The continuing spat between former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Abdul Razak seems to find no end. Although so much had been written in the social and mainstream media, no one has asked or speculate why for instance Dr Mahathir is so concerned should Umno and BN lose the next general election, which according to him, will happen if Najib continues to head Umno.

To him, losing the general election is like the coming of Doomsday when everything will be destroyed under the new government. We have seen political parties having been in power for a long time had lost in general elections, like the Indian National Congress Party, the LDP in Japan and the Golkar party in Indonesia, to name a few. We have also seen the same political parties taking the roles of opposition and government at different times in their respective countries.

In almost all of them, there was no catastrophe following the changes in government. Just look at the countries that had practiced parliamentary democracies for a long time like India, Japan, Australia and the UK. And Malaysia is also in the list of such countries.  

Hence a change of government could well happen in this country. And if this comes true as predicted by Dr Mahathir, the rakyat should not be unduly alarmed or expect that hell will let loose.

The new government I believe will have the welfare of the rakyat at heart just like the present government. They also want economic growth and social development, welcome foreign investments and expertise to help the country’s development. The national goal is the same. The difference lies only in the way the new government manage the country’s resources and its policies.

So who are really worried if and when BN loses? Not everyone but only certain groups of people. For instance those who have direct vested business interest with the power that be, those who survive on government patronage for their continued existence, the rent-seekers that depend on government contracts and handouts.  

The good thing is that these people do not represent the majority of the population and so it is not a big deal if they are adversely affected by the new regime. For the middle, lower and low income people, or the ‘silent majority’, they will continue with their normal daily routine and grievances complaining about the rising costs of living, the education system, the rising costs of healthcare and other local or domestic issues.

But at the end of the day it will be very much business as usual for them regardless of who governs. Racial and religious cards which had been used in the past to garner support by political parties will be a thing of the past now, especially with the new generation.

So it begs the question why is Dr Mahathir so worried about the prospect of BN losing the next elections. There had been a strong perception by the people that if the opposition comes into power hell will be let loose.

Major scandals will be probed

Major scandals and financial fiascoes that happened during Dr Mahathir’s era as prime minister will be investigated especially those that involved billions of public money. The episodes that come to mind include the Bank Bumiputra Finance fiasco, Mamimco, the Bank Negara Forex deal, the Perwaja Steel Project, the Bakun dam, the acquisition of Konsortium Perkapalan by MISC, and the Port Klang Free Trade Zone debacle.

It was also an era of ‘privatisation’ and ‘Malaysia Inc’. The privatisation of the utilities services gave birth to the various independent power producers (IPP’s) and water concessionaires. A lot of issues emerged from this exercise which had not been  resolved until this day. The list can be further extended for instance to include the use and management of Petronas money for which the prime minister himself has direct influence.  

Remember Dr Mahathir’s time was also a regime of ‘negotiated and closed’ tenders whereby  all public sector projects like construction of schools,  hospitals , roads and other infrastructure projects were awarded. There must be some ‘glaring’ abuse of power in many of these awards, not to mention “corruption” nepotism, cronyism and leakages which had resulted.

It is therefore imperative on any new government to revisit these controversial episodes, to bring the wrongdoers to face justice and most important of all to retrieve and  return the billions of ringgit of taxpayers money that had gone missing or been absconded back to the national coffers. This was what had been done by our neighbours when change of power or government took place.

Many believe that the opening of the Pandora’s box will send a chilled feeling across the necks of  many people who wielded huge power and influence during Dr Mahathir’s era of premiership, especially  those who had abused such power or position. It is this fear probably that underpins Dr Mahathir’s fear of losing the next general election more than anything else. And hence his continuous attack (which is his best line of defence) against Najib as head of the BN.

And to that extent all the allegations levelled at him are just red herrings