stock, repent and sow some selfless good deeds as your farewell gift to Malaysia.
If you really believe that Muhyiddin Yassin and gang will drag this country down into kleptocratic ruin, then you should hasten to support any move that can stop that, even though you personally will not return to power. This may include supporting Anwar Ibrahim, or another compromise candidate (Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad? Khalid Samad?), as PM9 to retake the government.
Dear Tun, you have done so much wrong. But we don’t want to remember you as the villain who destroyed this country. Why not do the right thing? Not for power or ego, but because it’s the Right Thing? Treat it as your lasting endowment to our country.
To use a football analogy, Team Malaysia is losing and you yourself are playing in injury time. The final whistle will be blown anytime. Why not step forward and score that last-minute goal? Maybe you can cement your legacy as the man who ended his career by saving this country.
ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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