It’s the rakyat, not Dr M, who decide Malaysia’s fate

Mahathir disappoints in London

RCZ: Mariam Mokhtar, what did you expect from this one man, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad? Hope, magic tricks, immediate change, Najib’s immediate removal, Malaysia being cured?

Get real. Change is a hard and lengthy process and depends on the maturity of the people, what they want and what they are prepared to do to get it. Asking one man whether the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) ought to be shut down is not fair, is it?

Do the people want it shut down? If so, this is the message they must give to their elected government of the day. If they are like sheep and meekly comply with and accept what Jakim says, then there is no reason to shut it down. Is the opposition going to shut down Jakim if it comes into power?

It takes an enlightened government to implement changes for the good of the people as a whole, and not one man.

Ngms: From what you wrote, I think the title of the article should be ‘Mahathir disappointed in London’. The audience let you down, not the old man.

OMG!: Umno is ultimately the creature of Great Britain. Because in 1946, it was the British who allowed it to be registered in British Malaya then. Only a year before, the Allies had defeated Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy and found a vast system of death camps the Nazis built to systematically gas and incinerate six million Jews and millions of gypsies, mental defectives, prisoners of war, and others.

“Never again!” they proclaimed. Yet just a year later, they registered Umno and infected the then-Malaya with the germ of racialism and communalist parties. The founder, Onn Jaafar himself, tried to open Umno to all races in 1951, but failed.

Britain may have allowed a communal party because they found the polite, self-effacing Malays easy to handle. If communalism was what they wanted, then so be it. China was being won by the communists then, and cooperation from the Chinese Malayans was more difficult.

Nothing less than a complete relook at Malaysia’s governance, political parties and constitutional provisions will do.

Drngsc: We all have to fight our battles, play our part to vote out this allegedly very corrupt regime. We cannot depend on this 90-year-old. If he walks with us, that is fine. If he does not, that is also fine. We have to shoulder our responsibilities, Mariam. There is no shortcut.

Prudent: Mariam, please don’t be disappointed. It was as expected. Those who expect differently will be likely be very disappointed. Malaysia must move beyond the Mahathir and Umno era. They are albatrosses around the necks of Malaysians.

Bazooka: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) was formed because these ousted Umno leaders could not bring themselves to join the parties of their former foes like PKR, DAP, etc. They want to have their own party very similar to Umno, so they can take on Umno in GE14.

Their long-term goal is to lead the opposition. I doubt they want to be seen as setaraf with the existing opposition parties that I’ve mentioned. If they are equal to existing opposition parties, how can they offer a candidate for the PM’s post?

They are probably thinking of picking former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin for the prime minister’s post, and former Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir for deputy prime minister. They might not accept Anwar Ibrahim or Mat Sabu for these posts.

TimesAchanging: I doubt that Malaysia will be spared the Islamic fundamentalism that is sweeping through all countries with Muslims now – even if there is no Jakim.

I prefer looking forward and solving the most critical problems ahead of us… like corruption, accountability, the independence of public institutions and electoral reforms. Let Mahathir’s mistakes and flaws be part of his legacy and history books.

Even if he apologises for his past actions, will it impact our future? It’ll just be a feel-good moment for us – that’s all.

#433671298241498419847: Forget the personal issues like one-upmanship, ego, race and religion. Of more overwhelming importance is that none in the opposition has any vision for the future of Malaysia.

With the existing have-beens and failures in contention for the leadership of this country, we are doomed to either Islamic or Chinese authoritarianism. Get rid of Najib… then what?

Tony Soprano: Hope? From some 91-year-old allegedly fascist, racist, former dictator? Is this the best Malaysia can do in terms of opposition?

Anonymous 2431991473847816: Mahathir should understand the situation first. The reality is, he is getting too old to deal with political issues and dramas that will lead him nowhere.

Sarawakian: Wonder where Mahathir is going? How many from Umno have joined Bersatu? Perhaps he should realise that all the good ones in Umno have long ago either joined PKR (like Saifuddin Abdullah) or Amanah.

How is Pakatan Harapan going to have seat negotiations with a party like Bersatu with negligible members and grassroots? The rulers, the institutions, the BN politicians, the Muslims are all silent on the mega 1MDB scandal. Only a miracle can save Malaysia now.

Just a Malaysian: Mahathir is not a statesman with clear principles or philosophy of governance. He is a ‘get the job done’ kind of guy, using whatever tools available. A clever opportunist, he changes colour as and when needed, and only he knows what he wants to achieve in the end.

Worldly Wise: Mahathir, having used taxpayers’ money to allegedly favour wholesale his own kind, is morally handicapped. But his championing of transparency in the government at this juncture must be welcomed.

Anonymous 2431991473847816: Mahathir should think twice before acting blindly, as his actions will affect all Malaysians. He also needs to understand that his actions will bring a bad effect on him as well. Mahathir is desperate and willing to do anything, just to topple the government.

Whatsthestory: Another boring comment from someone who sits in London in her cushy armchair – unlike Mahathir who is in his 90s, but who’s fighting all the way to fix things.

GMK: Nothing can change until food is disappearing from the table.

HaveAGreatDay: J word? Jakim? It is likely Muslims in the audience are afraid to be labelled as not faithful, not religious, or whatnot. The non-Muslims are afraid to be tagged as being anti-Islam.

Anonymous #33227154: Mahathir has never been sincere in helping the country. He avoided addressing critical issues like corruption in the government, cronyism, racism, and religious discrimination.

All these were rampant under his rule and prevented Malaysia from ever moving forward. Mahathir just wants to fool Malaysians to again hand power back to him. Then corruption, cronyism, racism and religious extremism will continue as usual.

Anon11352: If given the opportunity, Najib would definitely be a better prime minister than Mahathir.

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