Mahathir says Kit Siang can even become PM

Mahathir has already told us years ago that the PM and DPM need not be Malay, Muslim or male. At that time Mahathir warned us that one day Malaysia is going to have a non-Malay and non-Muslim PM or DPM. He also said that it is only fair that a non-Malay be made the DPM if we want to retain a Malay PM. The problem is Malaysians were not paying attention.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Malaysians never pay attention. Even when I repeat the same thing over and over again they still don’t get it and still raise the same old issue that has been replied to umpteen times. Take the issue of my June 2008 statutory declaration as one example. After almost ten years of explaining they still don’t get it and still allege what the statutory declaration did not say.

The series of articles by The Third Force is yet another example. Many readers whack me for writing those articles and say all sort of nasty things to me. I usually never bother to post such comments or else we will be getting 100 or 200 worthless comments from readers who do not even notice the name ‘The Third Force’ — whereas if I had written those article it would carry the name ‘Raja Petra Kamarudin’.

This just shows how unintelligent Malaysians are. They cannot even tell the difference between ‘The Third Force’ and ‘Raja Petra Kamarudin’. Actually, the real reason is that Malaysians never pay attention and never read properly. Furthermore, they have already formed an opinion before they even start reading so they end up seeing what is not there. The power of suggestion is actually very effective and you can even see fungus on a hospital window as Mother Mary if that is what you wish to see.

Anyway, many also do not pay attention to what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been saying and doing these last 50 years. You cannot just take what the old man says or does today or yesterday. You must look at his entire 50 years track record and aggregate all his actions. Of course, some smaller minds will argue that we cannot take into consideration what he did in the past because he is a changed man and he is now a different Mahathir. If you believe that then you must also believe in the tooth fairy. Only idiots would believe that Mahathir at 92 is a different Mahathir from the Mahathir of 42 years old.

Now, pay attention because I am going to remind you about what Mahathir said and show you that the Mahathir of the 1960s is still the same Mahathir today.

Even Ambiga Sreenevasan can become Malaysia’s Prime Minister, although Trump may not like that

Years ago Mahathir said that there is nothing in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia that forbids a non-Malay, non-Muslim and/or non-male from becoming the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The only criteria is that the Prime Minister must be one of the 222 Members of Parliament (not merely a Senator like a normal Cabinet Minister) and must have the confidence of the majority Members of the House (which means at least 112 MPs).

That is all that is required, said Mahathir. So the PM can be an Indian, Hindu woman and it is perfectly legal and constitutional as long as 112 MPs have no objections to her appointment.

Now, the second thing that Mahathir has always argued is that there is no mention in the Constitution regarding a Deputy Prime Minister. It is silent. The Constitution only mentions a Cabinet. Hence, said Mahathir, you do not even need to appoint a Deputy Prime Minister. Malaysia needs to have only a Prime Minister and a Cabinet.

The appointment of a Deputy Prime Minister is not a constitutional requirement like the Prime Minister and the Cabinet is. So a Prime Minister can do without a Deputy Prime Minister or he can appoint two, three, four or five Deputy Prime Ministers if he so wishes.

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not have a deputy until 7th January 2004. So, from 1st November 2003, Abdullah was in office for more than two months without a deputy. Legally and constitutionally Abdullah could have remained in office until the end of his term without a deputy, although that may not be the most prudent action to take in case anything happens to the Prime Minister.

So, as Mahathir said, the Prime Minister does not need to appoint a deputy or he can have five deputies. It is entirely the prerogative of the Prime Minister and is not a legal requirement. And these deputies (plus the Prime Minister as well) can be male, female, Muslim, non-Muslim, Malay, non-Malay, gay, straight, bi-sexual, transgender, or whatever. That is the legal and constitutional aspect to the whole thing.

Nothing wrong if Mahathir makes Kit Siang the Deputy Prime Minister

So why is Lim Kit Siang so upset about the revelation that he and Mahathir have made a deal for him to become the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister? Is that illegal or unconstitutional? As what Malaysiakini said yesterday, “Apa salahnya DAP jadi TPM?” (READ HERE).

Correct! Nothing salah. And why threaten to sue and make so much noise when it is revealed that Kit Siang is going to become the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister if Pakatan Harapan wins the next general election and marches into Putrajaya? Mahathir has already pointed out many years ago that the Constitution allows for this. And in that sense Mahathir has been very consistent.

Mahathir said today he is not anti-Chinese. And that is probably true. Many Chinese (and Indians also) became millionaires and millionaires became billionaires because of Mahathir. In 1982, not long after he became Prime Minister, Mahathir told the Malays that the New Economic Policy (NEP) had only eight years left and he was going to make sure it ended in 1990 as scheduled. This was the promise made to the non-Malays, said Mahathir. And it is not fair to the non-Malays to extend the NEP beyond 1990.

I was there in that function in the Equatorial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur so I am a witness to this.

Mahathir turned many into millionaires and millionaires into billionaires under the disguise of the NEP

Then, in 1990, Mahathir ended the NEP by changing its name and nothing more. And the reason he did not really want to end it was because the NEP was being abused and exploited to rip off the country. Take the APs as one example. Under the excuse of the NEP, APs were being given to a small number of cronies and billions were being made every year. Yes, billions, and by now it has totalled hundreds of billions.

In short, Mahathir did not end the NEP other than merely changing its name because his trustees, nominees, proxies and cronies were making tons of money, which they could not make if they did not have the NEP. And under the umbrella of the NEP Mahathir embarked on a privatisation policy where even more money was made. Hundreds of billions!

Why do you think so many towkays support Mahathir? And why do you think they are prepared to provide him a war chest of RM10 billion to topple Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak? RM10 billion is a scratch on the surface of what they made through Mahathir. It does not even come to 5%. And even if it did what is 5% when the balance 95% runs into hundreds of billions, enough money for the next five generations?

Wan Azizah is DAP’s choice of Selangor Menteri Besar

Now, only the Menteri Besar must be Malay-Muslim (but need not even be male, which was why DAP wanted Dr Wan Azizah Ismail as the Selangor Menteri Besar). Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, etc., need not be Malay-Muslim. So Mahathir is not wrong in wanting Kit Siang to be appointed the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

No doubt after announcing that Kit Siang will be made the Deputy Prime Minister he did a u-turn and said he was mistaken and that it was MCA and not DAP who wants the post of Deputy Prime Minister. Mahathir did a u-turn because Kit Siang told him to. And Mahathir has no choice but to do what Kit Siang says because he needs DAP votes for Pribumi to win some seats in the next general election. If not Pribumi would get zero seats.

It is a crying shame to see Mahathir reduced to DAP’s running dog and see him take orders from Kit Siang. If you had told me three years ago that Mahathir was going to be Kit Siang’s bitch, as they say in the west, I would have said you are crazy. Now it is not so crazy after all. I suppose that is what happens when you have nothing left. You will even sell your dignity or maruah just to stay alive. But then Mahathir actually lost his maruah back in 2008 when he gave Penang to DAP just so that he could oust Abdullah from office.