Tun Mahathir had no qualms in breaking his pledge to leave politics “completely” when he stepped down ten years ago as the country’s longest Prime Minister for 22 years, and despite his brief departure from the UMNO Baru which he had formed, Mahathir is now so firmly ensconced in the corridors of power that he is undoubtedly the most feared man by all UMNO/Barisan Nasional politicians.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak fear him most as Mahathir has proven that he could make and unmake Umno Prime Ministers, and the last thing Najib wants is to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Tun Abdullah of being toppled as Prime Minister after failing to secure an acceptable winning majority in Parliament in the 13GE.
But the saddest and most tragic aspect of the second rise of Mahathir in the UMNO/BN corridors of power is his baleful and baneful influence on Malaysian politics and nation-building, as he has emerged in his post-PM decade as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building.
In the past week, Mahathir provided two examples of the baleful and baneful influence as the arch-enemy of Bangsa Malaysia and the greatest threat to Malaysian nation building.
Firstly, Mahathir’s sky-high praises for the Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali, elevating the patron of the Malay supremacist group as a “saviour” of the nation and leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ibrahim Ali would be the ideal candidate for Mahathir to be Prime Minister of Malaysia!
Secondly, his utterly racist blog yesterday warning of a “race confrontation” if I win in Gelang Patah in the 13GE.
Mahathir made the most irresponsible, wild, baseless and unworthy allegations that I am contesting Gelang Patah with dishonourable objectives, namely:
• Because Gelang Patah has a Chinese majority and I want “the Chinese there and in Johor to reject working together and sharing with the Malays”;
• I am going to play on Chinese sentiments; and
• “to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to urge the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays”.
This is a most rabid and irresponsible rant from the former Prime Minister who made the dire prediction:
“An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous. That cooperation will end when Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah. Even if there will not be violent clashes as seen in many countries where people are divided by race or religion, but confrontation between the three major races in Malaysia will be disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia.”
I feel both outraged and sad at Mahathir’s blog – outraged that the former longest-serving Prime Minister could make such a wild and baseless allegations heedless of the harm such irresponsible rantings could cause to the nation-building process and sad that Mahathir has circumnavigated a full circle from a communalist to a Malaysian visionary who could advocate the inclusive “Bangsa Malaysia” concept in Vision 2020 and back to the earlier communalist stance.
Mahathir’s blogpost on “Gelang Patah” is a most disgraceful, unworthy and communalist ranting completely unworthy of a person who had been the longest serving Prime Minister spanning 22 years.
Let me rebut Mahathir’s irresponsible, wild and baseless allegations in his blog yesterday.
In the first place, I do not know what Mahathir is driving at when he blogged that I am contesting in Gelang Patah because it has a Chinese majority.
This is because all the previous five parliamentary constituencies which I had contested in the past 10 general elections, namely Kota Melaka, Petaling, Tanjong, Bukit Bendera and Ipoh Timor had a Chinese majority.
What should stand out in Gelang Patah as compared to the other five Parliamentary constituencies which I had contested is that it has the least Chinese majority, comprising some 53% with Malay voters at some 33% and Indian voters at 12%.
What should stand out in Gelang Patah as compared to the other five Parliamentary constituencies which I had contested is that it has the least Chinese majority, comprising some 53% with 33% Malay voters and Indian voters at 12%.
I do not expect praise from Mahathir for moving from a comparatively safer Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat where I had won in 2008 with more than 21,000-vote majority to a high-risk Gelang Patah where the MCA/BN candidate won with nearly 9,000-vote majority in 2008 and a humongous majority of 21,666-vote in 2004, but it is just mind-boggling for Mahathir to completely ignore this fact and to go on a rampage on the ground that I would be contesting in Gelang Patah because it was a Chinese-majority seat when the other parliamentary constituencies I had contested, like Ipoh Timor had over 80 per cent Chinese electorate.
Is Mahathir seriously suggesting that if I win in Gelang Patah there will be “race confrontation” but not in the other five parliamentary constituencies I had contested although the percentage of Chinese electorate is very much higher?
In the second place, has Mahathir any evidence that in the Gelang Patah campaign, I want the Chinese in Johore to hate the Malays and to reject working together with the Malays?
The contrary is in fact the case, as I had been speaking and exhorting all voterrs, regardless of race, to work together as one Malaysian, which is why DAP is in the multi-racial and multi-religious coalition of Pakatan Rakyat comprising DAP, PKR and PAS.
Is Mahathir aware that in all my speeches in Gelang Patah in the past three weeks, I had stressed that I want to win not just on Chinese votes but also with the support of Malay and Indian votes, to emphasise the importance of all racial groups in Johore and Malaysia working together for the common good of the plural population in the country?
Mahathir is just continuing the demonization campaign by UMNO down through the decades painting the DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Islam when these are totally untrue, false and downright lies.
Which UMNO leader for instance had sacrificed like the DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who had gone to jail for 18 months and disqualified as an MP because he went to the defence of the human rights and dignity of an underaged Malay girl?
Right from the very beginning of DAP history in 1966, DAP had stood for the rights and interests of all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, and this is why the second by-election contested by the DAP in our 47-year history was the Tampoi by-election in the UMNO stronghold of Johore in September 1967 and our candidate was Daing Ibrahim Othman.
In the 1969 general election, the first in DAP history, two DAP Malay candidates were elected as State Assemblymen, one in Perak and the other in Negri Sembilan, and down the decades, we had fielded Malay candidates both at Parliamentary and State Assembly levels, with Sdr. Ahmad Nor being the first Malay DAP leader elected as MP for Bayan Baru, Penang in 1990.
The Gelang Patah election will be a test whether the decades of lies and falsehoods by UMNO propagandists and by Mahathir in his blog yesterday that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam could be demolished, whether the politics of lies to incite racial hatred and religious distrust could be debunked – for this is the first precondition for the realisation of the Malaysian Dream where all Malaysians regardless of race and religion unite as one people for the advancement of the country and its people.
Mahathir should withdraw and apologise for his lies and falsehoods against me in his blog or he should produce evidence to substantiate his baseless allegations and not to spew more lies and falsehoods.
Current UMNO is not the Malaysia 1st Prime Minister UMNO
Current UMNO is Mama UMNO…UMNO BARU pretend to be UMNO to deceive Malaysian
This Mama is an enemy of Malaysia 1st Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
In 1991 Mahathir gave the term Bangsa Malaysia as part of his launching of Vision 2020. If you go back to their original words, what he said was something along that everyone would speak Bahasa Malaysia and accept the Constitution (which he had taken a sledgehammer to already). I remember the furious debate about similarity to Malaysian Malaysia. He never responded to question of similarity or difference with Malaysia Malaysia. He never responded to questions of whether it meant repudiating Ketuanan Melayu, never answered whether it meant equal rights for all, In fact, many in his own party said it did not meant so and he NEVER said otherwise.
Mahathir NEVER intended for true unity, stereotypically Mamak, it was merely an attempt to rename a more odious name of policy of Malay National Culture and Ketuanan Melayu..
So that he has come full circle, to be forced to reveal his true colors now at the end of his legacy, is fitting Karma..
Dr M became the 1st member of Umno Baru: 000 0001 when the original Umno was outlawed. The Umno that fight for independence no more in existence. He’s out to create chaos for Malaysia. What say, LKS bring him to court for libel & unfounded slanderous remarks. Sue Dr M! Let the truth prevail!
Mahathir’s greed for wealth and power is insatiable. Even at his age when most other people choose to do more good deeds to atone for past sins, Mahathir becomes more evil. He will have no qualm of starting a racial riot for his plan to work, viz, to see his son go up the unmo B hierarchy and to becoming the future PM. The present umno ministers are all 1/2 past sixes with no one qualified for PM’s post except son Muhkriz MAHATHIR. Leave the old man to his scheming and planning for, we know he is not going to feel dissapointed.
Dr M is a selfish person who is bent on achieving his PRIVATE agenda at the expense of racial harmony and racial tolerance.
This is just one of his evil ploys to perpetuate UMNO’s hold on power. His son’s huge business empire needs political protection and he wants to put another son in the fore front of Malaysian politics. He would just resort to the vilest means to achieve his aims.
Dear Mr. Lim,
As much as I, just like many Malaysians would welcome a change in government, I can’t help but feeling a bit apprehensive at the way the Mahathir has thrown down the gauntlet to you. I can’t but express a word of caution – please think and act wisely, because one false move and the all the good work and momentum toward building a new Malaysia will be opportunity lost.
I feel this is just what he’s wanting to happen – to trigger a reaction from you and all right thinking Malaysians. You must remember this is someone who will do anything to further his agenda – including using you and anyone else for that matter.
We need wisdom and leadership from people like you and all the other PR leaders during this most challenging of situations. The rakyat are solidly behind you. Please tread carefully for you hold all our hopes in your hands. Thank you.
Mahathir is a dangerous man.
He is behaving irrationally; the Malays would say he is on the verge of running amok.
How can any reasonable man spew such racist mantras day after day?
It seems clear Mahathir is living in fear of all his phantoms and skeletons. Mahathir fears Anwar would expose his misdeeds and excesses. So, since he cannot pick on Anwar, who is 7 sizes bigger than him politically, he chooses to pick on LKS, someone closer to his size or just a wee bit bigger than the jaded Tun today.
And to further his desperate last-straw gasp to win a few more measly votes, he spews fire and brimstone and promises hell would break loose.
Let mahathir be buried by the sulfur and burning coals from the volcanoes in his soul.
May God have mercy on his insane soul.
Mamakthir knows that his status as Malay is being questioned and he has to prove that he is Malay. All the effort is for him to exploit true Malays for his benefit. He had deceived enough Malays and reached the position of PM. Now he wants to create a mamak dynasty.
We evil people, when we are young, we are capable of hiding our weaknesses well, and we are more subtle in doing misdeeds. When we get old, we are not that adept at hiding our true nature; our attacks on others are rather crude; and we become an open book that others can easily read.:that is, we cannot pretend effectively. Senility adds to our woes. We do not care for people or nation; we only care for ourselves. We are not averse to stooping low, come what the consequences.
KUTTY’S NO MATCH FOR LKS
Start with ONE School , National Language ; I dare you not
chengho, you think BN will? today’s mess is started by BN
I propose a simple rubbishing plan.
Start with the investigation of all ex-cabinet ministers on corruption. Dr Mahathir is the natural No. 1 to be scrutinized. Project IC especially. Families and cronies are the next. Mirzan’s San Miguel Brewery, Petronas, Esso and MAS related scandals.
Once its cleared. We move on to Lim Kit Siang. Next, Anwar, Tok Guru, Guan Eng, Karpal.
Following that, Najib Razak on the Altantuya’s murder case and the illegal commission in the Scorpene submarine. Next, Rosmah’s spending spree especially the notorious cincin. Finalize on the hearing of PKFZ.
Dare…idiot?
Mahathir has just proven Najib wrong when only days earlier he told the Chinese at the Tow Boo Keong Taoist temple over in Ipoh the exact opposite. This means that what Najib says or does has little or no connection with realities on the ground. What more it is from UMNO with Mahathir in the driver’s seat?
We should classify him as PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1 IN MALAYSIA!
Mahathir adalah Pemimpin PRU13 untuk UMNO/BN. Dialah Kuasa dibelakang kerusi President UMNO/BN..Orang Melayu tolak UMNO/BN kerana mereka Melayu bukan Mamak…Sampai bila orang Melayu nak di heret sana sini dengan fahaman dan perangai buruk Mamak?
Bigjoe dah cakap apa yang gua mahu cakap. Terima kasihlah brader