Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is now a spent force. Who said that this would happen to him when he was the PM for more than two decades. The Tun , the most powerful Malaysian ever when he was PM, is now just an ordinary citizen who can merely grumble, watch and criticise Pak Lah's government as it takes the country to even lower depths.

Mahathir's criticisms of Pak Lah's government (corruption, crime, racial harmony, police state, judiciary, nepotism, dynasty, etc.) have had little effect on the latter. Mahathir could have stood as a candidate in the elections to either take back the PM reins or at least position himself in Parliament as the people's voice to check the impending abuse from Pak Lah's team.

There is just no other way for Mahathir or anyone else to at least check, if not correct, the wrongs that are set to continue when Pak Lah gets the inevitable mandate to rule again from March 9.

Mahathir failed to seize the last opportunity available to him on nomination day. Pak Lah will emerge stronger after the elections and his sycophant ministers, chief ministers, MPs and state assemblymen will rally around him to continue the plunder of this nation.

After the elections, Mahathir would loose even the small influence he currently has over some BN/Umno politicians. After March 8, history will repeating itself for another ex-PM of Malaysia (remember what happened to the Tunku?) and Mahathir will be no exception.

The least that Mahathir can do now is to do what he can to ensure that Pak Lah and his team do not get their two-thirds majority. Such a result would make Pak Lah's position as PM untenable, and Mahathir may be able to influence Malaysian politics once again through Najib Razak, his preferred PM.