Jomo advised Dr M to be 'elder statesperson', retire from politics

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should have taken on the role as an elder statesperson, said prominent economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

In a meeting about eight months ago, Jomo offered a piece of advice to Mahathir, asking the latter to step away from politics.

“I urged Mahathir to take on the role of the elder statesperson for the developing world.

“Of course, as usual, he rejected my advice and we know the consequences thereof,” he said.

He said this in an online forum titled “Malaysia’s future in a fractured world” organised by The Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia on YouTube last night.

In the 15th general election (GE15), Mahathir suffered a crushing defeat in the Langkawi parliamentary seat, where he finished fourth in a five-cornered fight.

On Dec 16 last year, the 98-year-old politician resigned as Pejuang’s chairperson.

Pejuang then called it quits with the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition on Jan 14. GTA was established by Mahathir in August of last year.

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Following this, there was a schism within Pejuang when Mahathir - who was its chairperson - could not see eye to eye with his son Mukhriz, the party president.

Mahathir then left Pejuang and joined Putra.

On March 19, he denounced his once heir apparent Anwar Ibrahim as an oppressive leader after his plan to hold a pro-Malay gathering failed to materialise.

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