Mahathir, the father of hypocrisy

Young doctor Mahathir Mohamad took the Hippocratic oath, fast forward to 2008 and he is now working towards becoming the nation’s father of hypocrisy.

He has just continued to slag his successor Abdullah Badawi and other leaders after his retirement. Abdullah may not bag the best leader trophy but he is sure to be remembered as a good human being.

Mahathir on the other hand is building a large cache of contradictions.

The incomprehensible Mahathir first started lobbying for Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak then contradicted himself and called him a coward. The contradictions follow with him asking for the abolishing of the quota system in Umno, when he instituted it in the first place. The hypocrisy of Mahathir is searing through.

It does not end there.

He self-proclaims himself as a Malay champion and forewarns Chinese and Indians from questioning Malay rights. He rattles Samy Vellu for being a racist when he asks for Hindraf leaders to be released from ISA captivity. Finally he has the audacity to relegate Indians as immigrants who received mercy in getting citizenship.

Why the sudden change in attitude towards Malaysians, with the sudden sympathy for the Malays and the newly-acquired disgust for the Indians?

The good old doctor is surely bitter. His inability to accept the country being run different from his style, showpieces the dictator in him. It is unfortunate that a former premier with decades of experience has refused to help Malaysia move forward in this present critical period. He may have left office but he has not stopped playing politics. The veteran politicians is stubborn as a mule in not wanting to accept that his rule is over and it is time for him to be a bystander and not be a thorn in the flesh of those managing the nation now.

‘Immigrant’ business allies

No doubt Mahathir has a sharp mind and speaks without reservation. However the gift is used to make virulent attacks on his successor. At this juncture where national unity is severely at risk, the educated mind of Mahathir should be preventing a racial chasm taking shape. Instead he worsens it by playing the racist card. Funny when you consider all his ‘immigrant’ business allies like Lim Kok Wing, Vincent Tan and Ananda Krishnan.

During his administration he mercilessly brushed aside the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article Two states, “everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. No distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”

Article Five forbids torture and degrading treatment or punishment, and Article Nine bars arbitrary arrests and detention.

The first step towards retribution is for Mahathir is to respect the existence of each and every Malaysian, irrespective of them supposedly being ‘natives’ or ‘immigrants’.

It is apparent that Mahathir is playing to the gallery and trying very desperately to win the people’s support by portraying himself as the rakyat’s defender. Well, he is damn wrong if he thinks he can gain any public support as the people have had enough of him, of his double standards and of his shenanigans.

Time of fear

Maybe someone should just ask Mahathir what it is he really wants. Does he want to be the prime minister again?

Was it not Mahathir while prime minister chastised the Malays for being lazy and relying on hand-outs? Was it not him in his not-so-matured-analysis in The Malay Dilemma who had come to the conclusion that Malays are stupid because of in-breeding?

Mahathir, if you cannot help, then be quiet. You are hiding behind a veil fo denial. Sabar tu separuh daripada iman (patience is half your faith)

Another Malay saying harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama (a tiger leaves behind his stripes and a human leaves behind his name) should rattle Mahathir. Just what legacy does he intend to leave us with? What should the history books write of him?

There is more to government than arbitrary plus prolonged arrests and press suppression. Mahathir’s rule was a time of fear and the only voice was of the premier, and now he wants to talk about freedom. What is the typical Malaysian to make of this?

There is still time for Mahathir to take stock of his past actions and make amends. There is still time for introspection and retrospection and there is still time to do good, but with no hidden agenda. And there is certainly time to wise up, Mahathir!

JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.