Happy birthday, Tun

Whatever it may, Tun, keep going. Perjuangan mu belum selesai. Finish what you started and to hell with all those trying to push you out. There is no such thing as Interim Prime Minister or Prime Minister-in-waiting. Those posts do not exist. You are either Prime Minister or you are not. And, in this case, you are the Prime Minister, Tun.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Happy birthday, Tun, and many happy returns of the day. With sincerity and humility, I pray for your good health and hope you will remain as Prime Minister until GE15, if not at least for another two years.

Tun, there are times we agreed and there are times we disagreed. And there are times I worked for you and times I worked against you. Of course, you know about the 2006-2008 period because we communicated directly. But in the 1985-1990 period you probably did not know I was in your “Team A” and reported to Pak Wan and the late Megat Junid Megat Ayub (I met up with arwah Megat in your office at Perdana Leadership just before he died in January 2008).

Anyway, although I have disagreed with much of what you did and are still doing, I have always accepted the fact that while you must be crazy to do some of the things you have done, there is a method in your madness, as the saying goes. And this is what most people do not understand about you, Tun. Furthermore, you have a vision and mission and you believe the end justifies the means.

Tun listens to Siti Nurhaliza while I listen to Santana: another “disagreement” we have

But do not take it too personal. Leaders with visions and missions are never understood (take Napoleon as one of many examples). There are only two types of people in this world. There are the leaders and there are the led. Less than 1% of humans fit in to the category of “leaders’ while the majority are all sheep. Do not Christians call their people “flock”? Hence you have one priest in town and the rest of the townsfolk are flock to be led by that one priest.

Sometimes you need to drag the people screaming and kicking into the next century. Humans, by nature, are resistant to change, even if the change may be good. And humans, by nature, are selfish. They would do something only if it benefits them personally but never if it benefits the entire community with no personal gain for themselves. That is human nature, which, I know, has left you frustrated so many times.

Anyway, Tun, you probably have only about two years left to leave your mark in this world. This has nothing to do with your age or health but is about the patience of Malaysians. There are two reasons why the Malaysian voters kicked out Barisan Nasional last year. First was the belief that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had stolen RM42 billion or maybe even more than RM50 billion of 1MDB’s money. Next was because of the election promises.

I first worked for Mahathir during the “Team A-Team B” days of the 1980s

Unfortunately, that RM42-50 billion-theft allegation is proving to be false. Either that or you have a numbskull for an Attorney-General who cannot prove a simple thing like Najib stole RM42-50 billion. Even the raid on the Pavilion Residences was badly done and the seized valuables will not be admissible as evidence in court. What the hell was that turbaned man thinking of? Or did he purposely sabotage the raid so that RM400 million in cash and valuables can “disappear”? It does make one wonder, does it not?

So there goes your so-called RM42-50 billion theft. Hence now the only thing left is to deliver your election promises, which were supposed to have been delivered in 100 days but until now have still not been delivered.

To be able to do that, Tun, you need to focus. You also need a crack team around you. First, get rid of those irritants who, from the time they wake up till the time they go back to bed, they just talk about the “succession plan” and about Anwar Ibrahim talking over as Prime Minister. You do not need this hassle and distraction. Next, get rid of the clowns in the Cabinet. You do not put clowns in charge of running a circus. The ringmaster runs the circus. And the Pakatan Harapan government is rapidly being reduced to a circus.

Whatever it may, Tun, keep going. Perjuangan mu belum selesai. Finish what you started and to hell with all those trying to push you out. There is no such thing as Interim Prime Minister or Prime Minister-in-waiting. Those posts do not exist. You are either Prime Minister or you are not. And, in this case, you are the Prime Minister, Tun.

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Dr M: I owe it to my mum

(Bernama): Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who turned 94 Wednesday (July 10), has described his late mother, Wan Tempawan Wan Hanapi, as the most influential individual in his life.

“She brought me up, she taught me the way I should behave, the things I should do,” the Prime Minister told Bernama Radio in a special interview to mark the happy occasion.

Queried on the secret of his vitality, Dr Mahathir said he now does everything in moderation, including when it comes to eating, and remains active.

“I watch my weight, meaning I am careful about what I eat. I also feel that we will become weak, in mind and body, if we are not active. When we are active, then everything functions well,” he said.

Recalling his younger years, Dr Mahathir said the world was much simpler then as his life merely revolved around school, his home and Alor Setar where he grew up in a multi-racial neighbourhood.

He remembers that besides a shop selling songket material and bronzeware, there were no other shops run by the Malays at that time.

“I wanted to be proud of the achievement of the Malays but I couldn’t find anything to be proud of as far as the position of the Malays was concerned under British rule,” he said.

However, he considered his biggest failure as his inability to change the character of the Malays and their value system.

Dr Mahathir told Bernama Radio that he had tried to change them so that they were more compatible with progress but the majority opted to stick to their established ways.

Asked which world leaders inspired him the most, Dr Mahathir named Nelson Mandela who fought against apartheid in South Africa and said he was also inspired by Peter the Great of Russia because “he changed a disorganised Russia into a world power”.

Asked about the characteristics of a leader, Dr Mahathir said the individual should know about the situation in the country as well as developments in the region and the world.

“We cannot isolate ourselves as though we are living alone, without any contact with neighbours and other countries of the world,” he said.

On a lighter note, Dr Mahathir said his favourite local singer is Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, that he prefers coffee over tea and counts Japan as his favourite among the countries he has visited.