Dr Mahathir Mohamad – the man with a long list of regrets
But hitherto, Mahathir throughout his life has evolved into a certain kind of loose cannon, often shooting blanks in different directions and this is why his credibility is suspect and his influence is waning, causing Najib and his followers to gain the upper hand over him in their present showdown.
Christopher Fernandez, The Ant Daily
Way back in the seventies, when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the education minister, he created a grave mistake by switching the medium of teaching in schools from English to Bahasa Malaysia.
It was in line with his policy of championing the Malay cause, for which he utterly regrets today. Now he is upping the ante along with those who want to promote the use of English among Malaysians, but it is perhaps a case of a little bit too late.
However the damage has already been done. But Mahathir is no newcomer to regrets. The man has such a long list of regrets in his lifetime that people are beginning to wonder, what gives? What really is the real aspiration and hope of the man who is also Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister?
Back in the early part of his premiership, he wrestled with issues of politics with his first deputy prime minister, Musa Hitam. He was unhappy with Musa’s resignation and had regretted his differences with his deputy. Mahathir repeatedly persuaded Musa to reconsider and come back but to no avail.
When Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was appointed prime minister, it was the personal wish of Mahathir. Mahathir was beaming with pride when Pak Lah replaced him, only to be at loggerheads with him later and to regret that he had endorsed Pak Lah’s candidacy as prime minister.
When Pak Lah was ousted by Najib, Mahathir was all proud once again that he had found the perfect person to lead Malaysia to achieve the status of advanced and fully developed nation. But just look now at how Mahathir is going for the jugular, with deep regrets once again, at Najib.
This is why Malaysians are perplexed and in a quandary as they observe the antics of Mahathir. They are unsure and uncertain of the reasons why Mahathir often ends up with regret and remorse. It looks as if his whole life is full of misery and regret.
