Beware when Mahathir kisses you coz it could be the kiss of death

Mahathir never keeps permanent friends or permanent enemies. He changes friends and enemies depending on his needs at that point of time. Mahathir can vomit on you one day and lick back that vomit from your face the following day. There is nothing jijik as far as Mahathir is concerned as long as he gets what he wants. And while DAP thinks they are using Mahathir, they are going to be in for a rude shock when Mahathir eventually blames them for the next race riot in Malaysia.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

When you compare what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said about DAP back in May 2013 in the following video and what he is saying today in The Star news report below, you really do not know whether to laugh, sigh, curse or throw up.

I mean I know that politics is about friends becoming enemies and enemies becoming friends and about an enemy of my enemy is my friend and about there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics and so on, but surely there is also such a thing called maruah or pride and dignity. Even prostitutes have pride and dignity. Try insulting a prostitute and see what will happen.

Mahathir, however, does not seem to have any pride and dignity. Winning at all counts and under any circumstances may be the objective but how you play the game is as important if not even more important than winning.

The problem with Mahathir is that this is the second time he is doing this. Back in 2006 Mahathir wanted to oust Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and he strayed into forbidden territory and launched a no holds barred attack against his adversary. Finally, after almost three years, Abdullah threw in the towel and gave up.

So the world got a taste of what Mahathir can do and how far he is prepared to go to get what he wants. At that time, of course, he wanted Abdullah out because the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, was an obstacle to Mukhriz’s rise in politics. Now he wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak out because he did not help Mukhriz win the party elections in 2009 and 2013.

It’s all about the Mahathir political dynasty and family wealth 

Whatever it may be, both times — in 2006 and now — it is all about his son. He was sore that his political dynasty was not happening. Secondly it was about the family wealth. About RM100 billion is still under trustees, nominees, proxies and cronies and Najib is not helping Mahathir get back this wealth. In fact, 1MDB has been an obstacle to getting back this wealth and that was why Mahathir went all out to attack 1MDB. If he could kill 1MDB then some of his billions could be salvaged.

Everything that Mahathir did was about his family dynasty and wealth. If Najib had played ball and had helped Mukhriz win the party election and had allowed Mahathir to get back at least some of his wealth, the old man would not have launched his crusade. Power and wealth: some say which are more exciting than sex. That is what it is about.

Now, the opposition is not stupid. They may be dumb but they are not stupid. They know that the only reason Mahathir is sore is because he cannot get what he wants. If he could get what he wants he would have told the opposition to go screw themselves. He would have whacked DAP and called them all sorts of nasty names. Lim Kit Siang racist. Anwar Ibrahim ‘sodomist’ (Mahathir’s word for sodomite). Lim Guan Eng crooked. Mat Sabu adulterer. There would be no shortage of labels for the opposition leaders.

The opposition knows fully well that Mahathir does not really like them but is just using them to get back at Najib. And they know that Mahathir would be prepared to destroy Umno and Barisan Nasional if that is what it takes to bring down Najib. He would burn the whole country if necessary.

Matthias Chang got the Chinese guilds and association leaders plus the MCA life members to give Penang to DAP

I mean, in 2006 Mahathir worked with DAP (or at least some leaders in DAP) to attack Abdullah. He even got the Chinese guilds and association leaders plus MCA life members to make sure that Penang fell to DAP. Yes, Mahathir gave Penang to DAP with the help of the MCA people plus leaders of the guilds and associations.

Basically Penang is Abdullah’s home state and if Penang falls then it would be impossible for the Prime Minister to remain in office. He would have no choice but to resign, which he did a few months later. And then, after using the opposition and after working with DAP in the 2008 general election, in the 2013 general election Mahathir turns on DAP, as you can see in the video above.

So this is Mahathir. He will use you and work with you but after he gets what he wants he will turn on you. So, if Najib does happen to resign, do you think Mahathir will remain true and loyal to DAP and Pakatan Harapan or will he wangle his way back into Umno and make sure his son goes back up the Umno ladder? Did Mahathir not resign from Umno in 2008 and after Abdullah resigned in 2009 he rejoined Umno? Why did Mahathir not stay with the opposition who he helped win five states and 82 Parliament seats in 2008?

United by their sons’ political future

Yes, DAP and Pakatan Harapan know you cannot depend on and trust Mahathir. He is only good as a friend or ally when he does not get what he wants. Once he gets what he wants he will turn on you. But DAP and Pakatan Harapan know Mahathir is never going to get what he wants (which is for Najib to resign and for his son, Mukhriz, to become the next Prime Minister). So that means they can still use Mahathir for at least another few years while he is still alive.

That’s right, Najib is not going to resign, at least not in the immediate future. When he does resign it will be when he is ready to resign and on his terms. And that would be after Mahathir is dead and buried. So Mahathir and his son Mukhriz are going to remain has-beens for the rest of their lives. So DAP and Pakatan Harapan can continue to use Mahathir for some time to come.

What DAP and Pakatan Harapan do not realise, which Najib does, is that the more they work with Mahathir the more damage DAP and Pakatan Harapan are going to suffer. Mahathir is not an asset to the opposition like what they think. He is a liability. What Mahathir, DAP and Pakatan Harapan are doing just makes the Malays hate DAP more and that results in the Malays getting more united.

At the end of the day the next general election is going to be reduced to Malay political dominance versus the threat of the Chinese agenda. And with Umno and PAS both united in their hate for DAP that makes the Malays a formidable foe indeed. Yes, déjà vu, May 1969 all over again. Maybe Najib should dissolve Parliament and hold the next general election in either May 2017 or May 2018. That would certainly remind the Malays who they should vote for and why. And MCA had better take note which side of the bread to butter.

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Dr Mahathir changes his tune about DAP

(The Star) – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has made an unprecedented appearance at the DAP national conference here, taking centre stage with its party veterans. Dr Mahathir, who was once critical of DAP and even branded it racist, was seated in front of the stage with DAP leader Lim Kit Siang and party life adviser Dr Chen Man Hin as well as other Pakatan Harapan leaders.

Applause had broken out the moment Dr Mahathir, accompanied by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu, stepped into the hall at the IDEAL Convention Centre here. Also present were Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah, PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and former Cabinet minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

However, notably absent were former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and ex-Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.

Later, Dr Mahathir, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman, said he had been wrong about DAP. “It is an experience for me. DAP’s party song is in the national language and the conference is also conducted in the national language through and through.

“I see members from different racial backgrounds attending the conference here today. DAP is not a Chinese-only party but a multiracial one. They have non-Chinese members holding top posts in the party,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Dr Mahathir said he disagreed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s claim that the country’s political struggle was only between Umno and DAP.

“Umno is in Barisan Nasional and DAP is in Pakatan Harapan, with Pribumi joining them soon. I am baffled by what he said,” he added. He said DAP had no way of going it alone in forming the government, adding that it needed Pakatan and its other Opposition partners.