by Lutfi Shaari
As the component parties of Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan try to work towards setting aside their own aspirations and differences to face the coming general election – a constant remains, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his party of hangers-on.
This time may well be the last attempt by the former prime minister to cement his standing in Malaysian history before he dies.
The irony is glaring given the multiple episodes of mismanagement that took place during Mahathir’s first and second tenure, when Malaysians saw assets and companies being stripped for the benefit of a chosen few and their boys – an era of crony capitalism, with its ripple effects still being felt today.
Unfortunately, social media did not exist back then to help provide proper checks and balances on the government, which controlled almost all media outlets.
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Luckily for us today, including younger Malaysians, we finally know Mahathir’s true nature.
For many, Mahathir’s return to the political arena was exhilarating, without a doubt, culminating in Pakatan Harapan capturing Putrajaya for the first time.
However, the “new Malaysia” days saw many shades of the same old colour remaining – through an increase in privatisation of government assets and even vanity projects such as the proposal for a third national car.
Not only that, we also witnessed Mahathir’s inability to work with many members of his ruling coalition partners. This led to the demise of the PH government. Clearly, it has been an ego game for Mahathir, and it will continue to be so if we allow things to slide back to where they were.
Let’s hope things are different this time around.
Despite the legacy he has built for himself over 22 years and 22 months, hardly any fanfare greeted the launch of his latest party, Pejuang. While many Bersatu chapters dismantled themselves to align with this new party, these chapters were barebone skeleton crews, anyway.
Not only that, popular figures aligned with Mahathir, such as Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, have not yet come out to announce their full support. (In Syed Saddiq’s case, this is not really a loss considering his subpar performance as youth and sports minister and his political naivete.)
This suggests that many are sick and tired of this ‘statesman’. Again and again, he showed to everyone he would do whatever it took to secure the future of his children, notably the bumbling Mukhriz Mahathir, who somehow managed to lose the Kedah chief minister’s position twice.
It was opposition politician (and now Mahathir ally?) Lim Kit Siang who highlighted that it was during Mahathir’s 22-year tenure as prime minister that Malaysia first began to “rot”, thanks to corruption and rampant abuse of power under his administration.
Lim pointed out that it was Mahathir’s regime that “single-handedly destroyed the independence, impartiality and professionalism not only of the judiciary but also of other important national institutions like the police, the Election Commission, the anti-corruption agency, and the civil service”.
All talk of restoring ‘Malay dignity’ aside, this new party fights for nothing but the Mahathir legacy, and the sooner the people realise this, the better.
Lutfi Shaari follows the Aliran website
Note: This article was received and edited on 19 January, before news later broke of Mahathir’s latest hospitalisation
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
It is easy to play on Malay insecurities regarding the land. Singapore is lost and is now in the hands of people from China, whose identity as either mainland Chinese or situational Chinese, with its ambiguities, will forever be suspect in the minds of the Malays. As such it will be facile for cunning politicians to prey on Malay fragile sensibilities, given that the powerful Chinese community in Malaysia continue identify as Chinese. The project to create a true Malaysian identity where racial markers are discarded does not seem to be in the interest of anyone. This creates a fertile environment for artful and sly politicians such as Mahathir to dominate the electoral space by pandering to Malay angst.
Our prayers r with Mahathir & family. We wish him well & a speedy recovery. It is unfortunate however that he could have ended his political career as a hero on a high note. He had a second chance to make things right but he did not. He missed an opportunity to right d wrongs prevalent regarding corruption, racism, religion and make Malaysia great again.He made a choice however to pursue his own agenda which was contrary to the good of d rakyat & man on d street who looked to him with hope. Dashed hope! Sad! 😫
wow, the worst timing to post the article. so insensitive.
This article was received on 19 January and edited the same day, before news emerged on 22 January of Mahathir’s latest hospitalisation.