Sweet & Sour Po ..... litics

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku Li) supported Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s right to criticise PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership.

Ku Li revealed that Dr Mahathir told him the doctor's unhappiness over the way Abdullah Badawi had managed certain issues like the AP scandal, which had threatened Proton, and the trade agreement with Japan which he felt would not benefit Malaysia.

However, Ku Li didn't mention the scenic bridge.

Ku Li said: "We spoke generally as one does when meeting an old friend. He is a man concerned about many things. He is the man who started Proton. He feels strongly about it. Rightly or wrongly, he has a right to air his views. Tun Mahathir is someone who never minces his words. If he has something to say, he says it."

Ku Li added diplomatically: "But, I’m sure Abdullah has his reasons (for pursuing certain policies)."

"Any rift will have an effect on the party and nation. Whether you like it or not, Dr Mahathir has been on the scene for more than 20 years, and has many supporters. Why are we fighting among ourselves? We must try to avoid (a confrontation) and resolve it so that we can move forward."

Ku Li couldn’t help criticising Abdullah Badawi’s lacklustre performance thus far:

"The mandate won by the Barisan Nasional in the 2004 general election made people optimistic about the future. Many statements were made by the leadership and expectations were high."

"But now, they think the economy is not moving forward. They are hoping things will improve. They had experienced a buoyant and vibrant economy before (during Dr Mahathir’s time). But this has not recurred."

Ku Li said everyone needed to co-operate to ensure the success of the 9MP.

So we have Mahathir’s original arch foe defending him, while Abdullah Badawi, once in Ku Li’s camp, had ignored Ku Li like the plague. Now, all it needs for the crazy sleazy world of politics would be for reformasi champion, Anwar Ibrahim to speak up in support Mahathir's right to criticise, but that of course would jeopardise poor Anwar's return to UMNO - better not, I suppose, and screw the principle of the freedom of expression.

Ain’t politics sweet and sour? I'll blog a bit more on this aspect shortly.