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Hmm, me wonders if it is indeed the Tun being interviewed or maybe a double since we can't see his face..Could it be a ploy to increase Malaysiakini's subscription base..hmm..*me wonders out loud*. So this is what our former PM has been reduced to? Granting interviews to the same people he worked hard to suppress..You'd think the man would at least have some pride left in him..accountable he never was..but proud and confident he was...Anyway keep it up Tun, someone needs to keep UMNO on their toes..

The doctor is getting a taste of his own medicine and it's bitter because he cannot bring it upon himself to ask why the very people he had left behind to continue his legacy for this country are now dismantling it; yet this is should have been the very first question he should ask before acceptng the interview if in the same breath he brands the organizer as one of his nettlesome problems in the past.

The sad thing is that some of the remarks he has been making since his retirement would have salvaged the country faster if they had been said DURING the tenure of his own administration of this country.

What remains after two decades? Punctured visions, divided society, cost overruns, abandoned projects, a bumi middleclass without skills for the future, a chinese community disillusioned with the way this country is run, an indian community that has almost disappeared in economic presence, an administration rife with corruption and inefficiency, a recessive national DNA, a negative national branding in the global arena save for a few marginalized muslim and african countries, migrating brains, increasing income disparities, reduced earning powers, rising inflation, quality-sucky education system, reverse-gear communal mindset, federal-state lacunas, a coalition that is umnoputraism at its worst in all but name, hollowing-out industries, falling-apart infrastructure, poisonous environment, clueless and indifferent preparation and implementation for the future, and all this tenuously held together by one fast-diminishing resource.

Anyone can stand for patriotism and nationalism but if these qualities are so universally good, why aren't they enough for the rakyat to dispel all the accumulated angst and disgust built up over the years of his administration? If they are so useful, why are the rakyat of today so disillusioned even with the members of his legacy?

What was the total cost of all the mistakes he has made squared against any benefit from his administration over those years? One doesn't need a MATLAB-generated polynomial for that.

Billions. And what are the true nation-building costs foregone from that. Trillions?

And if one says it's not possible to get the right and honest people to do the job while it remained an imperative to go on all cylinders in order to achieve socioeconomic reengineering, then it only begs one question, if you don't have them, why give them the mandate? And if it said they were cheats, where were the checks-and-balances? And if the policies were done for vote-currying, popularist motives presumably to stabilise an incandescent society, what are the results to reap today?

Is this post to dismantle the man as well?

No - it's for the audience of his legacy only.

So that they don't make the same friggin' mistakes.

One of which, in case they miss the messages: no one under this sky has the monopoly over the definition of patriotism.

In the modern world, helping a country to continue to be relevant to the world market is as much an unsung patriotic act as defending the bumi and langit of this place.

I wonder what the advisors said to pursuade the doctor to grant an interview with Malaysiakini. Has he mellowed? Not according to the interview. Still in his usual sarcastic and I-am-always-right attitude. Kudos to Steven Gan for prolonging the interview to 45 minutes and having more time to pick the doctor's brain!

History has already been made...

Dr M, as a father of this nation, had led with vision & courage. Yes, he made mistakes.

Was there any Malaysian leader who could have been more patrioritic than him?

Like Steven said, does criticising the government or the leaders make one unpatriotic or less patriot? It would seem like UMNO Youth and "leaders" who are there by virtue of their brawn rather than brains would think so as these criticisms bite into their hides for which they don't have a sedative or response to.

All of us who comment on blogs too would or may be looked upon by these goons and maybe even those in the Special Branch as being unpatriotic.

Maybe someone can help me understand how they come to such conclusions.

That's it Steven! That is your first and last interview with Mahathir.. hahaha..

After all these years of so called development and after hundred of billions Ringgit and you still cannot get CLEAN DRINABLE WATER from the tap and you call that PROGRESS? Go figure! Vision and courage do not make life better for the millions of poorer folks!

Malaysia do not need heroes, Malaysia need leaders that WORK for ALL Malaysians and not for SOME Malaysians!

why he gave the interview to malaysiakini but still dislike malaysiakini...?

well it's because he is too desperate to make vis voice heard... as now, all our mainstream medias didn't give him coverage anymore... he even complained about this....

better to give the interview to malaysiakini than nobody heard his voice... at lease those people in KMU.net who still support him can translate and republish at their website... (or redistribute it)

A true story of Patriotic, during world war 2.

A wounded Nazi soldier admit to German hospital. When he wake up, he saw an American soldier taking a nap under a tree. The Nazi soldier say, "Thank god, the war is over".

Will this make German soldier less patriotic NOT DYING for this leader?

Perhaps all Bumiputra should ask themself what if they are in the position of the German Nazi soldier.

//History has already been made...

Dr M, as a father of this nation, had led with vision & courage. Yes, he made mistakes.

Was there any Malaysian leader who could have been more patrioritic than him?//

Felt puking after read such a nonsense.
What father of this nation?He is not BolehLand's father but Tunku Abdul Rahman that expelled him from UMNO.
Yes,this ideologist gave birth to crapy V2020 that unlikely to be achieved unless those ppl bite the bullets.
What courage you talking abt? Act like big brother of OIC to f**k US,UK,ISREAL and their alliances. Or just went ahead with what he wanted without thinking abt the consequences?
What mistakes he made? Y didn't you pointed them out? Be factual. Don't know or you act like you are so different from others that dislike him?
What patriotic? If he is so damn patriotic,he shouldn't have done the mistakes that you said and these so called mistakes could spoil his country.
Patriotism is within one's soul.Let me put it this way,what's the point of telling ur wife how much you love her and yet you are still playing hard outside.
Definitely there is good leader around that does not allow personal gain to supersede public's interests.This is the true patriotism that we must cherish.
Sadly but truly,there r big bunch of hypocrite politikus in BolehLand that use patriotism as a tool to fish supports.

Mahathir is the last person to talk about patriotism. Sucking the country dry, encouraging corruption, lining his wallets.

//History has already been made...

Dr M, as a father of this nation, had led with vision & courage. Yes, he made mistakes.

Was there any Malaysian leader who could have been more patrioritic than him?//

Joshua,
Please do NOT equate West bashing as patriotism. I remember his comments about Australia after they raised concerns about Anwar's proceedings. I also remember him thumbing his nose at the US a fair number of times. That's not patriotic, that's nationalist.

Neil,
Brilliant summary of Mahathir's legacy. Just loved that whole passage starting from "What remains after two decades...?" :)

dear dumbo

"Was there any Malaysian leader who could have been more patrioritic than him?"

Being able to say the sentence above, proved that either you were borned only over the last decade or you must have been living in some other planet. I have a sneaky feeling it's the former. Now go play with your marbles.

let him talk...let him talk..and i think Mkini should give him all the space he need to speak..at least we may learn some thing new....and then we see if the umno council or anyone in the top...like AAB or Najib got balls to rope him in...tun is still a member of umno..surely they can shut him up if they want to..but no balls.....

I am sure they can shut him up the same way they keep their wakil rakyat in parliament quiet.