Letter to editor
IT’S a sheer waste that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad built his legacy for 22 years and 22 months but only to see it destroyed towards the tail-end of his life.
While his nemesis Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been building his own legacy as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia (PMX), Dr Mahathir’s own legacy is now in tatters largely due to his own doings.
Rather than being respected as a statesman, the former twice premier has hurled insults on the Malay rulers and pitted one race against another.
He should realise that he is no longer in power like before and he too can be subject to sedition charges like any other ordinary citizens. What he did recently cannot be easily excused.
If he had been wiser for his age, the now chief advocate of Proklamasi Melayu should have lived a quiet life. He should at least take the cue from former inspector-general of police (IGP) Tan Sri Rahim Noor who despite being instrumental in bashing up Anwar, is spared the rod.
Comparing the two
PMX should dare to be different from his predecessors if he wants to build his legacy ala Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The Madani government’s policy on poverty eradication should be more inclusive – to include the under-privileged from all races – so that he will continue to enjoy a broad base support of Malaysians.
No one will stop him from allocating the much needed fund to solve the water woes in Kedah, Kelantan and Sabah but the fund must be properly supervised and used for what it is earmarked for.
However, what is obvious in the recent six state elections is that this initiative will not win PMX the Malay votes even in GE16 (16th General Elections), especially in the PAS-controlled states.
At the same time, the corrupt in both civil and public service are unlikely to support the Madani government due to its strong stance on anti-corruption. These ringleaders who sabotage the government’s efforts would have to be dealt with so that the cancer of ingkar perintah (defy orders) does not spread.
In the past, Dr Mahathir had failed miserably because he had his blinkers on other races, resulting in the HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force) movement, followed by the Chinese tsunami. Eventually, even his own party UMNO has sidelined him.
In the spirit of Malaysia Day today (Sept 16), PMX should keep the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) to ensure that East Malaysians have the opportunity to uplift their economic well-being. By adopting a more inclusive policy, PMX will overcome what the National Economic Policy (NEP) had failed to achieve.
There have been allegations during Dr Mahathir’s era, that the NEP had only benefited his own cronies and family members. PMX cannot afford to repeat the same mistake.
Top-down, bottom-up
Finally, the two PMs are seen to be adopting a different approach in priming up the economy. While Dr Mahathir’s strategy was to build the economy top down, Anwar takes the bottom up approach.
PMX’s initial efforts were focused on helping the paddy farmers, the hawkers or the B40 or lower income group in short. Providing the hawkers with tents is a good move in the right direction but they must also be taught to be self-dependent instead of waiting for more government handouts.
Dr Mahathir’s top-down strategy was supposed to turn selected Bumiputera entrepreneurs into millionaires but they in turn enriched themselves instead of sharing their wealth by raising the incomes of their fellow middle- and lower-income Malays.
With Anwar’s bottom-up legacy, we hope to see more disposable income in the hands of B40 and M40 groups which will eventually benefit the top 20% in the higher income group (T20). – Sept 16, 2023
Stephen Ng
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
