Dr Mahathir on the attack
Umno leaders are wondering whether it is just straightforward criticism or if there is a bigger agenda to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s open attack on the policies of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Joceline Tan, The Star
THOSE who move in the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad circle said the former premier had been critical of various government policies for some time now.
He had told a number of those in the circle he was planning to write about it in his chedet.cc blog and that he would come down hard on Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
What they did not expect was how hard it would be, to the extent of declaring that he was withdrawing support for Najib and which, in contemporary culture, might be equivalent to unfriending someone on Facebook.
Dr Mahathir is an exacting man with strong opinions and high expectations and he speaks his mind. That was exactly what he did on Monday, listing down, in point-form, his misgivings about the policies of Najib’s administration as well as taking a jab at Najib’s political style.
An Umno official who called on Dr Mahathir at his Petronas Twin Tower office the day the Mahathir volcano erupted had a deja vu moment. The same official had been to see Dr Mahathir at the same office back in 2006 shortly before Dr Mahathir started his attacks against the administration of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“It has been boiling for some time, he said he is going to write more,” said the official.
Dr Mahathir, who celebrated his 89th birthday last month, is still going strong. He retired in 2003 but still keeps an eagle eye on the country’s policies, especially policies that were set in place during his 22 years as prime minister or what some call his “babies”.
Boiling point: Azmi (left) urged Umno to regard Dr M as a voice of wisdom. Awkward spot: Mukhriz is stuck between his party boss and father.
He has been deeply unhappy about the abolition of restrictive laws like the ISA, ties with Singapore, the BR1M programme, handling of race and religious issues and Barisan Nasional’s performance in the general election. He was also critical of policies like the priority on imported goods, extra holidays for workers and the hike in minimum wage all of which he said was not good for the economy.
All that, said one of his officers, is just the tip of the iceberg. Dr Mahathir is also critical of the MAS bailout, the state of Proton, the ISIS militant threat to national security and the use of foreign consultants in the government.
Is Najib about to suffer the same fate as Pak Lah?
Well, Dr Mahathir has since qualified that he is not out to oust Najib but is doing it for love of the people and country. That is good to hear because toppling two successors in a row is not a good track record.
Najib had chosen not to react to the attack. In fact, the word from his office is that he does not want any one of his supporters especially from within Umno to retaliate.
Only the top Umno figures have been authorised to comment and they are only to talk about what Najib has done. They are not to counter attack or show any disrespect to the former premier.
Najib is naturally upset that the man whom he regards as a father figure is doing this in such an open fashion but the Malay in him would not dream of hitting back at the older man. He has learnt well from the earlier episode when the inexperienced team around Pak Lah took the hardline approach against Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir’s attack was not exactly a bolt out of the blue for Najib.
A highly-placed source said Dr Mahathir had sent a letter to Najib shortly before the start of Ramadan to say that, “I hereby withdraw my support for you”.
