WITH only two years away to be known as a centenarian, perhaps two-time premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would do his motherland and himself a huge favour by taking a permanent break from politics lest he is only killing his own legacy by transforming from a hero to zero.
Since being accused of conspiring with the treacherous group that brought down the 22-month-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, the world’s oldest serving state leader (Dr Mahathir was 94 at the time of his resignation in his second stint as prime minister in February 2020) has been a pale shadow of himself, often indulging himself in issuing controversial statements that insult both his friends and foes alike.
Perhaps the time has come for him to give up active politics; rather than ‘frogging’ from Pejuang to Putra to commence a new chapter of his unending political adventure, he would do justice to his life companion of 67 years, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, by going for holidays or spend precious moments with her.
The recent rebuttal by DAP chairman and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng over claims that “DAP was unable to control him during his second stint as prime minister when PH was in power” speaks volumes of his hostility and inability to detach himself from the recent past.
In the first place, there is no need for Dr Mahathir who holds the record as Malaysia’s longest serving PM (22 years from July 1981 to October 2003) to sound authoritative as in yearning for power to the extent of wanting to pin down his former comrade (DAP).
He should stick to answering the original question which is centred on his thoughts about whether the 100 days in office of his nemesis Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has yielded any positive results rather than to use the occasion as an avenue to stir up a hornet’s nest with his trademark sarcasm.
Since what is said cannot be easily unsaid, Guan Eng had come forward to put on record that it is customary for Cabinet ministers to inform the PM of any proposed reform initiatives.
“This is not only required by custom but also out of respect to the position of the Prime Minister. However, in the event the PM does not agree, the only alternative left for the Minister is to appeal to Cabinet for approval,” explained the Bagan MP in a Facebook post.
“This was done by me three times during my tenure as finance minister (2018-2020) in securing Cabinet approval over and above the strident objections of then PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.”
The three occasions were when:
- Dr Mahathir objected to the granting of annual MPs allocations of RM3.8 mil to government MPs;
- Dr Mahathir objected to the review of government contracts granted by direct award and without open tender (he did not agree to the open tender proposal to promote transparency and public accountability).
- Dr Mahathir objected to the 18% reduction of the PLUS toll highway as the first step towards the eventual abolition of toll.
In what can be deemed as ‘a misfiring cheap shot’, Dr Mahathir only had the pie splashing on his face when Guan Eng revealed that he managed to secure Cabinet approval from almost every minister for all three initiatives, hence “earning the ire of the PM (Dr Mahathir).”
“On each of the three occasions that Dr Mahathir was overruled by the Cabinet, he threatened to sack me for defying him on these three initiatives,” revealed Guan Eng.
“I was prepared to be axed but continued to pursue these reform initiatives that benefited the people. Dr Mahathir did not carry out his threat. Instead, Dr Mahathir resigned on his own accord in February 2020.”
The morale of the story insofar as Dr Mahathir is concerned is just let sleeping dogs lie or more productively, go spend time with your grandchildren or breathe fresh air in your garden. – March 7, 2023
Main pic credit: The Star
