RPK: Mahathir’s children now on firing line
Mukhriz the first to be sacrificed on the altar of payback, says controversial blogger
(Free Malaysia Today) – Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is at risk of having his children becoming “collateral damage” in his campaign to oust Najib Razak as Umno president and prime minister, says controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin.
In his latest blog posting at Malaysia Today, RPK said Dr Mahathir had misstepped by attacking Najib’s personal and family honour.
By doing so, Dr Mahathir had “applied the highest strategy in war: attack that which your enemy cherishes the most”. But the blogger said this strategy was the most dangerous because the battle was now elevated to a level beyond politics.
Raja Petra said Dr Mahathir had tried to apply pressure on Najib to make him resign (the way he pressured three other Prime Ministers before) hoping that Najib would throw in the towel.
“So Dr Mahathir attacked what he considered were matters that were close to Najib’s heart and which he cherished most. And this would be Najib’s pride in his family name and the Tun Razak Hussein heritage. If Dr Mahathir can drag the Razak family name through the mud then most likely Najib would give up and call it a day,” Raja Petra said.
However, Dr Mahathir had miscalculated by further humiliating Najib during the “Nothing to Hide” dialogue last year — at which Dr Mahathir turned up ready to confront Najib, and Najib was advised on police orders not to attend. “Dr Mahathir took this fight beyond politics,” Raja Petra said. “Then, Dr Mahathir attacked Najib’s family — his wife and children — and said all sorts of nasty things about them. That brought it to the level that the Malays would call ‘tiada maaf bagi mu’.”
Raja Petra said Najib had already signalled “no quarter” at the Umno assembly in December and that he would be the only survivor of the battle.
“Dr Mahathir attacked Najib where it hurts most. So it is now time for Najib to hit Dr Mahathir back where it hurts most as well. And what is most dear to Dr Mahathir are his children.”
“So Mukhriz was the first child to get sacrificed at the altar of payback. And if Dr Mahathir continues and does not stop then another son is going to get sacrificed as well, and this time worse than the first one. One by one Dr Mahathir’s children are going to be reduced to cannon fodder who are paying for the sins of the father,” Raja Petra said.
“It was Dr Mahathir who laid these new ground rules where family members are collateral damage. So now all his children are collateral damage as well,” Raja Petra said, warning Dr Mahathir that he could try to save his family by shutting up, or attacking Najib and see his family fall by the wayside.
