COMMENT | I was getting ready to take the family to Penang when news broke out about former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad apologising to the nation for the wrongs he had done in the past.

I never expected Dr Mahathir to apologise to the whole nation after over two decades of misdeeds when he was in Umno. Singlehandedly, he had swerved Umno beyond centre right, along with the help of the extremists in the organisation.

He had to drum up their support because he needed their support to fight off former challenger, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah; they needed him in order to achieve their own personal agenda, not forgetting that Mahathir was also one of the three who have been linked to the forced removal of Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Umno had become too embroiled with its own internal struggles and in my opinion, lost its political direction after Merdeka. Umno’s keris has always represented the shedding of blood.

I am not surprised that some Umno members are propping themselves up as warriors just to gain recognition. But to the general population, these are only seen as fighting cocks within a small arena. If Umno wants to keep up with time, that kind of image has to be shed.

Although the keris still remains its symbol, it is no longer relevant in the context of post-2008 Malaysia. Many already were already looking at Umno Youth leaders in the 1990s kissing the keris with disgust.

Mahathir took advantage of that kind of culture in Umno, and rebuilt what is now known as Umno Baru after the deregistration of the old Umno. If you ask me, this is Mahathir’s greatest disservice to the nation...