“Dr M, Pejuang should wake up and understand current challenges affecting M’sia”

FORMER prime minister (PM) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad deserves every praise for the remarkable work he has done during his tenure as ex-PM twice for Malaysia.

At the same time, he also deserves to be vilified for harming the nation through his self-righteousness and dereliction of duty.

Every now and then, the media will play up Mahathir’s disgruntlement, where he keeps blaming Pakatan Harapan for the betrayal by his own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

Despite repeated display of compassion by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by merely dismissing it as a cry from an unsettled statesman, other PKR and Pakatan leaders are less merciful when the Opposition Leader gets blamed.

However, it is disheartening to see Mahathir allowing himself to get misused as by other Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) leaders just to stay relevant in the political landscape. Leave the old man be!

In my view, Pejuang is “frozen” in a time-warp chasing its own tail. Their mistrust for Pakatan puts them in a state of denial on what is required for nation building.

And when will Mahathir come to the realisation that ethnocentric policies and prejudices must be discarded in order to create an egalitarian society?

If he is indeed that stubborn, then-Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir should take the lead and enlighten his party. The latter should use his own life experience in retaining liberal values and teach his party members ways to excel without a “crutch”, while retaining their Malay identity at the same time.

As of now, Malaysia’s economic health is in a state of decline and to revive it, we need to reboot its “central nervous system”, with one of it being leadership divide.

Nation above politics

We understand political differences and that is why our people are blessed with the democratic right to elect their representative. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government and Pakatan, in addition to the “big tent” idea are just some ways to prioritise the nation as a whole beyond the different “political jerseys”.

At any given time, everyone benefits from a political ceasefire if the intent to govern supersedes selfish interests.

Of course, it may be naïve to expect political leaders to surrender their chances of taking the lead. However, we must always prioritise the future generations who will inherit this nation.

There is an Arabic proverb that states, “A paradise without people is not worth stepping foot in”. This is a reminder for us to be kind and understanding towards each other.

And I would like to end this by quoting James Freeman Clarke: “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.” – June 8, 2022

 

Aidi Amin is a FocusM contributor.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.

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