― Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 25, 2012
AUG 25 ― He says that the Barisan Nasional is the devil that Malaysians know and we should stick with this devil because the Opposition is the devil we don’t know.
But we do know the Opposition. We know that DAP/PAS/PKR politicians don’t always stand on the same page; they make mistakes and say really dumb things and may even be arrogant. And not all their populist ideas will be good for Malaysia; some may be downright stupid.
We also know that they don’t have a Dr Mahathir Mohamad in their midst and that is always an advantage. He is the devil we know and have to put up with for more than two decades and now it does seem that, Mahathir is still running the country. And offering unsolicited rubbish as advice.
This is what Dr Mahathir the “angel” has given Malaysia:
1) A corrupt culture, where civil servants, corporate figures and even ordinary Malaysians don’t think twice about bribing, stealing and cheating. A Malaysia where the government and police fudge crime figures and where ministers live beyond their means without fear of getting arrested.
2) A country where race relations have worsened over the years. Dr Mahathir can take credit that all his slogans have remained slogans and we still live in race silos. And his party Umno and Utusan Malaysia have crossed the line with a campaign of driving the wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims.
3) A country where corporate figures and cronies milk the system with one-sided privatisation deals. These sweet deals are the norms here; look at the NFC and Ampang LRT.
4) A country where the education system is in a mess.
The list can go on. So take a bow, Dr Mahathir, “the devil” we know.