Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's unexpected retirement in between sobs remains enigmatic. Contrary to another reader's opinion in the letter Changing of the guards overdue, this cannot augur well.

Just before the announcement of his retirement, Mahathir apologised for failing to change Malay Malaysians' subsidy mindset. He tried to reintroduce English and make them see its importance in the coming era but was hampered by Umno supreme council which insisted its use be confined to only the teaching of science and mathematics.

He ridiculed PAS' God and rejected hudud (Islamic penal code) as the law of Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang but Umno's religious adviser, Abdul Hamid Othman contradicted his position by stating that the government was not against hudud per se but only the fact that it was implemented too fast in relation to the readiness of the people to accept it as reported in The Star(July 2).

The subsidy mentality is a result of the affirmative policies under New Economic Policy and National Development Policy, of which Mahathir was the prime promoter.

The neglect of English to the detriment of two generations was a result of the National Language policy of which again he was its main advocate.

DAP's Karpal Singh was reported to have said that PAS was daydreaming if it thought that it could win votes by implementing the Syariah Bill (The Star, July 2). It is Karpal who should snap out of daydreaming that PAS could not win when it is being assisted by people in Umno's camp.

The rising number of sympathisers for PAS' policies like hudud within Umno including the latter's own religious adviser is also directly attributable to Mahathir's two decades of Islamisation programme.

In time to come, PAS will triumph over Umno simply because Umno constructed the religious platform for PAS' ascendancy. When something touches a deep emotional cord like religion, there is no will to resist even the most extreme policies. Political game, like football, favours the aggressive over the defensive.

Unable to reinvent itself on modern Islamic model as envisioned by Mahathir, Umno will eventually lose its compass when it is unable to distinguish its own policies from those of PAS or resist the latter's aggressive drive to dominate the Malay cultural ground by its religious policies.

The fact that Mahathir now sought to reverse what he championed in the early years of his rise to power showed that he acknowledged that these policies have failed and backfired.

Just at the time he was making a turnabout of these failed policies, he resigned. Why did he quit? He should stay to reverse the very policies that he helped put in place but which he now admits as wrong by his actions and words.

May it not then be his reason for quitting that he knows he cannot clear the mess created by his own policies, and that he had better go now while he still looks good?

Good for him is not necessarily good for the nation. Is it fair to the nation that he jumps ship at this point when the going gets tough and the tough doesn't get going?

Those who made errors of policies should be held accountable to resolve the problems they created rather than just pass them on to the successor.

Whatever other personal failings may be, Mahathir is still acknowledged as a leader of capability, strength of resolve and courage. If he does not — or cannot — dismantle or deconstruct the problems created by the aforesaid policies, it is doubtful anyone else has the personal attributes to do so.

The country will only accelerate in downward descent with his exit.

I therefore do not think that his retirement at this juncture augurs well for the country.