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Even during his (Dr M) administration anyone who spoke out would be canned. But that doesn't mean that he shouldn't speak out now. I am sure Dr M knows very well how hard it is for anyone to go against our government, but he is showing everyone that it can be done.

Now, if the present govt tries to punish him he will be more of a hero to everyone else. He can't lose - but this can't go on forever, what with AAB hiding behind the coat tails of all his ministers (embarassing, isn't it?).

I see the only solution to this could be for a more senior minister (from the past) to intervene, someone like Tun Ghafar Baba. Unfortunately he is not around anymore, sigh...

Not really, JacknJill. TDM used ISA very freely so no one dared to speak freely.
I think we are waiting for AAB to wield that big ISA axe. Will he???????? Probably not on TDM.
But if you want to follow TDM then the deputy ISA will not hesitate to threathen and use it. Hey, that guy probably is waiting to flex his muscle.

And Speak up, Datuk Nazri…
“NO, I’am NOT a Hatchet man; REBUT the substance; DENY what I said. are NOT TRUTHS” Mahathir is upset because his cronies have been largely left out in the current dispensation. It looks like Dr Mahathir has not make enough “hays while the sun was shinning” for his 22 years in office.
Also chance encountered by
Info Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin "I sincerely poured out my feelings and that of Umno grassroot members and the people over the unhealthy development. But I found that Dr Mahathir had made up his mind"
Check it out at
http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2006/06/war-continues-dr-mahathir-nazri.html

Folks

Say what you like about Dr M's 22 years as PM. That is history as far as we are concerned.

What he is doing now is what matters. In the bigger scheme of things, what the Old Man is doing is good for the country... clearing the cobwebs of UMNO since 1957, exposing the manipulations of the UMNO-owned NST and the Malay papers and MCA-owned Star; he is giving voice to what every Malaysian is whispering in Mamak stalls and chaykoay teow stalls; and forcing more transparency of Govt policies and accountability.

Only a person with the status and clout of Dr M able to take on the UMNO monolith which is being safe-guarded by self-interested and suspiciously corrupted individuals in the party, who are now surrounding Pak Lah like vultures.

As I said many moons before, only our fellow Malay brothers and sisters who love the country more than UMNO, can take on and expose and correct the high-powered hanky-panky of UMNO Ministers and leaders who are corrupting the integrity of the nation for decades with their penchant for parochial, and racially-biased policies being forced down the throat of the Govt, which, if people tend to forget, is elected by people of ALL races.

Malaysians will one day thank Dr M for what he is trying to do now... take on the heavyweights of UMNO head-on with no-holds barred. Never mind the motives but there is a greater public good at the end of it all. For example, the suspicion which Dr M is alluding that people close to Pak Lah and in UMNO are benefittting on the issue of sale of sand to Singapore.

If we ourselves had no guts,and only brave to speak in whispers in dark corners and in incognito on blogs and on the internet, to take on the unscrupulous UMNO and UMNO Youth leadership and apparatchiks, then we should not criticise the Old Man for having the guts to do so.

I say, we support the Old Man in this pursuit for more transparency and to weed out unscrupulous chaps in Govt especially in UMNO and UMNO Youth. Time to clean off the cobwebs.

Funny he should mention the Tunku.

I guess it was our founding father that set the precedent of post-premiership dissent.

cheers

"On Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s comments yesterday.
Mahathir: Nazri is what they call a hatchet man. I don't care at all for his opinion."
Sydput's reply should be
And mahathir another hatchet man/mercenary to protect his cronies.

"On whether he would be leaving Umno
The party doesn't belong to Datuk Nazri. It belongs to all Malays"
My reply should be
The party belongs to Umno members and not all malays are members.

"But when people appeal to me, and also because I see wrong things being done, I feel it is my duty (to speak out).
My reply is - the people who appealed to Madhatter are probably his cronies asking him to protect them and their interest.

"You look at the newspapers, it would seem that nobody agrees with me, everybody is angry with me but lots of people are not angry with me. In fact, they come to see me, and say ‘go on, datuk, go on datuk, we cannot’."

datuk? must be his grandchildren.

They have gone on to attack other people who have the same ideas as mine. I am sorry for (ex-New Straits Times editor-in-chief) Kadir Jasin, they dig here and there. If we dig, there is also dirt.
I say, this guy Kadir Jasin is a real hatchet man during the Anwar debacle.

The selling of Agusta, losing RM500 million for nothing because you are ‘bodoh’ (stupid) and don't know technology, (and) you say it's useless.

My reply would be - we loss the money during your tenure. We gained one euro during Pak Lah's admin. Mahathir's brilliance in technological competency can be judged when RM300million, maybe more was given to inventQjaya's Libyan born Musaadeq.We still have no word on what the returns are.

They broke the promise first, I kept silent. Promises made while I was in the government, and just before I was about to leave, were broken but I didn't say anything. So, finally when it comes to the bridge, I felt it is our sovereignty, it has been undermined.

I say the cancellation of the scenic bridge project made him look silly having spent hundred of millions on CIQ.

On when Umno will sack him

I don't know, it's up to the tempo. I think if they can build up Umno’s hatred for me fast enough, then they will do it sooner. I don't plan to do anything. As far as I am concerned, if you do
something wrong, I will criticise.

Umno in my opinion, has no time to indulge in frivolous activities.

After I left, whether things would move at the same pace, they felt that (they are not), and even Malaysians are going abroad nowadays, there is no business in place.

Malaysian are forced to go abroad, mostly to get educational opportunities which you failed to solve. And they will continue to go abroad to get better opportuinities provided for them overseas.

On whether the PM supports the move to expel him.

The PM has no time to indulged in this activity. He has much work to do to correct Madhatter's blunders.

There, I have answered on Pak Lah's behalf. That makes me a hatchet man willing to take on the silent men waving their Keris.

Frank&H, i'm with you on that, mate. I don't know about other Malaysians, but I'm saying thanks to the old bugger already. While he may be protecting his interests, he's kicking up considerable dust within our "transparent", "support me, i support you", "work with me" government. And Nazri Racist should just shut up. He might not know this, but most forward thinking Malaysians don't really want to hear his comments. So plough on, old timer. let's flush the roaches out.

Folks

Since this Nazri took a "kurang ajar" attitude with his comments of "jantan" towards the Old Man, an attitude that is very insulting in Malay culture, let's find out what kind of person he is.

This is the inside story on Malaysia Today in an article by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, about a certain Nazri Aziz in UMNO:

Click here: http://malaysia-today.net/reports/2006/06/khairy-chronicles_12.htm

".....Can anyone say that Abdullah’s reforms are supported only by clean hands? It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the many voices speaking out in support of the Prime Minister against Mahathir are those whose life and career have been built on ill-gotten gains. These include almost all the current cabinet ministers, mere residue (saki-baki) from the Mahathir days.

These people are not clean.

Some like Nazri Aziz are so obviously corrupt you can smell the corruption like a dog that can smell a bitch in heat as he saunters into the room.

Others, notably Muhyiddin Yassin, are as guilty of money politics as the deposed Isa Samad -- and who was spared execution only because he is perceived as a puerile nobody and not deemed dangerous to Khairy’s political career.

It is laughable that these people now support Abdullah’s ‘reforms’. They would support any Prime Minister in office for that matter...... "

Nazri is not stupid...he knows where his future is...but sad thing is that he will forever be licking a**. Fighting KJ's battle..KJ ever so willing to be interview suddenly has no comments. Surely no need to speak for his mouthpiece is Nazri.

What else is his motivation. "You scratch my back I lick your a**????"

ROFL. Remember, it is Tun M 22 years logic that say
"criticise government equal to ANTI-government". Why suddenly Tun M critique become constructive? What happens to all the opposition voice during his administrations?

Credit must be given to Pak Lah because he haven't give the ultimatum to mute ALL Tun M critique. Apparently, all the media is still acting as in Tun M time : be safe.

Folks

Yes, The Sun should SHUT UP. The editors, journalists and reporters in The Sun on this issue have lost their balls. They might as well get themselves neutered like cats and become pets of UMNO.

Thanks Jeff for linking us to the various sites in cyberspace in our search for information and the truth.

I marvel at the ability and competence of your commenters who are operating as cyber SWAT TEAM. Please continue to search, capture and display information without fear or favour.

It is our moral duty to get AAB to honour his promise of transparency and accountability. Why hide behind the elegant silence? If he fails to do what he has promised to do, then he has lied to us and conned us.

If he fails to stop the media manipulation, if he fails to punish the immoral people like the “AP scandal” Minister, the “Foreigners get out” Deputy Minister and the “one-eye case” MP, then he has lied to the electorate and conned them into giving him the “unprecedented” big mandate.

TDM government did not get the “unprecedented” big mandate because it did not brainwash the public in such “unprecedented” scale, or made empty promises in such “unprecedented” style.

We do not just say “Dr Mahathir, speak up.” We do not just leave it to Jeff Ooi and others like him to speak up. We also have the moral duty to speak up and speak out.

Of course, we only dare to speak if we ourselves are clean. We only dare to stand up and fight if we ourselves are upright.

ok la

the fight is intersting

Old Man says wanna restore the transparency

ok la, let's wait until ISA is abolished,(here i mean see who, tdm or aab, will get that done first)

else our 'frank' words may give us a lock up chance.. u know

f&h, are you saying old mah is one of your "fellow Malay brothers and sisters who love the country more than UMNO, can take on and expose and correct the high-powered hanky-panky of UMNO Ministers and leaders who are corrupting the integrity of the nation for decades with their penchant for parochial, and racially-biased policies being forced down the throat of the Govt"?
don't get me wrong. i support old mah's rights to speak out. no one should shut anyone up. and we should appreciate old mah playing the village idiot running around lifting people's skirts and exposing the lppl and all, because as many correctly - point out not many people can do that - because not many people can do that without fear of going to isa jail and/or umnoyouth knocking on your doors.
what i can't swallow are suggestions that the old man is out speaking for our interest, or that his administration was cleaner, more transparent, better for the country, etc.
old mah said it himself: "of course, I built the railway, KLIA, Putrajaya - was there anything that happened during my time that I didn't have a hand in, that I didn't encouraged and ensure that they were successful? All were my pet projects."
why no one got bola to ask him about pewaja steel, bakun, sodomy of judiciary, ops larang, proj-m aka sabah-ic, car ap, ipp contracts, kl's public transport unsystem, education, etc. etc.

another line to add

"else our 'frank' words may give us a lock up chanceand will only stay in cyberspace.. u know

Frank&Honest, I think you've got more or less what I wanted to say too. Kudos!

We are facing an issue concerning Malaysia's fate. He (Tun) had put many people into harsh punishments using ISA, and myself very much disagree with what he did to causing a wave of fear in speaking up. But that was history, we should forget about it, don't let our emotions stop us from differentiating the rights and wrongs, we should concentrate on now and the future. Let go of the past and move on!

On the other hand, if Tun's the one started the shit, isn't it good that he wanted to stop it now? Let him do it, people, he is our best proxy!

lsk: "don't get me wrong. i support old mah's rights to speak out. no one should shut anyone up. and we should appreciate old mah playing the village idiot running around lifting people's skirts and exposing the lppl and all, because as many correctly - point out not many people can do that - because not many people can do that without fear of going to isa jail and/or umnoyouth knocking on your doors.
what i can't swallow are suggestions that the old man is out speaking for our interest, or that his administration was cleaner, more transparent, better for the country, etc."

______________

Excellently put! Until and unless the Old Man starts flinging some mud at himself, I have every reason to doubt the sincerity of his 4 questions.

AAB is the only PM that can stay quiet..nothing to say..and stay quiet for so long. Some times I wonder whether having nothing to say equals nothing in the head. This Malaysia Boleh spirit is really getting us on.

This issue (or is it issues) is dragging on becuase Dr M was not allowed even a single "victory" starting from the AP issue, followed by the Proton issue and most recently the bridge issue.

Pak Lah would have "satisfied" Dr M if he had taken a hard stand on the AP issue, but he didn't. Pak Lah eventually killed off the other TM in Proton and also killed off the bridge - all 3 being issues close to Dr M's heart.

Anyone, not just Dr M, will be crestfallen to see his legacy being broken down one by one, not just by anyone but by his very own successor.

Although I have never agreed with many of Dr M's policies - I believe what Dr M sees now is a systematic dismantling of his legacies, whether pre-planned or not.

Is AAB doing it on purpose or for the good of the country? My guess is he didn't have any control at all on the above 3 issues as we can see from his faltering and undecisive decisions. This is what pains Dr M... and I hate to say it, but I am with him because at least Dr M DOES something for the country (although some of which may not be right) - while his successor only talks but so far we have not seen anything done.

Seems like we will never be able to hear the truth of things if the newspapers keep blackening it out. If there is really true transparency and democracy, let it be that no political parties are allowed to own any papers. Can any truly honest government do that?

banjaran and lsk

Move on in life. Live today and the future for your children, or for yourself if you are still in your junior years.

You are living in the past. As I said, his 22 years is history. We are concerned what is today and what it means for tomorrow. If you are living outside Malaysia, then you can demand what Dr M did in his 22 years, but who gives the sh..t. Historians will do a better job than you to judge his performance,warts and all, in his 22 years.

Malaysians are interested in NOW. Take the big picture into your outlook rather than adopting the UMNO Youth parochial outlook.

zip zip zippity zip
Let's skip to that house of concrete
hip hip hippity hip
should we adore this hypocrite?

I support reader Sadirah K's letter in malaysiaikini.

" Take him(TDM) on, Pak Lah, for you can open issues that need deliberating in our society.It is time to judge Mahathir "

Open every thing,that of course should also include the conduct of your own son and son-in-law especially after yr appointment as PM.

Even though I fully support TDM's current effort to promote transparency in Malaysia,I really cann't help but feel that what a BIG joker he has turned himself into.

I laugh when I read the following sentences and more,much more.

On the unity of UMNO:
No, not disunity. Lots of people have come to ask me, ‘cannot something be done about what's happening?’ And nobody wants to take the risk. Because you take the risk, you get punished. And lot of people now feel the pinch.

On the present crop of ministers who are also minsiters working under him before and many protected by him for years.

"They are like a chorus line. They are all dancing. When one kicks, all will kick. They are like the Rockettes," he said.

When you need entertianment,it is there provided by TDM.

Frank&Honest

I like your comments – intelligent and insightful.

Thanks too for occasionally linking us to Malaysia Today website. I have great respect for Raja Petra Kamarudin. What he has done for DS Anwar Ibrahim is immeasurable. I was taken aback when he started to write his post Anwar reports and analysis. Suddenly, I feel I am not alone.

The past images are painful. Sometimes, I do not know how to bury them. But my mother said, “There is a reason for the pain. Let the pain make you a more useful person.”

those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it

The current political storm is not merely UMNO politics. People who condemn TDM, who told him to shut up, who blame him for 1001 things, are not just the UMNO people.

They are the people who enjoy benefits from the current leadership - they are not just the UMNO politicians or the Malays.

So, intelligent people, guess you can draw your own conclusion.

Still remember about the recent survey that ranks Malaysia as third rudest country in the world? Well Nazri Aziz is a living prove of that. Dr M is right to ignore him. After all, Dr M is questioning what Malaysians need to know and not quarelling with current admin. Since Nazri Aziz admitted that he's speaking on behalf of current admin, perhaps he should answer all the issues raised by Dr M.

I fully agree with Frank & Honest.

Although I see AAB as a nice man, I really cannot see what leadership and progress he has brought to the nation in the last few years that he has been at the helm, together with his administration. All I see are buzzword creations and good chicken soup for the soul-type stories coming from AAB's personal life. Other than that, there is nothing much to shout about.

One cannot take the rakyat for granted, more so given the 92% mandate in the last general elections. In the greater scheme of things, Dr. M is doing a lot of good for the country by speaking out. Besides, he is only saying in public, what many people are saying privately. And only he has enough clout to make the current administration jump into action. So speak up Dr. M!

F&H: "As I said, his 22 years is history. We are concerned what is today and what it means for tomorrow."

________________

By all means, if you are so concerned for the country, why don't you ask the questions for yourself? Why do you have to become a cheerleader for Mahathir? As I said, unless Mahathir lay bare his F&H: "As I said, his 22 years is history. We are concerned what is today and what it means for tomorrow."

________________

By all means, if you are so concerned for the country, why don't you ask the questions for yourself? Why do you have to become a cheerleader for Mahathir? As I said, unless Mahathir comes clean, you do not know what are his intentions. By kicking like a rockette to Mahathir's tune, he could be making you nothing more than a cat's paw to achieve his goal of getting rid of the 4th floor. Do you really think he cares for you F&H? He's probably more concerned for Tengku Mahaleel and Syed Mokhtar. As for what we have today, I can say this: We have a media where we can talk about issues like Article 11, religion and local council elections. There is an emphasis on developing a first world mentality and a maintenance culture. We have GLCs that are more peformance focused. There is more delegation in the government. We can target little napoleons within the civil service. We're mending relationships with our neighbours. Agriculture is given its rightful focus (Don't laugh - advanced economies like Australia, France, California and even Japan place great importance on food production. After all, you can't eat an automobile). Scandals like giving away free ICs in Sabah to illegal Filipinos, TNB/IPP, Halim Saad/Daim/Metramac, MATRADE building are coming to light. Even rabble rousing is tolerated unlike what happened with Anwar in 1998. Already this is much better than what we had under Mahathir. So yes, I say this is progress.

Marrying Frank&Honest's long anmalyses and banjaran's views (Counterpoints to F&H's?), I think there are no mutually exclusive. If Dr Mahathir's views and expose help in bringing about, or quicken what Banjaran as is happening now, then LET'S ALL GIVE IT A PUSH!

Hey, maybe even the Old Man is entitled to his Epiphany at last! Other blardy UMNO robber barons who care to repent too, tho i won't hold my hopes high.

banjaran

I am no cheerleader for Dr. M.

Give credit where it is due. Here he deserves support.

In your case, you are too hung up being an anti-DrM at all cost and trying to relive the 22 years. Its history. Let historians judgement him. You don't even qualify as one,nor me.

Those who live in Malaysia are more interested in the NOW and the future. They don't give a sh..t of the past unless it impacts on the present, as some people (including you)trying to ride on a time machine.

The country has to move forward instead getting into the silly debate of asking a FORMER PM what he did and why over the last 22years. Go and buy his memoires and those who write the good and bad about his 22 years, instead clouding the present issue.

The focus is on the present Govt, not the past.

Have a life and move on. Malaysians have to move on, not some people.

Frank & Honest,

Unfortunately, I must admit that this is Malaysian's mentality,

it sounds very dejavu to me, especially when I think about General Election - when govt. will start doing somethg looks good and promised a lot to the rakyat

and then, rakyat will think: ok, what's past is past, let's give this govt. another chance.

IMHO, for the Old Man who's been controling media etc, and now tell rakyat that transparency is needed,

to me it's contradicting.

and I don't buy contradicting statements.

Worst of all, this is the batch that he chose, trained, milked and managed in during his past administration (as what we can see, majority ppl in parliament are from his era)

If he thinks his pledge made this year (transparency bla bla bla) can overturn of what he had not been practising in the past 22 years

dream on.

He should apologise instead of bashing. Because he is bashing on his own 'product'!!!!

F&H: "In your case, you are too hung up being an anti-DrM at all cost and trying to relive the 22 years. Its history. Let historians judgement him. You don't even qualify as one,nor me.

Those who live in Malaysia are more interested in the NOW and the future. They don't give a sh..t of the past unless it impacts on the present.."

______________

Unlike you, I can make up my own mind about Mahathir. I certainly do not need a historian to tell me what to think of Mahathir.

You want answers, fine. The current admin has already said it's working on coming out with the answers. But asking people to take Mahathir's questions without a requisite pinch of salt is too much. As for Malaysians not interested in Mahathir's past, I say: speak for yourself. There are many many Malaysians who want Mahathir to answer at least 22 questions that were posed to him. Those questions are far more interesting than the measly questions he posed. In fact, this is what I think of his "questions":
- AP.
Whether the APs go to his cronies or to Rafidah's cronies it's all the same -unfair to 99% of the rakyat. If he calls for the AP system to be abolished then we can talk. But if he asks why APs going to Rafidah's people, I say "TOUGH LUCK".

- MV Augusta.
For goodness sake what is so hard to understand? The company is massively in debt. Proton can't even make full use of a legendary car company like Lotus, don't even talk about a motorcycle company. Why didn't he question Air Asia being sold by DRB Hicom for RM1? Because Air Asia was in debt and losing money at that time! But in good hands it becomes golden. Same here - sell MV Augusta to someone who can make full use it and rid yourself of debt at the same time. Concentrate on maximizing your current assets like Lotus. Basic rule: Don't bite off more than you can chew. As for Mahaleel and his so called "profitability" at Proton, we all know it's a farce given that the Malaysian car market was practically gift wrapped for him.

- Crooked bridge.
OK. We all know it's not about the bridge. It's about being spiteful to Singapore using the rakyat's money. As for the sand issue - whatever happened to prosper thy neighbour? What about the terrible haze that choked Malaysians last year? Why was he mute on that? I say the haze is a real breach of sovereignty. To go off topic a bit - the current admin ordered API's to finally be released to the public during the haze crisis. I remember during the previous haze MAHATHIR ORDERED A BLACKOUT OF THE APIs PUTTING THE RAKYAT'S HEALTH AT RISK!

how many could remember the "3000 taxi permits issued to a same person" thingy?
Nazri was the minister in charged and old mah was still the PM then. The episode ended up with being swept under carpet.
Heard from somewhere that Nazri was attached to old mah's daughter before when they were studied overseas.

banjaran

You are still locked in a small picture mentality.

Too bad!

Debating further with you would be polemical and waste of bandwidth space.

Vertebrato

I agree with you.

I am not an apologist for Dr M and his management style in the 22 years. We take Dr M not just for all his faults, there are many, but also for the good things he had done to the country, one of which even the World Bank and world renowned economists admit that he took Malaysian out of the backwaters into a economically competitive country.

It is biased to the extreme to take Dr M for his faults alone, which folks like Bajaran is trying to push that barrel of thought.

On this current issue, what is the desired outcome of the future for ordinary man-in-the-street Malaysian? At least a tangible improvement in accountability of taxpayers money, and some form of transparency.

In Malaysian politics, to go gunning for accountability and transparency in a greedy-UMNO rulled govt, somebody will have to pay a price or willing to put his neck on the chopping block.

How many of you or us, dared even speak up in public or in the media on these things without worrying about wettting in the pants.

The Old Man is willing to take the fall or willing to redress the faults that he had made in his 22 years. Yes he may appear a hypocrite to some. But to tackle a problem created during his 22 years either by him or through him, need not necessarily be deemed hypocritical.

Correcting a self-made wrong is always a right thing to do.

So I don't really buy all the crap about asking Dr M to answer what he did in his 22 years in relation to what he is doing NOW.

We should ask whether there will be a better outcome for ordinary Malaysians at the end of the day by the action of the Old Man in the current drama?

Its a risk, but the odds are that it will turn out for the better for the country, though it may not be the case for Dr M himself,with the ongoing demonising of him by UMNO apparatchiks, or UMNO or for Pak Lah. But who cares about them? Would you?

F&H,
'Never mind the motives...'
Sorry-la, I kind of worried about the motives. What if I support, TDM suuceeds(whatever that means) and the motives no good, then what?

'Correcting a self-made wrong is always a right thing to do.'
Very true, as no one is faultless in life, especially one who has done so much. But if the person doesn't acknowledge/realise his 'wrong', then how?

huajern

You said......the motives no good, then what? ... But if the person doesn't acknowledge/realise his 'wrong', then how?

As I said, it is a risk. But a risk worth taking given the big picture benefit for ordinary Malaysians.

It cannot be any worse, can it?

Can it get any worse? Things can always get worse, the pessimist in me says.

Like the fellas who have been feeding at the trough may get to feed again.

Or a clamp down on the internet to rival the old school operasi.

You tell me.

banjaran

F&H: "You are still locked in a small picture mentality.

Too bad!

Debating further with you would be polemical and waste of bandwidth space."

_________________

Hmm... what I write is a waste of bandwidth space? That's a response I expect from a 11 year old kid. How childish of you F&H.

guys, I say let the old man question the current gov. Let him dig until the worms come out. Do you guys think he will answer the 22 questions put forth by TheEdgeDaily or any of us? Dream on.

On the other hand, he is harping on his own worms anyway, let them come out, let them reveal everything. Let him push Pak Lah over the limit, there will be a time he will question him back.

Some chinese sayings goes like this... "A tiger will not jump a wall until he is forced to" or "... if a tiger don't roar, maybe everybody will think it is just a cat"

I really hope the old man push the gov over the limit, and everything reveals. Yeah, you can say this is my dream...

I'm grateful this is happening!

Banjaran

If you are still locked in the small picture mentality and you still do not get it read this article- it explains better and if you still can't get it, nothing does.

What lies beneath Mahathir's attacks

By
P Ramasamy
The Straits Times(Singapore)

The conflict that is brewing between former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his successor Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi goes much deeper than the four issues which the former has raised to the government.

Essentially, the conflict represents an intra-Malay/Umno conflict over access to resources, business opportunities and power. Approaching the issue from a purely political perspective would not enable one to decipher the nature and the dimension of the present conflict. Instead, an approach which takes into account the subtle linkages between politics and economics would be more appropriate.

Only then would one be able to provide a better and more realistic assessment of the basis of the present conflict and how race, religion and nationalism have been invoked to hide the clamour for wealth and power between the two power bases in Malaysian society.

Umno politics, in general, has become much more materialistic in the last few decades or so. Gone are the days when ideological differences took centre stage.

Today, the struggle in Umno - all in the name of religion, God and race - is invariably related to the acquisition of material wealth and the need to maintain this wealth by seeking access to politics or political patronage.

While money politics was outwardly shunned as the evil that would destroy Malay unity, it has proved impossible to dismantle. In fact, one could argue that, without money politics, Umno would have fragmented a long time ago. Efforts by Umno leaders to rid the party of money politics have merely been feeble attempts to hide the stark reality of corruption, patronage and moral decay.

Access to resources

THIS has been happening for some time. Past conflicts in Umno, centred on certain key personalities, have sometimes led to splits in the party over the acquisition of wealth and power. For instance, the conflict between Tun Dr Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the 1980s was not about higher politics, but about access to wealth and power.

Similarly, the conflict between Tun Dr Mahathir and Datuk Seri Abdullah is about forces aligned to these two leaders competing for scarce resources and power. The conflict has become bitter and acrimonious because the Mahathir side seems to have lost access to material wealth by way of contracts, business opportunities and favouritism.

Furthermore, the entry of Datuk Seri Abdullah's relatives in the competition for resources has complicated the picture so much so that Tun Dr Mahathir, in an indirect swipe at Datuk Seri Abdullah, recently told the media that he had never shown favouritism to his family members or relatives while in office.

It is quite obvious that when Tun Dr Mahathir raised the four issues to the Abdullah administration, the implicit argument was that his friends had lost out in the competition for government contracts and business licences and that the forces aligned to Datuk Seri Abdullah had gained unfairly.

The four issues in question are the decision to accede to Singapore by cancelling the half-bridge project, the sale of Proton's motorcycle company Augusta to an outsider, the removal of Proton's former head Tengku Mahaleel and the issuance of Approved Permits (APs) to certain individuals and groups.

In seeking a response, Tun Dr Mahathir invoked both the nationalistic and pro-bumiputera arguments to buttress his claims. On the bridge issue, he attacked the government for not being nationalistic and not standing up to Singapore.

With regard to the other three issues, he raised the spectre of how deserving bumiputeras have been sidelined by the present regime and how the present system of awarding APs favours groups or individuals close to ministers.

In fact, the AP controversy had appeared much earlier when Tun Dr Mahathir criticised International Trade and Industry Ministry Rafidah Aziz for not being transparent about the awarding of such permits.

Indeed, he has been raising these issues consistently at different forums, not because he wants to criticise the government but because he has come to be seen as the leader of a group within Umno that is generally dissatisfied with the administration's policies and programmes.

In the last few years, the Abdullah government has sidelined many Malay entrepreneurs and businessmen, especially those still loyal to Tun Dr Mahathir. In addition, the rise of Datuk Seri Abdullah's son-in-law, Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, in the corporate world has been a sore point for many Malay business leaders.

Very recently, one of Tun Dr Mahathir's closest aides, Mr Mathias Chang, criticised Mr Khairy and a senior newspaper editor for messing up some of the programmes initiated by Tun Dr Mahathir.

Erosion of image

EVEN if it is not clear if Tun Dr Mahathir is raising these issues for altruistic reasons or for nationalistic reasons, it does not negate the validity of his arguments. After all, many government policies and programmes are shrouded in mystery - no one knows the actual beneficiaries. Also, corruption is still rampant in the government despite the rhetoric adopted by Datuk Seri Abdullah's regime that it would eradicate it.

Despite many allegations of corruption, there are ministers and officials who have never been investigated or removed from their positions. Tun Dr Mahathir's point about the controversial removal of Tengku Mahaleel, who was apparently doing a good job as Proton head, has never been clarified to the public.

Also, the criticism of Datuk Seri Rafidah's handling of the APs still begs an explanation.

Datuk Seri Abdullah's 'good guy' image is fast eroding in Malaysian politics. His policy of silence on controversial matters of societal or public concern might become a liability.

While he offered Islam Hadhari or progressive Islam as an alternative to the PAS ideology, he has never taken the party to task - unlike Tun Dr Mahathir - for its controversial stance in a multiracial Malaysian society.

To date, he has refused to confront Tun Dr Mahathir or refute his statements. Perhaps the general public does not want him to confront Tun Dr Mahathir, but surely it expects some kind of rational response to the issues raised.

It is rather unfortunate that it has taken a person like Tun Dr Mahathir to highlight the problems of the government. After all, the situation might be new, but the opposition has raised the same issues for many years.

While he may be emerging as the new saviour of Malaysia, the public will never forget that the seeds of decay were sown during his long tenure in office. Still, being open-minded, they nonetheless think that he should be given a fair hearing by the government.

In many ways, Malaysian politics has not changed. Politics within political parties has not transcended the narrow confines of ethnicity, race, religion and crass materialism. In fact, the revival of ethnicity and religion seems to be invariably related to the way resources are allocated in society.

Politics in Umno is not about taking the country to greater heights and improving race relations, but about how certain individuals can gain access to wealth and power in the never-ending game of greed and corruption.

The author is a political science lecturer at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He is currently editing a book, Rising India And Indians In East Asia, and researching another on Malaysian politics.

This article first appeared on Malaysiakini.com

F&H said "The Old Man is willing to take the fall or willing to redress the faults that he had made in his 22 years."

That the most laughable assertion on this blog to date!!!!!

Do I cheer TDM on in his current crusade? Sure I do. Not because I know his real cause becoz I do not and really, his history over the past many years does not make him a trustworthy person in my book. I cheer him on because this is a "kwai ta kwai" show and I have no control or influence over what/how/when it happens.

Will all this lead to a better future for ALL Malaysians? Maybe, maybe not. Of course one hopes for the best, but then again, this is something which few of us here would be able to influence.

So, this possibly "half-smart" or "overly clever" "locked in small picture mentality" type's view is "Go for it TDM, but dont think for one second that I'll forget what you did and give you a "stay out of jail" pass. If it were within my powers, I would want to see you pay for your misdeeds just like any other common criminal. The only difference is that I would give you due process which is more than what you gave many others"

kimmy

Look.. I share the same view as you. It makes no difference whether you want to forgive or forget what Dr M did... does it?

I doubt you and I can even make a small ripple in the politics for the opinions of the power players. Little consequence or value on what you and I think of Dr.M That's just self-therapy for yourself.

You want to send him to jail? You can shout that the top of the mountain, nobody will give you the sh..t.

Whether he is trustworthy in your books or not, he was the PM of the country for 22 years, not 5 years. That means the majority of Malaysians must have been so stupid and being hood winked by this one for 22 years, except you!! That is laughable.

The only thing you said very well in which I am with you is for Dr. M to go for it... because on balance, that's the better risk than the status quo. It cannot be any worse.

Dr M knew the end game when he first launched his attack on Pak Lah and the way he launched it. He is no fool, when he took on UMNO and the PM, like you and me who have only closet-courage speaking in dark corners and incognito in cyberspace.
It is in that context he is willing to go for broke, and the probably he knows the fall is greater than winning it.So what is laughable about it?

Actually, I don't even give a damn of my own opinion of Dr M and his 22 years. If he is that bad, Malaysia would have been like one of those unruly and military-coup countries in Africa. He must have done some things right with the wrongs included.

Your analysis is too simplistic to stand tough scrutiny, but what you said is good self-therapy.

Dr M did some good some bad. No one denies that. What I can't swallow is his hypocritical, self aggrandising, and apparently patriotic stance in this anti-AAB agenda. Maybe he learned the error of his ways (highly unlikely). Yes he's pushing for transparency and lord knows we need it. But it just sticks in the throat "Mahathir: Defender of Transparency and Fighter for Justice and Truth". It's always easier to mudsling at those who are higher up, but one wonders whether he would have tolerated such criticism during his time. Man on the street? No matter, we'll dispel them with water cannons and tear gas. Higher ups? No problem, ISA. Malaysia loves rewriting history, Mahathir is no different. His legacy is KLIA, KLCC, Sepang, emasculation of judiciary and media, Proton, MSC, widespread corruption, etc. The man's a genius, whether Frankenstein or Einstein, you decide. But the hypocrisy just stuns me. Ugh.

hann

Name me one politician or political leader in the world who is not a hypocrite or hypocritical.

Start with George Bush, Tony Blair, Putin or Hu JingTao or our neighbour up north.

Dr M we all agree is no saint, not even close or remote, but he is no devil in totality.

I take him on the value of what he is doing NOW.

Like Deng Hsiao Peng said: It does not matter whether the cat is white or black, as long as it can catch mice. That is the big picture,including that famous quote "To be rich is glorious", of Deng that eventually made China what it is today.

It does not matter if Dr M is a hypocrite or not, as long as he is doing something we had been hoping and expecting someone had done it before.

I am still not convinced why some of us are still hung up on "whether cat is black or white."

I think we can all agree that no one is sin-less, Tun or anyone else. But to proclaim that he's now championing for justice BEFORE he admit & apologize for his previous misdemeanors is really smack of hypocricy. If he were to at least ADMIT now that he had made those mistakes previously then only do the pointing out other people's fault, it's only then he has the moral right to do so. Otherwise it is HYPOCRACY.....

aPanaMa

It does not matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice.

Frank&Honest

I admire your energy! Hope your noble arguments fall on people who are sincere – people with no hidden agenda.

There are people who curse TDM, and they are not poor or penniless. They can afford to buy houses bigger than mine, drive cars bigger than mine, and buy things more expensive than mine. They can afford to go overseas for holidays frequently. Also, they can afford to send their sons and daughters overseas for studies – UK, US, Australia.

Where do they get their money from? It drops from the sky? If not for the opportunities in this country, how can they be what they are today? How can they be making profits in business? How can they be holding jobs that pay them good salaries?

Will they be what they are today if they were born in some poor country, or war-torn country?

How I wish I can pack them off to some economically backward or war-ravaged countries for six months. How I wish I can pull their sons and daughters from overseas to join their daddies and mummies for six months. They will be thrilled – no airconditioning, no proper toilet facilities, but plenty of flying and crawling creatures.

I think TDM was a bad leader and I let history to judge him

Even I support his current efforts,that does not mean that he is excused from all his 22 years of mis-rule,and that is the critical difference here.

I am not going to sing he has done some good,etc,etc

There seems to be a partisan pattern emerging in the comments. Let's try to cut through the noise and look at certain things objectively (if that's possible). Consider the following:

1. In any large organization, without strong leadership, middle management will run amuck.

2. In politics, generally, Malaysian politics in particular, to rise to the top, one has to put aside certain personal principals, in order to succeed. Scum, like cream, tends to rise to the top. Nobody, and I mean nobody, that's successful in Malaysian politics can legitimately claim to not have a skeleton or two in their closet.

Now, Tun M coming out with his criticisms may be odd, even hypocritical to many who've been weaned on "official" news/information, and "unofficial" rumors. The real truth lies somewhere between the lines.

While Tun M's reign of BN Inc. may be viewed by some as totalitarian, it was probably a required posture, especially when the corporation's middle management (read: Ministers and their Ministries) has the tendency of running amuck, as we can easily witness now under AAB's leadership (or lack of it) - Little Napoleons, was it?

So, was Dr M a totalitarian manager? Yes.

Was it required behavior, in order to keep the organization intact? Personally, I would say yes, again.

So, back to the issue at hand. Everyone is saying either:
A. Dr. M should just shut up and play along, like a loyal UMNO subject, or
B. Dr. M has the right to criticize, if he sees something amiss.

From the ministerial point of view, all the Middle Managers are trying to rebutt the critics - whether or not with real or fanciful facts, that remains to be seen.

All this, while the CEO remains elegantly silent. He will explain what the corporation's response is, but the Middle Managers will do it, not him.

So the question remains: why is that? Is it a cunning ploy to let the Middle Managers stumble and get exposed on their own accord, spilling their skeletons in the process? Or is it, simply put, AAB is a weak CEO?

This too remains to be seen.

Nevermind about who pulls AAB's strings - in the issue at hand, this is nothing more than unnecessary noise, cluttering the real issue. And Nazri, too, is just more unnecessary noise - distracting our focus, at best.

Tun Dr. Mahathir has posed some severe, but valid criticisms, that need to be answered. That should be the focus of you and I.

Ultimately, it's not Dr. M that's owed an explanation. Instead, these criticisms must be answered because the Government owes us - the rakyat - the truth.

If nothing else, the environment under AAB's rule is slowly becoming more open (in many respects, but not entirely). Many are questioning, and rightly so. Let's get everything out in the open - once and for all; 'warts and all' as someone else has said.

The Tun may not have been the "ideal" leader, but LEAD he did. And with VISION. And that much no one can ever take away.

Not meaning to side TDM or Pak Lah, just an observation.
Quite a number of observers here and elsewhere have praised TDM for showing 'leadership', 'vision', 'passion, 'confidence' and the like as a PM. I think such qualities are a tad overrated, may be good to have but not essential. Look at the dumbbo Bush, he has those same qualities, and see where that has lead the US.
still, it may just be a sign of the people at large just want certainty, no matter how warped it is from reality.