Racist Mahathir must step down or be forced to

TMI - Dr Mahathir must step down to save Reformasi by Kim Quek:

he's still the UMNO-PERKASA man 

It should be plain by now that we are on the threshold of seeing the reincarnation of Umno through Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his party Bersatu Pribumi.

Soon, the scores of Umno members of Parliament would dwindle to a handful, with almost all the defecting MPs migrating to boost up the small number of Bersatu Pribumi MPs, making the latter party one of the largest, if not the largest component party of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

What’s wrong with stuffing up Bersatu Pribumi with ex-Umno MPs that would increase PH’s total numbers?

There is nothing seriously wrong with that actually, if Umno had not almost ruined the country with astronomical corruption, corroded the entire government administration, and fractured the country with unbridled racism and religious extremism.

And if the country is not led by a dubious reformist leader, Dr Mahathir who has shown unmistakable signs that he is reverting to his previous mode of autocratic rule in the Umno era, during which he destroyed democratic institutions, enhanced racism and brought rampant corruption and cronyism, which system of governance later served as the foundation for former prime minister Najib Razak to launch his world renowned massive kleptocratic frolics.

he persecuted those he didn't like or had disagreed with him 

Dr Mahathir is no reformist

That Dr Mahathir is no reformist is evidenced from his almost cart blanc refusal to abolish the myriad of repressive legislations and dismantle racist institutions like the brain-washing set up of BTN as pledged before the last election.

His reluctance to bring institutional reforms is also seen in his persistent refusal to disclose the reports of the Committee for Institutional Reforms as well as the Council of Eminent Persons respectively. It is obvious that the revelation of those reports would have embarrassed him for his lack of action in the direction recommended in such reports.

That he has not abandoned his racist convictions is seen in the lack of efforts to reform the heavily prejudiced mindset of the Malay masses on race and religion, who have been indoctrinated by Umno’s false propaganda for decades.

A government led by a truly reformist leader would have placed such re-education of the masses as one of its top priority, to be followed by gradual and orderly dismantling of pervasive racial discrimination in education and public service which are now mired in mediocrity as a result of such racist policy.

Dr Mahathir’s racist mindset is also evidenced from his outright rejection of the restoration of local council elections as well as the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discriminations without any reservation, which is against PH’s earlier promise to the electorate and Mahathir’s own pledge in the UN Assembly.

he fCk-ed up the Judiciary of the nationj kaukau 

An Umno die-hard

In retrospect, one would have observed that Dr Mahathir has never admitted that the racist and corrupt rule of Umno is wrong. His only complaint is that Najib’s atrocious corruption has devastated Umno and threatened to destroy the country in due course.

In fact, he had time and again said prior to the election that once Najjib is replaced, everything would be fine and dandy again.

Naturally, when he has achieved exactly that by ousting Najib, his next step would be to revive Umno. And that, to him, would kill two birds with one stone. In addition to allowing him to rule like the good old days of Umno, he could refuse to hand over the rein to Anwar Ibrahim as pledged.

In fact, he has never intended to honour the PH consensus of passing the post to Anwar. This is evident from his lack of acknowledgment of his status as an interim prime minister to fill the gap before Anwar could legally qualify as one, as well as his oft repeated wishy-washy and flip-flopping utterings on the length of his tenure varying from 1 to 2 years to 2 to 3 years to “as long as the people want me to serve”, and always ending with the proviso that “if the people accept Anwar as PM”.

Obsession for power, aversion to Anwar as PM

His obsession to hang on to power and his aversion to an Anwar prime minister-ship perhaps explain the continuous scheming to bolster the dwarf size of his party’s presence in Parliament with the large pool of Umno MPs.

no one could be safe from Maddy 

And such unprincipled plot to amass power stands in contrast to Anwar’s unflinching refusal to accept defecting MPs from Umno out of his fidelity to the Reformasi cause, for which he had willingly endured unparalleled sufferings and persecution for the past two decades.

We are at the cusp of the first turning point for the country in history. And the decision we make today with regards to Dr Mahathir’s imminent embrace of Umno’s defecting flock will determine the nation’s fate for perhaps generations to come.

A bold and correct decision would mean this fledgling reformist coalition would continue to sail on its Reformasi course to bring brighter days for all.

On the other hand, a wrong or weak decision may mean prolong agony with the prospect of plunging the country back to the wretched days of yore characterised by repression, racism and corruption.

Knowing Dr Mahathir’s character, negotiation with him with regards to Umno’s defectors wouldn’t do.

eff you guppies 

Stepping down the clean solution

The only clean solution would be for Dr Mahathir to pass the baton over to Anwar now.

And that would not only save the day for PH and the nation’s reform aspirations but will also earn Dr Mahathir a permanent place in history as the leader who led the successful overthrow of the decadent Umno regime and ushering in the New Malaysia.

Component parties of the coalition – PKR, DAP and Amanah – have been observed to be hitherto rather submissive to Dr Mahathir’s autocratic style of rule. However, this is a unique moment in history that calls for extraordinary action.

Will the leaders of PKR, DAP and Amanah rise to the occasion and boldly act to set the nation on the right course, or will they timidly avoid the hard decision, causing the country to drift downwards irresolutely?

Papa ah, aan chnua choe? 

The nation awaits the answer with bated breath. – December 15, 2018.