One really wonders what Dr Mahathir Mohamad is thinking when he keeps pointing out Pak Lah's so-called 'blunders'. Is he hoping that it will make a difference to the outcome of things? How could that possibly be when such criticisms never seemed to have affected Mahathir when he was the boss. It is still the same Umno, I presume.

Unless Mahathir thinks that he has such a huge residual influence over those who matter in Umno politics. But seriously, would an Umno politician risk defying their boss? (read: Pak Lah, not Mahathir) After all, wasn't it Mahathir who inculcated the golden rule that he who holds the gold rules?

Mahathir is in for a rude awakening if this spat develops into an open fight. From the Anwar Ibrahim episode, we all know that when push comes to shove, the Umno politicians whom he thinks are his ardent supporters will have no second thoughts in hanging on to their positions, rather than follow a powerless ex-DPM or ex-PM for that matter. Loyalty in Umno is only skin-deep. Or ringgit-deep, rather.

Or is Mahathir hoping that fear of losing at the party elections will spur Pak Lah and his sycophants into being receptive to criticisms? Pak Lah wasn't even elected. And we all remember what happened to those who even breathed a thought of challenging the boss. And who cultured that repressive tradition over the last two decades?

And why is Mahathir so surprised about the lack of press freedom? Since when has the spineless mainstream media been the channel for critics of the government? Unless Mahathir thinks that Umno dissenters should enjoy better privileges than the often-shunned His Majesty's loyal opposition. Bah! Humbug!

It is about time Malaysians ignore this charade of the pot calling the kettle black. The soot is from the same source. Go figure.