YESTERDAY, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lamented that he was powerless to do anything to reduce the income gap between urban dwellers and the rural ones.
In an exclusive interview with Astro Awani in conjunction with his 97th birthday, the nonagenarian claimed that he has many ideas on how to rebuild the country but was no longer in power to implement the changes.
“I still want to do a lot of things to address our social problems. Urbanites are doing well for themselves but those living in villages are still poor.
“And I have ideas on how to help the people living in villages but for that to happen, I must be in a position of power which I’m not. It’s very disappointing,” the Langkawi MP was reported as saying.
However, netizens were not buying into his argument and lashed out at Mahathir for failing Malaysians despite being given the opportunity to become prime minister twice.
“Cih, kau juga yg create that gap! Melayu mudah lupa betul si tua ni,” said user Haramkan Nikah Bawah Umur.
(You’re the one who created the gap. This old Malay definitely forgets easily)
User Da’i added: “Masa ada kuasa sebok membesarkn jurang…Sakau, kaut, songlap utk kroni/proksi dan anak beranak….Dah hilang kuasa cuba nk cover kencing hancing plk.”
(When in power, he enlarged the income gap by plundering the nation for his family, cronies and proxies. Now powerless, he is trying to cover up his misdeeds)
Netizen Suara Biasa retorted: “Atok anak cucu kroni 7 keturunan tak mungkin miskin.”
(Mahathir, his family and cronies will never become poor for the next seven generations)
When Mahathir first became prime minister in 1981, he embarked on a massive industrialisation policy and turned Malaysia from an agriculture-based economy to a manufacturing hub.
While his policy was commended back then for driving the nation to become an upper middleincome nation, Mahathir was criticised for his apparent neo-liberal policies which allowed businesses to suppress wages to attract foreign direct investments.
Mahathir turned M’sia into a circus
When he got a chance to become prime minister again after Pakatan Harapan won the general election in 2018, Mahathir reneged on the coalition’s manifesto and undermined any reform effort.
He eventually resigned abruptly in February following the infamous Sheraton Move, which allowed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to succeed him.
Mahathir was eventually ousted by Muhyiddin from his own party, after which, the former set up Parti Pejuang Tanah Air with his loyalists.
On that note, user Ivan Lim reminded Mahathir that he was given a second chance to rectify his errors in 2018 but squandered on the opportunity by playing politics.
“Bila rakyat bagi peluang sekali lagi dia 2018 tak nak laksanakan. Main politaik je.”
Netizen IOS Android remarked: “They say, when a clown moves into palace, he doesnt become king but the palace becomes circus. This clown made Malaysia into a circus.” – July 11, 2022
