Mahathir: Malaysia’s Biggest Liability
Is he in penitence or is he restructuring so he and his family can remain in power to call the shots?
Tajuddin Rosli
“He (Mahathir) is the father of all this in Malaysia and for him to stand in public and complain about lack of freedom of speech or democracy is really unacceptable. He should just be quiet and apologise for what he has done”
-Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams-
I have been voicing my opinions for many months and have to thank media portals like Malaysiakini, Free Malaysia Today and Malaysia Today for unbiasedly publishing them. In many of my articles I have voiced my personal opinions about Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who is undoubtedly the reason Malaysia is pedaling backwards.
Despite me clarifying my stand before, I still receive emails ridiculing me for speaking against Mahathir. I read comments by esteemed readers saying it is no use attacking Mahathir now. Some even claim I am a Barisan Nasional cyber trooper to counter Mahathir. It is up to every individual what he/she wants to believe.
The current Generation Y is pro e-media based. They do not read hard copy publications like most of us from the older generation. Many are oblivious to the past and are only interested with the current situation. The past is important because it teaches us not to repeat the same mistakes done before. A famous English philosopher come historian Robin George Collingwood once said, “History is for human self-knowledge … The only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.”
When Mahathir tried to selfishly use dissatisfied Malaysians to push for the resignation of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, he was being hailed as a national saviour. The younger generation who only read biased reports on Mahathir being painted more beautiful than Mona Lisa was becoming worrying to me. The modernization of Malaysia was painted to be all due to Mahathir. They have no clue about Umno Baru. They have no idea how Mahathir diminished the judiciary powers. They are misinformed on how Mahathir destroyed multi-racial peace and unity. They are at a loss on how Mahathir spearheaded ethnic cleansing in both the civil and education sector.
It was equally worrying that the Opposition had an inclination to shake hands with Mahathir at one point in time. I was not going to sit back and see that 90-year old manipulating people once again to command power. Therefore, I voiced my opinions on e-media that is probably the best way to reach out to the younger generation.
The younger generation who are fully engulfed in the E-world do not know how wonderful it was to be able to sit in a restaurant with people from different ethnicities speaking a common language and laughing-out-loud. It was not a problem if I sat in a Chinese non-halal restaurant drinking cina teh panas while my non-Muslim friends consumed alcoholic beverages. We could openly joke about one another’s religion and it was never blown out of proportion. National sports teams had a good mix of ethnicities that were selected deservingly and not based on skin colour. I still remember many Indian heads of departments in the civil service who were impeccable. There was no clocking in for one another or multiple tea breaks during working hours. Phone calls to government offices were always attended to immediately and misplacement of documents were almost unheard of. What a wonderful time my generation had.
When did it all come to an end? The beginning of the end was when Mahathir became prime minister. Mahathir created a culture of fear and criminalized freedom of expression. He mutated the Malay gene to be fearful that the non-Muslims are here to rob them of their rights. He removed the ‘mak’ and replaced it with ‘lay’ making people believe he is Malay.
Some people say Mahathir is probably repenting by trying to correct the messy state of the country today. Has Mahathir ever apologized for his wrongdoings? Till today Mahathir says Umno must remain in power forever and calls for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to replace Najib as Prime Minister. Is he in penitence or is he restructuring so he and his family can remain in power to call the shots? People applaud Marina Mahathir for speaking up on human rights. I do not respect anyone with the surname Mahathir. Has she ever condemned her father for what Malaysia is today?
Today the international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch has come out condemning Mahathir. They probably can foresee his intentions too but unfortunately many Malaysians can’t.
Malaysia does not need another Mahathir regime. As Winston Churchill once said, “Those who failed to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
