Mahathir is just plain toxic

So, fasten your seat belts and get ready for the most exciting and expensive ride in Malaysian political history. This latest political turmoil has cost Malaysians tens of billions and is going to cost tens of billions more to keep Mahathir in power. But look on the bright side, at least you do not have to pay any GST on it.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Before GE14 in May 2018, DAP proudly announced to their Chinese voters that they were just using Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to topple Umno and Barisan Nasional. The Chinese clapped and cheered at how clever Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng were. They are the modern version of Sun Tzu.

Those who know Mahathir and who have worked with him in the past know that this is mere wishful thinking at best and living in denial at worst. You do not ride a tiger thinking that you now control the power of the tiger because sooner or later you need to get off and when you do you become the tiger’s dinner.

When Pakatan Harapan formed the new government on 10th May 2018 with Mahathir as their Prime Minister, I asked a close friend of mine, “Where do we go from here?” His reply was to do nothing, just stay put, because Pakatan Harapan will not last and will self-destruct in less than two years, long before GE15.

One reason, of course, is because of the unrealistic and unachievable promises Pakatan Harapan made to the voters — which Mahathir himself admitted cannot be delivered and were made only because they never thought they were going to win the general election (if not they would not have made those promises).

DAP foolishly thought they could use Mahathir to topple Umno and Barisan Nasional and then control him

But the more important reason is because Mahathir is toxic and everywhere he goes he leaves a mess behind him. In fact, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister and Bapa Merdeka, once said the day that Mahathir becomes Prime Minister is the day Malaysia is doomed.

And was the Tunku wrong? The ‘May 13’ race riots were because of Mahathir and the ‘Young Turks’ in Umno, and was aimed at destabilising the country so that the Tunku could be ousted and forced into retirement (which worked). But the real tragedy is since 1969 race relations have never returned to the days when Malaysians lived peacefully as one family.

Let us admit that since ‘May 13’ Malaysians of different races have never seen unity and we still talk and look at things in the context of Malays, Chinese, Indians and ‘others’. And the younger generation who enthusiastically voted for Mahathir and his gang on 9th May 2018 forgot or did not realise that Malaysia is sitting on a racial timebomb (to quote Lim Kit Siang) because of Mahathir.

In those days, race did not matter. Today, it does. And while the Tunku is Bapa Merdeka, Tun Razak Hussein is Bapa Pembangunan, and Tun Hussein Onn is Bapa Perpaduan, guess who is Bapa Perkauman. No prize for the right guess.

Mahathir and the ‘Young Turks’ played the race card to oust the Tunku, and race relations has never been the same again since then

And this is the man the Pakatan Harapan supporters voted into office in May 2018. How can you elect the problem to become the solution? Only Pakatan Harapan people and DAP Chinese would be stupid enough to put the fox in charge of the chickens. And how can I not feel superior when I am surrounded by morons?

Yes, Mahathir is toxic in more ways than one. He and his Young Turks divided Malaysians more than 50 years ago and Malaysia has never been the same again. Mahathir triggered turmoil in Umno in 1969, 1976, 1981, 1987, 1998, 2006 and 2015. And now he is creating turmoil in Pakatan Harapan.

Mahathir resigned from Umno twice during the time of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Tun Razak because both those Prime Ministers would not give in to his tantrums. And now he resigns from PPBM and Pakatan Harapan for the same reason.

Mahathir resigned as Prime Minister twice, once in 2002 and now in 2020. In 2002 Mahathir was persuaded to withdraw his resignation and stay on but today Mahathir is still waiting for Pakatan Harapan to request him to withdraw his resignation (but it looks like on this second occasion Pakatan Harapan is going to tell him to just go).

Mahathir ousted or had a role in ousting every Prime Minister save Tun Razak Hussein (who died in office). Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Tun Razak were all forced to resign one way or another.

Mahathir forced Umno and PAS into each other’s arms, and that is going to be the greatest threat to Pakatan Harapan

Mahathir caused Umno to split in 1987, 1998 and 2016. And now he is trying to split Umno yet again in 2020.

DAP, in its euphoria to oust Umno and Barisan Nasional, thought they could use this very toxic Mahathir to do that job and after that control him. How wrong they were. And now the very animal that DAP let loose on Umno and Barisan Nasional is going on a rampage in Pakatan Harapan. Kalau cakap Cina bodoh, marah. Tapi kalau tak panggil bodoh nak panggil apa?

If Mahathir plays his cards right he can get Malay support. But he must abandon DAP and tell the Malays that Pakatan Harapan is now dominated by the Chinese and that the Malays have lost their political domination. And that will not be hard to do.

The majority still rests in the hand of the Malays. Umno and Barisan Nasional fell because of the Malays, not because of the Chinese. If Mahathir can get solid Malay support then Pakatan Harapan is finished. But Muakafat Nasional plus Sabah and Sarawak are the kingmakers. So how is Mahathir going to get them to rally behind him?

Mahathir will have to tell the Malays that Pakatan Harapan is a Chinese-dominated government if he wants them to rally behind him

Mahathir will need to play his race card to the hilt. He will need to tell the Malays that Pakatan Harapan is Chinese and they need to unite to defend their rights and not become hamba di negara sendiri and lose Malaysia to the pendatang. That may work.

Pakatan Harapan has washed its hand of PPBM and Mahathir and they want Anwar Ibrahim to take over as Prime Minister. Basically, Mahathir is living on borrowed time and the clock is ticking. Mahathir had better pull a rabbit out of his hat if he wants to survive this last tango. And money may do the trick (because it was Mahathir who said “cash is king”).

Neither Mahathir nor Anwar has the majority in parliament. So, Mahathir will need to stay on as Prime Minister via a vote of confidence in parliament. And how many millions do you think each MP’s vote is going to cost (which in essence the taxpayers are paying for)?

So, fasten your seat belts and get ready for the most exciting and expensive ride in Malaysian political history. This latest political turmoil has cost Malaysians tens of billions and is going to cost tens of billions more to keep Mahathir in power. But look on the bright side, at least you do not have to pay any GST on it.