Mahathir Yesterday, Kuan Yew Today
The misfortune of the last 20, 30 years is the general Malay population didn’t see through Mahathir, drowned as they were into deadness by the bellicose shouting, name calling, quarreling and insults all of which he now delivers through his blog site. Added to this dint obstructing clarity is the drum beating from the sidelines of Mahathir, the Malaysia Today illiterate horde.
In response to Mahathir the Great
Mahathir: 1. Ancient China considered itself the centre of the world and called itself the Middle Kingdom. And well it should. It was far more advanced in every way than Europe of the Dark Ages. Maybe China is thinking of making a comeback.
Answer: The definition of the “world” where ancient China thrived included neither India nor Pakistan? Those are (still) parts of the Indian subcontinent world at which Mahathir’s ancestors kowtowed to the Arabs then joined with them to convert the Malays. China is not “thinking” of a comeback. It has come back, so that never again will it be ruled by some smelly barbarians from the North or the West, and it comes back not because Mahathir said it.
Mahathir: 2. But we already have a new Middle Kingdom now. During Lee Kuan Yew’s triumphant visit to Malaysia he made it known to the Malaysian supplicants that Singapore regards the lands within 6000 miles radius of Singapore as its hinterland. This includes Beijing and Tokyo and of course Malaysia.
Answer: If Singapore’s hinterland runs 6,000 miles, then that would include India and Pakistan. Why? Singapore must not have either? Mahathir is dreaming of keeping Pakistan for his in-laws? They can have it, by all means please. And if this is so, is Mahathir worried more for the Malay or his ancestral homeland?
Mahathir: 3. Of course this self-deluding perception places Singapore at the centre of a vast region. It is therefore the latter day Middle Kingdom. The rest are peripheral and are there to serve the interest of this somewhat tiny Middle Kingdom.
Answer: Self is what it perceives, so perception is never delusional to the self; it can only be erroneous against reality. Peripheral by definition does not serve the center; it is served by the centre. (The “rest”, in the periphery, is collective grammar form and must be followed by a singular “is”, not plural.) Or, to put the same thing in terms of physical laws, the centre holds the periphery from spinning off into oblivion.
