Love him or hate him, Mahathir does not deserve flying slipper

‘Gross disrespect’ for ex-PM slammed, cops urged to probe

CQ Muar: Those ill-bred and uneducated hooligans who acted so senselessly and disrespectfully must be given the most severe of sentence, only then it’s considered justice served.

Such reckless misbehaviour towards a nonagenarian, who had been a PM for 22 years, was most outrageous and disgusting. We now await to see how PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) will react against those hoodlums.

Anonymous_1395464675: Who could have paid these uncivilised people to do such an act to an ex-premier of our country?

If this is how the country is managed, soon we won’t need the police to ensure security as these people have full power to do whatever they want and no action would be taken.

A very shameful act indeed. Will the royalty speak out?

David Dass: Many of us did not agree with many of the things Dr Mahathir Mohamad did in his time as PM. But it is not in our culture to show him disrespect or cause him harm. In fact, this whole business of violence and threats of violence should cease.

If we are to be a developed country then we must also see ourselves as a civilised country that eschews violence as a way of stifling dissent.

Roar For Truth: Where is the police protection for Mahathir, the longest serving former prime minister? Vindictive politics aside, please respect the office and the former PMs.

Tyrant: This incident proves the police have failed spectacularly. Pakatan Harapan, please organise Nothing to Hide 3 as the Umno ground is being shaken to the core, and it seems they have everything to hide and are extremely worried about the event.

The rakyat are not retarded. I find it really puzzling to see Umno, a 60-year-old party being so worried sick of a newly-formed coalition like Harapan. Just how desperate and despotic could Umno get? Shouldn’t they feel ashamed?

Cogito Ergo Sum: It has become a given these days that if an event garners widespread support against Umno, the modus operandi is subterfuge and suppression by all means.

And the means justify the end. And in this case, the end was to silence Mahathir.

This is a small setback for a 92-year-old former statesman, but a giant leap in strategy for future organisers of such events. Learn from this and plan the next move. Don’t waste time pointing fingers because nothing will come of it.

Goldee: It makes no sense that the trouble was caused by Bersatu party members as claimed.

A certain someone was unhappy because the forum was meant to talk about there being ‘Nothing to Hide’, and who was the forum referring to? Your guess is as good as mine.

Dont Just Talk: The majority of Malaysians know who the culprits are and which party they belong to.

The Malays are a cultured and peace-loving race, but the action of those few culprits by throwing shoes, chairs and plastic bottles at a 92-year-old, who was once the prime minister of Malaysia, has brought shame to their parents for failing to teach them what respect is about.

They think that by intimidating others with their unruly behaviour, they can bring the Nothing to Hide 2 forum to an early end. But they are mistaken. What they have shown to other peace-loving Malaysians is the immaturity of their people and the party they belong to, period.

Spinnot: Mahathir is reaping what he sowed. Such violent behaviour or culture is not new. There were similar cases in the past during his administration. For example, in 1996 they stormed into an international conference on East Timor at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and broke up the event.

In 2000, they threatened to burn down the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall if the Chinese associations did not withdraw their Suqiu demands that had already been accepted by BN before the 1999 general election.

Prudent: This is a setback for Harapan. The most damaging message is that Mahathir, an iconic figure and touted to be the next PM to succeed Najib, is seen as weak, ineffectual and unable to control events.

Harapan should strive to preserve the image of strength of the former premier. Let him appear in well-staged events where he is seen as being in control. As it is, he is over-exposed in events, the messages of which are lost in the fracas that chaotic elements have staged.

Attack on the 92-year-old strengthens our resolve

Dr Suresh Kumar: I was never a fan of Mahathir. However, I despise the way he was treated by those despicable thugs on Sunday.

I wonder, whatever happened to the Malay adage ‘budi bahasa, budaya kita’? Having said this, let us not forget that under the 22-year iron fist rule by Mahathir, this was precisely the modus operandi practised by him.

I would not know about MCA, but MIC’s ex-president S Samy Vellu and his thugs certainly aped these tactics well to frighten the Indians, especially during the meetings with regard to the colossal losses involving Maika and Telekom shares.

Mahathir was often heard mentioning the May 13 incident during his tenure as PM, as did PM Najib Razak and his cabinet ministers. These people did not hesitate to use the fear tactics to frighten the rakyat to vote Umno back into power.

Mahathir is only interested in flushing out Najib, not the rotten and divisive system that the elder statesman had created single-handedly. This speaks volumes about his character. And it is sad that the opposition wasted so much time infighting and mudslinging that they failed to make inroads into the Malay hinterlands to win their trust and confidence.

Their supporters are busy defending the malfeasance of their public officials instead of condemning it. They are also guilty of disparaging and abusing those who do not agree with their racial undertones. And Harapan is now hanging on to a 92-year-old man to save them.

In my sincere opinion, only a third force comprised of young and highly educated Malaysians can save this beloved country of ours. Extreme partisan politics is killing this country slowly but surely.

Basically: It seems Dr M has gotten a taste of the kind of base politics he himself had a huge hand in cultivating. I wonder how the Umno support base would see this attack, or if they see the irony of it and wake up from their slumber.

But as much as I have despised this man for decades, I do hope his attempts at making amends is sincere, and perhaps deep inside he finds remorse after experiencing first-hand the rotten fruit he had planted and nurtured.

Negarawan: The use of military-issue or police-issue flares brings to question the involvement of someone from the ruling Umno regime. The flares in the crowded hall could have triggered a massive fire and untold tragedy.

Anon1: All this time, these Umno people had been peddling the threat of May 13-like racial riots.

What they are planning now is a civil war amongst their own. How nice – just to keep these kleptocrats in power.

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