Perkasa shields Dr M against Pak Lah’s swipes

(MM) – Malay supremacist group Perkasa leapt to the defence of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (picture) today over his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s stinging criticism published in a book recently.

Responding to media reports on a book of the former prime minister’s years in power, Perkasa lashed out against Abdullah’s claim that the country would have succumbed to the 2008 banking crisis had he not cancelled Dr Mahathir’s earlier projects.

It also denied that the group is encroaching on the rights of other races in its struggle for Malay supremacy.

“Would our country go bankrupt if we had gone on with the projects planned by Tun M? Was our country that rich before Tun M’s times? Have the mega projects completed by Tun M made our country bankrupt?” Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali asked in a statement here, referring to Dr Mahathir.

“The most ‘malang’ (ill-fated) years for Malaysians were during Pak Lah’s time as the prime minister between October 2003 and April 2009,” he added, referring to Abdullah by his popular moniker.

“Awakening: The Abdullah Years in Malaysia”, a book on his short reign as the prime minister who succeeded Dr Mahathir, features an exclusive interview where the usually quiet man finally speaks out against his detractors.

In the days following its release, the book dominated headlines in the media with heavy focus given to Pak Lah’s words on Dr Mahathir and what the former prime minister described as “unwarranted attacks” on his person that eventually led to his ouster.

The previously cordial relationship between the two turned sour when, after coming to power, Abdullah discontinued the double-tracking rail mega project approved during Dr Mahathir’s time, citing the country’s weak finances.

Dr Mahathir had then taken the cancellation, as well as that of the controversial “Crooked Bridge” to Singapore, as personal affronts, saying these insinuated he had mismanaged the country’s finances.

Today, Perkasa revisited the double-tracking project, saying that the country has suffered a bigger financial setback when Abdullah decided to resurrect the project years later despite cancelling it earlier.

“The people know who had really dried up the nation’s coffers. The people also know who had developed this country. They know who had made the country respected by other developing and foreign nations. They know who had provided many job opportunities,” said Syed Hassan.

“They know who had made this country well-known, making more tourists come every year. Every year, more than RM50 billion of foreign funds flowed into the country from the tourism industry, surely it was not the result of Pak Lah’s efforts.”

Perkasa also railed at Abdullah for accusing the group of encroaching on the rights of the non-Malays, insisting that it is only retaking the “rights” allegedly snatched away from the Malays.

The group also told the former Kepala Batas MP that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) dismal win in Election 2008 was due to already waning support from the non-Malays, despite Perkasa not being around at that time.

“The Chinese already rejected BN in 2008 because the government led by Pak Lah was incompetent in managing the economy, making it hard for them to do business,” Syed Hassan claimed.

“The Chinese rejected BN in 2008 because they were ashamed of a PM who was not smart and had become the butt of jokes by sleeping in meetings and events.”

In an earlier excerpt, Abdullah lashed out at Dr Mahathir for accusing him of sleeping on the job despite the latter knowing that Pak Lah’s bouts of public napping were due to a now-corrected disorder of sleep apnoea.

Perkasa’s offensive today follows pro-Umno bloggers who have since accused Abdullah of being a “mouthpiece” of the opposition with the release of the book, painting its editors Prof Bridget Welsh and Prof James Chin as alleged anti-BN dissenters.

The Singapore launch has since been cancelled, according to the book’s editors yesterday, who earlier postponed a companion event in Kuala Lumpur due to the growing controversy over the tome.

On Saturday, the editors decided to postpone the launch here, citing concerns over its “politicisation” and sensationalisation by media organisations in their reportage of certain portions of the book.

Despite the postponement of the launch, the duo said the book will remain available at book stores nationwide.