Lest We Forget: Mahathir's Misdeeds II

More Malaysians dismiss Mahathir's call for Badawi to resign.

On Dr M calls for Pak Lah to resign vox populi - Malaysiakini 12 Mar 2008 TS Su: I totally disagree with Dr M’s call for Pak Lah to resign. The people did not vote to get rid of BN, much less Pak Lah. They want BN to stay in power and continue to rule, albeit, without a two-thirds majority. The point is to ‘teach’ BN, and in particular, Umno, a lesson. To stop them from being arrogant and corrupt. Many BN politicians are. They treated our country like their own backyard. The people can feel their corrupt practices, but few can prove. The people prefer Pak Lah to Najib any day. Pak Lah has allowed the corrupt cases such as VK Lingam tape to surface. He allowed mass rallies during the election, which we never had under Dr M’s administration. Now, this reduced majority for BN is actually a mandate for Pak Lah to eliminate corruption and arrogance among the BN leaders. He should get rid of those leaders. If he does not, the BN won’t be a ruling party anymore come next election. ***** Mr Positive: Dr M left Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a technically bankrupt country after his ‘global warming’ project in Brazil incurred the wrath and ‘financial attack’ by you-know-who in 1997/8. The resultant bad economic situation in Malaysia sprouted discontent and dissension among the populace especially the Indians and Chinese. The election results reflect the sentiments of the rakyat. Therefore, the present PM is not to be blamed. The facts point to the former ‘big mouth’ premier who brought the country to its pinnacle and downfall. Things could be a lot worse. Syabas Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for winning this election. ***** Bigben: We should be grateful to Abdullah for allowing dissenting views and allowing a free and fair election. This would not have happened with that hypocrite Mahathir. ***** Loh: I would like to say that instead of blaming Abdullah for BN's failure, Mahathir should admit that BN itself is has been a failed proposition since the very beginning and made worse during his tenure, and that the people have simply now woken up and said ‘enough is enough’. Malaysia has survived BN's rule still intact not because of the brilliance of it's leaders like Mahathir seems to believe, nor Abdullah, but because of the resilience of the rakyat who have worked hard and contributed to the nation despite BN. So perhaps instead of pointing the finger at Abdullah for destroying BN, he should take some of the credit himself. ***** Jason Khaw: PM Abdullah Badawi has contributed to the nation’s maturing process by allowing freer discussions on sensitive topics. He has allowed people to discuss and think. Only wished it had happened sooner and changes were made quicker. Now, Abdullah's government and a stronger opposition, will truly test our ability to really grow-up and I think this combination is the right one for all our people. Let's evaluate the whole process with a balanced view. Dr M's comments are unfair, as far as I am concerned. When I read it, it sounded like a description of the government he had once ruled himself. ***** A Patriot: Tun Dr Mahathir, I remember you recently said that you were confident that BN would obtain two-thirds majority. You were wrong! I think you have been wrong in the past about many things and you are still getting it wrong. I am so shocked that you still want BN and Najib around. Of course you want them around, this is part of your legacy. You are not really interested in the welfare of our country, but your own name and pride. So leave the administration of our country to the new generation. Don’t try to meddle anymore, you are a ‘has been’.You are retired so stay retired. ***** Jimmy Wong: What Mahathir is trying to do now is disturbing and is already beginning to darken the horizon of a new dawn in the political landscape following the vote for change by Malaysians. Mahathir is rallying his cronies and sycophants to blame the outcome of the election solely on Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He is hijacking the Malaysian voice that clamoured for a change from the race-based, crony, authoritarian politics of BN that Mahathir had spawned all these years. For all Malaysians committed to not allowing this kind of politics to pollute Malaysian politics and society, let's be vigilant. The next big challenge for Malaysian netizens is to expose such vestiges of Mahathirism and expunge it from Malaysian politics, culture and society. Onward with the struggle for real change. Enough-lah, Mahathir: Can Mahathir come to terms and confess once and for all that all the corruption, lack of transparency, poor governance, unequal treatment of citizens, the manipulated judiciary, the Umno hegemony etc all started and was perpetrated by him during his reign? The only difference is that TDM is super-crafty and able to sweep issues under the carpet. And issues are not the only things he sweeps - he concocts baseless lies to put away his challengers. Tun Mahathir, stop manipulating with immediate effect. We don't need your fabrications to achieve only your manipulated ends. ***** Korrupt-ajar: Yes, yes, yes. l fully agree with Dr Mahathir that PM Abdullah should resign to take full responsibility for BN's poor polls showing. But, wait a minute, isn't this the same arrogant BN which Mahathir led and misused to systematically destroy and corrupt the various institutions of democracy? Therefore, before resigning, PM Abdullah should now do the right thing by charging Mahathir for misuse of public funds, cronyism, corruption and blatant abuse of powers. ***** Paramount Consolidated: I totally disagree with Mahathir's call for Pak Lah to step down. Mahathir's cronies are the biggest losers this time around. Mahathir has no shame. Pak Lah was God-send and did right things by going against Mahathir’s many mega projects. It is best for Pak Lah to remain than to let Najib come up what with his his unexplained lifestyle, alleged corruption in the submarine deal and others. Pak Lah is our best PM ever with his humble and liberal concepts and as such the rakyat should respect his Wisdom. ***** HL: Who is Mahathir to ask Abdullah to resign? Wasn't Mahathir the person who created the monster Malaysia Corrupted Inc.during his 22-year reign? Abdullah just so happened to be continuing his legacy. Why is he so unhappy with that? During Mahathir's 22 years of governance, there were many many occassions when many of us would have liked to stand up and heckle him loudly to resign. Abdullah gave us a voice. Gave back to us some of our freedom and dignity. My hats off to Abdullah and company. You have your place in history. Rest assured, quite different from that of Mahathir's. You can make a comeback. Do not worry. ***** E LIM: At this point, Pak Lah should be given a fair chance to lead for another term. Pak Lah should not be blamed for outcome of the results for after all he inherited a great deal of ‘challenges’ to deal with. Dr M should stop making snide remarks or degrading comments about Pak Lah if he honestly cares about our country. Unless they are sincere positive feedback for the good our Malaysia, Dr M should just focus on enjoying his retired life. So, now that the people of Malaysia have said their piece', let's give Pak Lah at least another chance to lead Malaysia with his key mission being to eradicate or if required, amputate all the rotten ills. Allah be with Pak Lah and may Pak Lah look to his Allah for leadership. ***** Ragunathan: I wish to make a clarion call to the prime minister not to step down. To be fair to the man, it is his brand of democracy that worked for the Malaysian electorate. Leaving aside the missteps, one must put things into perspective. Mahathir's call for him to step down reeks of a dastardly move to come back into the political scene and wield his influence through the back door. I doubt very much if Mahathir would have the maturity to accept the will of the people they declared on March 8. Pak Lah should not step down, but take decisive measures to prevent people with selective memories from making any come-back, and reviving projects that benefit no one but their legion of cronies. El Mark: What's all this about Pak Lah resigning? Pak Lah did not 'engineer' himself to be a PM. He was plucked and placed there. One cannot really blame him solely for what has transpired. I am sure Pak lah is now more aware and learning and will change his 'choir and repertoire'. And, with a new team in the government and with better advice, he’ll do better. Give the old chap a chance, he been thru' only a term. Let's evolve for a better Malaysia hand-in-hand but not emotionally. ***** Sandra K: Dr M has always been making a lot of noise - very unproductive. Just imagine, if it was him, and not Pak Lah who was the PM, what would have happened with this outstanding win by the opposition? Most likely, locking everyone up under ISA (I Simply Arrest!) Pak Lah was at least a gentleman, in accepting defeat, with his comment that this was how democracy works. Maybe Dr M should just leave the new government alone to do their work - I believe they do not need his interference, nor his scalding remarks. Tanpa Kepala: As far as I'm concerned Dr M is nothing but a hypocrite. He would certainly not have resigned had this happened to him. Although I consider Pak Lah and BN as the enemies of the people, I must say that, at least, with the current administration we see an improvement in media transparency. This could not have happened with Dr M at the helm. ***** Michelle Lim: The poor result for BN at the 12th general election is not Pak Lah's fault alone. It is a cumulative problem that Pak Lah took over since he came on board. All the BN leaders should rise up and give their support to our PM during this hard time. They should sit down and revisit all their policies and makr sure that they are fair and just to everyone in the country.And I really hope that others would rise up and tell Dr M to keep quiet! ***** M Lim: I feel the defeat of Barisan should not be solely blamed on our PM. The whole unfairness thing started from Dr Mahathir's time. Unfortunately, our PM inherited this and has to pay for it. I believe our PM Abdullah is a good man. He has done a lot for us like looking into daily problems. Times have changed. If Dr M was still in power today, Barisan would still have faced this exact defeat as people today are more educated and want their rights to be heard. So, don't just blame our PM. I believe our PM is a good man. ***** Kam Noris: Dear Pak Lah, no matter what, please do not step down. It’s not your fault anyway. ***** Puru: There is a lot of unfair blame on Pak Lah. Let us face it, it his openness (compared to the previous administration) allowed the people to voice their opinion. Take all the marches - do you think this would have happened in the past? I see him like the Gorbachev of Russia. He is setting the pace for reform and taking a hell of beating for it. In some ways, we need to be grateful that he allowed democracy in the country. ***** Alvin Lau: I strongly feel that Abdullah should not lose faith in himself and step down as suggested by all. This is not the true reflection of a credible leader. So, he has now been sworn in as the new PM. While I am not a fan of his, he has been entrusted to run the country (again) even if he is anything but useful. I must say that the damage has now been done, so who better to get it resolved apart from himself? If this will be his last chance to redeem himself, he must ensure his new term in the office is being run as clean as possible. Take out the rats, if it means all of them, put his personal pride and interests aside, and start working with all parties on all fronts to rise the country once again. Because you are the PM, you are the one person who can now make a difference. ***** Lilian Tan: When Dr M declared that Pak Lah should take 100% of the responsibility for Barisan's appalling performance in this election, a friend of mine declared that he was a fine one to talk. Barisan's rot set in a long time ago and Dr. M played a big role in accelerating it during his tenure. However, we should be very thankful that the voters' massive turnaround happened on Pak Lah's watch and not on Dr M's. Pak Lah is weak, ineffectual and a pathological promise-breaker, but he conceded defeat and sincerely asked that there be no trouble or violence in the streets. That there have been no ugly incidents of riots, homes burned down, people hurt or killed in the election aftermath is something we can be thankful for and proud of. I am not so sure that Dr M – legendary for his oppressive, vindictive character – would have responded likewise. ***** Lim Swee Bin: Speaking up for Pak lah, shall we never, ever forget he inherited a rotten legacy left him by his predecessor. All the things critically wrong today in our country were put in place during that long reign of 23 years, including the latest judiciary joke. There wouldn't be a March 8 and today without our present prime minister. He allowed freedom of speech like we never had for nearly a quarter of a century. He allowed an alternative press and he allowed peaceful demonstrations. He allowed competitors to roam free. He allowed us to have our say. Instead of vilifying him, let’s salute him for having the courage to let that happen. Pak Lah may not be a warrior but he has shown this greatness as a leader, in facing seeming collapse and in sticking around for the resurrection. ***** PL: It is time that Tun Mahathir gracefully retire and concentrate on his coming memoirs. Abdullah may be weak but he is not beaten. Malaysians still love him. As far as Malaysia is concerned, he was indeed a gentleman. He admitted gracefully his defeat and asked the IGP to ensure the graceful transition of power in the five states. Would you, Tun, have done the same? I don’t think so. ***** Woody Ooi: I agree that Pak Lah should go to make way for others, but not for Najib who has serious moral and integrity problems. Perhaps Shahrir Samad. To be objectively fair, the rot in system did not happen over the last four years, but cumulated over the past 22 years during Dr M’s stewardship. Perhaps Dr M should shut up and apologise instead to BN and the people of Malaysia.