Dr M is right, Najib fears prison

 Quigonbond: Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad would within his own set of principles try not to lend too much credence to civil disobedience because in his mind, rallies are what made him retired while he was at the top.

To him, former DPM Anwar Ibrahim was wrong to try to unseat him. But we have come a long way from May 13 and even reformasi. Bersih is organised by civil society, of civil society and for civil society.

As he begrudgingly admits, it was the tool to bring down Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. And isn’t that a fitting analogy when we compare Imelda’s lavish lifestyle with Rosmah Mansor?

Hence, there is nothing wrong if Mahathir decides that Malaysians are finally ready to use rallies as a forum to express disaffection.

It is a tool, and every tool can cut both ways. So he should also accept that Bersih can also continue to protest if BN continues to be corrupt and incompetent, whoever is at the helm.

Justine Gow: More important than a change in the leader is the reformation of institutions of governance to strengthen the rule of law.

As Malaysians can now clearly see, the many decades of hard work in nation building can be easily destroyed by just one rogue leader if there is no proper check and balance between the different branches of the government.

The progress made by earlier leaders can be protected and preserved for future generations only if power is not concentrated in the hand of one person.

What is the use for a country to have nine consecutive benevolent dictators achieving greatness and prosperity that can be readily and completely ruined in just a short time by one powerful corrupted successor?

Gerard Lourdesamy: On the issue of 1MDB and PM Najib Razak’s gross abuses of power, Mahathir has my vote.

If elections cannot be held in the short term and the no-confidence vote is thwarted by bribery and intimidation, and if the rakyat are prevented from toppling the leadership through mass protests like in the Philippines and Indonesia, then extra-constitutional means are justified to remove an unwanted leader.

Was it wrong to topple Marcos in the Philippines or Suharto in Indonesia? Was it wrong to topple the Shah in Iran, Gaddafi in Libya, Mubarak in Egypt or Ben Ali in Tunisia? What about the French and Russian revolutions?

All regimes that are corrupt and despotic deserve to be toppled if democratic processes are no longer working. Democracy is not just about having an election every five years which in our case is never free or fair.

Neither is it about having a rubber stamp parliament where the executive wields complete control over the legislature. Or having a judiciary that is afraid of displeasing the executive and upholding the constitution.

As it stands, it is Najib who is undermining and effectively destroying our parliamentary democracy in order to avoid losing power and being prosecuted for corruption.

Not Convinced: Mahathir is right. Najib is clinging on to power because he is afraid to go to jail.

Touche: Indeed, Dr M’s lone voice is louder and stronger than all the Umno’s and Najib’s cronies put together.

Dr M fires back at ‘comfortable’ Zahid and Hisham

Mushiro: DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein refused to acknowledge Najib’s 1MDB RM42 billion scandal and the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’.

These are Mahathir’s main reasons for demanding Najib to resign and before Najib leads the country to bankruptcy.

The way Najib dismantled the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and special task force investigating him was suspect, as both the PAC and task force were closing in on him.

For Zahid and Hishamudddin to still support Najib is not blind loyalty but loyalty in exchange for rewards.

Real Truth: Hisham, times change and one needs to take drastic action to stop any government that is not responsive to the collective cry for change.

Malaysians cannot condone government that lies and gives lame excuses for the so-called donation from an unknown Arab. Such silly stories make the public wonder how callously the government treats its citizens.

Banning newspapers that carried articles on 1MDB and blocking Bersih’s portals are acts against the nation’s right to information.

We want an end to the charade of democracy. Malaysia wants true ‘merdeka’. Merdeka from fear. Merdeka from corruption.

Quigonbond: In Mahathir’s mind, he has full control of the government apparatus when he was PM, and perhaps his emasculation of levers of governance was necessary evil to him.

Obviously, he thinks very little of Najib and his sycophants because they are screwing up the administration of this country while continuing to allegedly amass billions.

One could also say that a lot of people tolerated Mahathir’s “limited” corruption while he rapidly develops the country. But they can’t stand Najib’s corruption because the country is falling apart.

Those in Umno who think that Malaysians are not discerning enough, that they will look back at Mahathir’s era and blame everything on him, should get their brains checked.

Mahathir is in the past. It’s up to current leaders to fix things.

By taking a page from Mahathir’s playbook, they think they are smart. But actually, they are not. They are pretty stupid because this is the internet age and absolutely nothing can stay hidden any more.

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