Ignore my criticism at your peril, Dr M warns Putrajaya
(Malay Mail Online) – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has again warned Putrajaya against ignoring his criticism after its weak showing in Election 2013, claiming that worse was in store if it does not alter its current path.
According to the former prime minister, the present administration suffered in the polls even after gifting millions of the public, neglecting the New Economic Policy, pandering to those who did not deserve it, increasing government debt, and listening to foreign consultants.
“After the poor performance, there should have been a review of the policies and practices which were obviously bad. But it did not happen. The approach was continued. The criticisms were taken, but nothing was changed,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his blog.
The poor performance was evidence that his criticisms were not baseless, and instead was a result of ignoring them, Dr Mahathir suggested.
Saying that Putrajaya was not obliged to take his counsel, Dr Mahathir went on to assert that the veracity of his criticism could be measured in terms of public support.
“Maybe my criticisms were baseless. But whether baseless or not, that can be known by testing them,” said the nation’s longest-serving prime minister, referring to election results.
Dr Mahathir compared his role against British Residents and Advisers during the colonial days, who were tasked with advising Malay rulers as part of a protectorate.
Despite their roles, Malay rulers were bound by treaty to heed the advices of the residents and advisers.
“The critic does not want to be like the British Advisers. The criticisms are not commands,” Dr Mahathir said, referring to himself.
“But those who do not learn the lessons of past experiences and continue with the old approach, will be tortured with similar performance or worse in the future.”
In August, Dr Mahathir penned a critical entry on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration and its policies, insisting it was necessary due to what he deemed to be a culture of “yes-men” in the government.
Later, Dr Mahathir denied targeting Najib personally, saying he was only criticising the prime minister’s policies.
He said he was unhappy with policy decisions that he viewed as not beneficial to the country, as well as the administration’s “soft” approach that he believed was not effective in containing the rise in racial and religious tensions.
Subsequently, Najib had also downplayed Dr Mahathir’s criticism of his administration, claiming it was an internal matter within Umno, adding he was open to meeting the veteran statesman to hear him out.
In the 13th general electio last year, Barisan Nasional (BN) won 133 seats in the 222-member Parliament and failed to recapture the two-thirds majority it lost in 2008.
Back then, Dr Mahathir had questioned Najib’s strategists, and pointed out that their ideas may have contributed to BN’s poor performance.
