In the malaysiakini interview with Dr Mahathir Mohamad , the former premier said that Malaysians should forget about him. Not so, say some of our readers.

HL Too: If there is one thing that is abundantly clear in the malaysiakini interview with our former PM, it would be this - Dr M seems to believe that he has not made any mistakes. I think if one were to come up with a report card on our former PM, it will contain a couple of As, some Bs but also definitely some Fs.

According to William Shakespeare - "The evil that men do lives after them" (Julius Caesar III ii.75). Dr M left us some evils that the present administration is happy to perpetuate. One of the most nefarious pieces of legislation is the Official Secrets Act (OSA). Even assuming that the OSA was never meant to be used to protect corrupt politicians and it was enacted with the best of intentions, surely Dr M should have been aware that it can be used in such a way.

In fact, if memory serves me right, there have been criticisms from the opposition as well as NGOs that the OSA is providing corrupt government servants and politicians with a virtual carte blanche to hide their misdeeds simply by classifying them as official secrets. Under his administration, the scale of corruption reached unprecedented levels. Prior to the BMF (Bumiputra Malaysia Finance) scandal, nobody in the country can imagine losses running into billions. The word "billion" seem to be beyond our semantic, if not mathematical, ability. After Dr M, any corruption scandal that can be counted without using the word "billion" is probably regarded as " ikan bilis stuff".

The success with which Dr M muzzled the press is such that now even he cannot get his criticisms of the government to be printed in the mainstream media. He demanded answers from the government. Why no answers about approved permits, why no answers about half-bridge, why no answers about Proton/Augusta, et cetera . Why should the present leadership answer Dr M's questions when they can make sure Malaysians by and large are even unaware that those questions have been raised.

Oh yes, Dr M, leaders come and go but the evils they bequeathed to the nation will live on. And no, we cannot forget you. You made sure of that by leaving us with a legacy of evils that will live after you.

Sad Malaysian: You have got to hand it to the man. He is one consummate politician.

He handled himself quite well during the interview. I felt a whole range of emotions while reading the interview with Dr M. It ranged from anger, disbelief, disappointment and joy.

Anger, because the man refuses to acknowledge the damage that he has done the country. Disbelief at the blatant lies he told (his children not doing business with the government, yeah right!).

Disappointment that he accepts no blame for creating such a racially divided country and finally I have to admit, the man made me laugh too. Come on, some of the things that he said were pretty hilarious - press freedom and ability to accept criticism!

Dr.M, chances are you will get what you wished. Most Malaysians have already forgotten about you. But I will always remember you. Simply because in the name of progress and control, you had committed unspeakable and evil acts.

Fairminded: Though I am not a big fan of Dr Mahathir, I firmly believe that he is the one leader who could have led this nation to great glory. He is smart, he learnt fast and well-verse with his subjects and most of all, he is decisive and bold (the same cannot be said of his current replacement). While he started out well with his 'Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah', eventually he fell through with his many dubious grandiose projects that successfully breed many suckers and parasites of the economy instead of the first-class entrepreneurs of the bumi class he intended - a short-cut to project the success of Umno.

The polarisation of races in this country has worsened in his tenure. How can he, with all his wisdom change the Malays mindset when he fed them with unending doctrine of the special rights of the Malays, and on the other hand, plead with them to throw away their clutches during the Umno assembly?

The majority of the country cannot, and would not, get out of the safe cocoon of the protective environment in the same way the national car industry is build. How successful are both is there for all to see.

The division of the country along the racial line is the biggest obstacle this country face in this challenging global environment. We cannot have different group of people within the same ship seeking to go in different directions. We seek to glorify the 'biggest', 'longest' or 'tallest' conquest to fool ourselves into our 'boleh' spirit. But in truth our third-world mentality have not change after his 22 years of administration. This I consider his greatest failure.

Truly Malaysian: Dear Dr Mahathir, advise us and guide us how we are to improve ourselves as a community rather than finding mistakes in others. You have such vast experience and knowledge in many aspects and we (at least me) always welcome your comments, whether it is positive or negative. Maybe you can contribute better by being outside the government circle than when you were in it. You always see things better when you are not involved in the due process.

For all we know your biggest contribution to our society could be by being out of politics and passing your noteworthy comments. Time has come and you are indeed ripe of age that you do not need to justify the past actions but rather educate us with your knowledge for the present generation. As long as freedom prevails, everything else is a free flow. Freedom is an opportunity to choose, to argue and to decide. Freedom is with no frill, it just exist with human conscious and doing the right things for the community.

At this stage, I think you should become a regular columnist in malaysiakini and give us food for thoughts and address the current issues as a Malaysian with your insight and strengthen our values as a Malaysian. Truly.

Dr Raj: Anwar Ibrahim should be reinstated as deputy prime minister and paid compensation for wrongful dismissal and arrest. The courts have found the allegations to be not convincing hence his sacking was illegal and unfair.

The following are comments by our readers in reaction to other reports. This one is on Protest against fuel, power hike on Sunday

JD Lovrenciear: The double-edged sword's hike in fuel price and power rates will see the igniting of a vicious cycle that will definitely see profiteering, bribe-taking and corrupt practises on the double. This obviously goes against the very agenda of increasing fuel and tariff rates. We need solutions thought-out outside the paradigm.

And the first such measure would be a militant war against corruption rather than the familiar hum that 'corruption is everywhere, even in the developed world'. Will Pak Lah give out measure for measure? Will his comrades give him the support that seems to be so evasive this far? In the meantime, for how long more will the rakyat be able to take the brunt? This is not nation building but nation peeling.

On Taib - the reason for Supp's disastrous outing

Frustrated: Finally, someone willing and brave enough to say the truth!

At the ground level, many knows the real reason for SUPP's defeat in urban areas. The reasons openly stated, such as the land lease issue, corruption, deteriorating business climate, loss-making state enterprises etc, can all be traced to one factor: the CM (chief minister). But nobody has the guts to say it aloud, particularly SUPP.

Yes folks, SUPP suffered because of the sins of the CM. The majority of opposition voters have no quarrel with the incumbent SUPP Aduns (state assemblymen), but they know not of any other way to make their voice heard. Poor SUPP is the fall guy.

It is ironic that it was SUPP who rescued the CM during the Ming Court affair .

Will it make any difference? We will see. The ultimate authority on this earth is still God, and in spite of our wishes to be immortal, He is wise enough to impose a natural tenure for us all to restrict the harm we can do.

LK: I did not vote this time because I, and most of my friend, do not hate Barisan. Actually we love our prime minister. But because of Taib, we are very upset - he still runs for the election. This is the only and main cause of SUPP losing their support. The PM should take note of the people resentment of the chief minister.

On Suhakam 'goes soft' on refugee children

RJ: Is this a sign of what lies ahead at Suhakam? Are they going to always be omitting human rights issues and topics that are 'sensitive to the government'? Come on Suhakam, do your job. That is - unless I'm absolutely misinformed - to protect human rights. Otherwise, stop pocketing the thousands of ringgit of taxpayers' money and just quit.