Dr Mahathir Mohamad is the major obstacle for any meaningful reform in Malaysia, and whether you like it or not, we are all Mahathir’s children.

The 96-year-old and his policies have affected all of us in one way or another, in the same manner the behavior of an errant and irresponsible father has a considerable impact on his children.

Mahathir behaves like he should be the Malaysian prime minister for life, and in an interview with Utusan Malaysia, he blamed Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for thwarting his efforts to be PM.

This is a classic Mahathir trait. Everyone else is to be blamed for his inability to get what he wants, and for standing in his way. He once said, “Melayu mudah lupa” (Malays often forget).

More importantly, Mahathir betrayed the rakyat three months after being given the chance in May 2018 at GE14 to right all his previous wrongs.

He had his chance for redemption, but he blew it, and along with it the hopes of a nation which for decades has yearned for real change.

When will he learn to leave office with dignity? Perhaps, it is “Mahathir mudah lupa”!

In the past, he blamed the DAP for undermining Ketuanan Melayu. He blamed the Chinese for the lack of competitive streak in the Malay community. He blamed the Malays for being lazy. He blamed Harapan for not supporting him in February 2020, and in particular Anwar, for ousting him. He blamed George Soros for the 1997 financial crisis.

Everyone else is at fault. There is always someone to be blamed.

Mahathir’s supporters treat him like a de facto monarch. With so much of Malaysian history being distorted, the young are not aware of his divisive tactics, whilst many members of the older generation are in awe of the gleaming Petronas Twin Towers and the KLIA complex.

In the Utusan interview, he refused to accept Anwar or Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin in a “big tent” opposition.

He alleged that both Anwar and Muhyiddin are tidak lurus (dishonest); however, when asked to give a further explanation, his reply centered only on Anwar.

Mahathir is consumed with his hatred of the Opposition Leader and he refused to recognize Anwar as part of the “big tent” because only honest people should be included.

So, despite his belief that defeating BN could only be achieved if all opposition parties were to unite in the next general election, he said, “We have to find people who are lurus. We can’t include those who participate in politics just for money. Sorry-lah.”

Mahathir fed the Malays a false promise that Malaysia was their land and that the world owed them a living.

Mahathir triumphs because few dare oppose him. The only way to rebuild Malaysia is to reject those who promote Mahathir’s toxicity.

He tinkered with the education system so that many Malays became uncompetitive. Pass marks for the Malays were lowered so that they could progress unhindered to the next stage of their educational life.

This act has backfired because it just forces non-Malays to have to study harder and in turn, achieve more in the future.

Many able, intelligent and hard-working non-Malay students were sidelined, and scholarships which should have been awarded to them were instead handed over to mediocre and at times, incompetent Malay students.

In the end, foreign nations snapped up these smart students and gave them the means of making a difference, not just to their own lives but also to their newly adopted nation.

We could have gained so much from our talented youth, but Mahathir does not care.

Mahathir is a sore loser who keeps blaming others for his own failures and insecurities.

When he lost to a PAS candidate in 1969, he blamed the Chinese for switching allegiance from Umno to PAS. When he was sacked from the Umno Supreme Council and expelled from Umno at the end of 1969, he wrote his racist book “The Malay Dilemma”.

When he and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah locked horns in an Umno election in 1987, Umno was declared an illegal organization following litigation.

Mahathir acted with venom when he won by a tiny margin; he purged people from his ministry, stripped the judiciary of its independence, and ordered a crackdown on his detractors.

Mahathir does not accept defeat willingly.

He removed the controls which should have prevented corruption, and by installing his men in the judiciary, the police, the civil service, the ministries and the media, these institutions voiced only his thoughts and suppressed all other opinions. He stripped these institutions of their independence.

Mahathir’s closest allies are beholden to him. He gave them an economic leg-up and they became billionaires overnight.

Why bite the hand that feeds them? For them, reform is the last thing on their minds.

Today, we are a divided nation because of his policies. The haves and the have-nots. The Ketuanan Melayu brigade, versus the rest of Malaysia.

Members of his elite club get away with crimes ranging from financial mismanagement, abuse of taxpayers’ money, sexism, racism, nepotism, cronyism, extremism, murder and money-laundering.

Mahathir started the downward spiral, and successive prime ministers could have put a stop to this toxicity but they merely perfected his techniques because it was the only way to cling on to power and become extremely wealthy.

In the end, we are all Mahathir’s children because a family with favorite children who enjoy the father’s undivided attention will ultimately be split and become a broken family. The children who are ignored may sever links and leave.

All these injustices happen because the rakyat are compliant.

Mahathir triumphs because few dare oppose him. The only way to rebuild Malaysia is to reject those who promote Mahathir’s toxicity.

Source:

1. Utusan Malaysia: Dr. Mahathir setuju khemah besar tetapi tanpa Anwar, Muhyiddin

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)