Despite my scepticism towards Dr Mahathir Mohamad's policies throughout his 22 years as prime minister of Malaysia, I believe that tributes should remain the order of the day.

It is an amazing feat by itself for a democratically elected leader of a Southeast Asian nation to be in power for more than two decades. Dr Mahathir truly deserves a farewell befitting his status as one of the world's longest serving prime ministers.

However, I would like to reserve my tribute and dedicate it to the millions of Malaysians who have patiently endured the series of failed policies, multi-billion ringgit scandals, wasteful mega-projects and narcissistic politicians who are perpetually in self-denial mode.

Truly, it is the Malaysian public who should be congratulated for their intrinsic tolerance and their instinctive quest to live in harmony with each other.

In my opinion, the call by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the nation to show its gratitude towards Dr Mahathir is unnecessary.

Conversely, Dr Mahathir and his government should thank Malaysians for our continuous support and commitment towards living together in relative harmony despite our diversity.

There are two reasons why we should not heed Abdullah's request. First of all, the success of the country does not depend solely on the prime minister. It is the combined effort of thousands of civil servants and millions of hard-working Malaysians that make Malaysia work.

Secondly, it is because true gratitude emerges spontaneously from the individual's heart and it should not have to be cajoled out of someone.

Any child, who has been showered with unconditional love and care by the parents, will eventually be grateful to them. To compel Malaysians to exhibit this gratitude to the outgoing PM would be like asking the fictional hunchback Quasimodo to thank his parents for abandoning him on the steps of the Notr Dame.

Dr Mahathir's speech at the OIC meeting, accusing Jews of ruling the world by proxy, confirms our deepest fear - that he has been ruling our country with hatred and anger, rather than love and kindness.

Instead of trying to call for peaceful resolution and consensus between the Israelis and Palestinians, he blatantly worsens the situation by putting the blame on certain quarters and highlighting their differences rather than similarities.

I suppose this concept of segregation and hostility is brewed from our country's own political structure in which political parties are based on race. The continuous attention given to communal politics does not augur well for a multiracial society seeking to create a single Malaysian identity.

This is because, each time the political parties hold their general assemby, their leaders call for unity among their own members and race. What is the meaning of the word 'unity', if it does not seek to include all races?

There is no doubt that Malaysia has attracted a lot of worldwide attention since Dr Mahathir came into power in the early 1980s. But is Malaysia standing out from the world map for the right reasons?

Are we likened to the beauty contestant in a pageant who projects her beauty and intelligence to gain points? Or are we similar to the contestant who foul-mouths her rivals and praises herself to gain five minutes of fame (or rather, infamy)?

The dynamic policies and slogans introduced in the earlier part of Dr Mahathir's rule are all but forgotten. We are now haunted by symbols of excessive spending such as half-vacant glittering skyscrapers, under-utilised airport facilities and a multimedia super corridor that is so empty, you could almost hear the bits and bytes charging away.

Government projects that usually begin as comprehensive development plans later become large-scale socio-economic experiments that end disastrously.

Due to lack of supervision and poor management, privatisation of national institutions such as Malaysian Airlines has failed. Ironically, the government has bought back the shares of the airline at a ridiculously higher price to bail out the company.

But the strangest thing is that no one is punished for misdemeanors. No one important, that is, except for taxpayers who contribute a portion of their hard earned money to the treasury every year, only to find that their money is wasted on measures to protect the honour and interest of certain 'important people'.

Not to be left out, our cabinet ministers are equally happy to create controversy all by themselves, as if they are taking the cue from the prime minister. Thus we have:

  • a tourism minister who equates the level of patriotism to the number of flags we fly;

  • a unity minister who discriminates against effeminate male students in our local universities;

  • an education minister who fumbles the allocation of university seats; and

  • a health minister who sanctions traditional medication and encourages patients to take legal action against doctors.

    • I cannot comprehend the need for the current frenzy to honour Dr Mahathir tributes that go over the top. It was distressing enough to look at the photo on the front page of The Star (Oct 28, 2003), showing Dr Mahathir and Deputy Finance Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen crying outside the finance ministry upon hearing the song Pahlawan Ku (My Warrior) being sung.

    If more tributes like these are made and more tears are shed, these people are going to suffer from serious body fluid electrolyte imbalance very soon.

    When Oct 31, 2003 dawns upon us, all we need to do is to join our hands to say goodbye. As for tributes and shows of gratitude, please bestow these on ordinary Malaysians who have worked hard and have patiently endured this long running satirical stage show.