MCA man turns tables on Mahathir
Ti Lian Ker says Mahathir made sure that there were no smooth leadership transitions in the past.
(FMT) – An MCA leader today dug up Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s past to show that the former prime minister was wrong in saying that leadership transitions were always smooth in Malaysia’s post-independence history.
Commenting on remarks Mahathir made against Prime Minister Najib Razak in a recent blog posting, MCA Central Committee member Ti Lian Ker said “smooth” in the former PM’s mind meant that a sitting prime minister would give in to his demands.
In his posting, Mahathir said Najib had deviated from the practice of past Umno presidents in not allowing for a smooth leadership transition through the democratic process.
Ti said Malaysia had never truly experienced such smooth transitions, with Mahathir dictating events and past leaders caving in to his demands.
“Dr Mahathir had an overwhelming influence in the local political scene by being recalcitrant and Machiavellian in practice and actions,” he said.
He alleged that Mahathir incited student activists and “ultra Malays” to force Malaysia’s founding prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, to step down. Subsequently, he added, Hussein Onn and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi were forced to resign through means that were “not too subtle.”
Hussein was challenged from within the party, and Abdullah stepped down after Mahathir had openly campaigned against him, he said.
He accused Mahathir of opening up racial wounds with his open letter to the Tunku in 1969 and with the publication of his book The Malay Dilemma. These had led to repeated exploitation of Malay insecurity and the demonisation of the Chinese community, he said.
He also cited Mahathir’s branding of the electoral reform group Suqiu as a communist movement during the campaign for the Lunas by-election in 2000.
Suqiu was made up of Chinese-based organisations formed before the 1999 general election. It made 83 demands, including the abolition of bumiputera special privileges.
Ti said Mahathir, in his demonisation of Suqui, wanted to give the impression that the Chinese were a threat so that he could divert criticism away from himself.
Referring to Mahathir’s remark that Najib was “playing hard,” Ti said it was Mahathir who played political hardball by dismantling the judiciary, ousting Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from Umno and instigating Operasi Lallang, which led to the arrest of more than 100 critics, activists and opposition politicians.
He said Mahathir best displayed his recalcitrance when he announced at the Umno elections of 1987 that he would stay on as Prime Minister even if he were to win by one vote against Tengku Razaleigh. “If you don’t call this playing hardball, I don’t know what else is,” he added.
