There is only one dilemma. Mahathir’s!

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to abandon his political ambitions.

Age is against him and political support has waned.

He lost his deposit at GE15 and should not have contested, but left on a high, and been remembered for his past good deeds to Malaysia. Instead, he allowed his ego to get the better of him.

He would like history to judge him as the leader of the Malay community, but if truth be known, many Malays have rejected him.

Despite ruling Malaysia in two separate sessions, the first for 22 years and the second for 22 months, Mahathir views himself as the Malay savior.

He refuses to accept that he has become an irrelevance to the Malays. His book, “The Malay Dilemma,” is a reflection of his muddled thinking.

His age-old rivalry against his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim has consumed him and left him a bitter old man.

He simply cannot accept the fact that Anwar is now the prime minister and is making sweeping changes in an effort to introduce the reforms he promised the rakyat, undo many of Mahathir’s unjust policies, and in particular, eradicate corruption, especially in Putrajaya.

Last week, the nation saw how dangerous Mahathir had become in his latest attempt to scupper Anwar’s leadership and destabilize his administration.

Mahathir issued a 12-point proclamation and laid several plans to lead a Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur, but these had to be canceled when various organizations refused to allow him to hold his event at their establishments.

Mahathir issued many provocative remarks which had the potential to cause unrest in the rakyat, in particular the Malay community. Shame on him!

One would have thought that age would have made him wiser and more inclusive, instead we find that he is more vindictive than ever.

Instead of thinking of the nation and the well-being of the rakyat, Mahathir acted irresponsibly and only had his own selfish agenda in mind.

Another point in his proclamation was that the “Malays have never controlled the nation’s economy. Even their little stalls have been taken by others.”

What did he expect? Affirmative action policies kept the Malays dependent on government handouts. Why work hard when aid just lands on your lap? Why work and learn the skills of the trade when it is easier to get others to do it for you?

Mahathir is the architect of all that has gone wrong in Malaysia today,

That is when Malay stall-holders sublet their stalls and shops to mostly Indonesians. They were then freed from problems with workers, poor sales, compliance issues and competition. They were content receiving a hassle-free regular income every month.

Mahathir is aware that non-Malay traders face additional difficulties because, unlike the Malays, they cannot access government aid for small traders.

Malaysia should have become a high-income nation by 2020, but we fell short of that too.

We encouraged migrant workers because they accept low wages (which translates to higher profits). We deny adequate insurance to cover their health and accidents at work.

Malay politicians fueled by their affirmative action policies stole the bulk of the nation’s wealth for themselves and their cronies instead of distributing and sharing their wealth fairly.

Past Malay leaders placed conditions on non-Malay companies, demanding that they split their profits with the Malays besides demanding that ownership be shared.

What did Mahathir expect because this is the behavior exhibited by many Malay leaders and Malay elites?

He also said that “the only power the Malays possessed, political power, has also slipped out of their hands” and that “the fate of the Malays at present and in the future can no longer be determined by them.”

This is classic Mahathir. He excels in sowing seeds of discord. He knows that the PM and his deputy are both Malay. The major ministries like defense, finance, home and education are all helmed by the Malays.

The heads of GLCs, various government departments, Bank Negara, vice chancellors of public universities, and police and the armed forces chiefs are all Malay.

The civil servants are majority Malay. Despite Mahathir’s remarks, the Malays occupy a position of strength.

Another point in his proclamation was to say that “Malays are so weak that even the sovereignty of their homeland will slip from their hands. Their future is bleak. Poverty is forcing the Malays to sell their lands.”

Why blame the Malays? Blame the politicians, their affirmative action policies and how they dumbed-down education.

In many cases, the Malays are not taught about hard work and discipline, or how to invest for the future by spending time, effort and money on the present. Instead, the Malays discover that they can make easy money by selling valuable assets like land for quick profit.

Mahathir claimed that “the Malay party built on the foundation of religion, race and nation has been turned into a party to enrich oneself” and that “jostling for power and money has destroyed Malay unity.”

The irony is that Mahathir is the architect of all that has gone wrong in Malaysia today, and he will neither admit nor acknowledge the role he played in dividing the nation, in making the country a poorer place, socially, financially and morally, and worst of all, making many Malays extremely insecure and entitled.

Source:

1. Malaysiakini: Dr. M serves another Anwar bashing with a dollop of spin

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)