Water that can't quench Mahathir's thirst

Independent - Dr Mahathir: In the World Court, Singapore would lose on water issue (extracts):

The Malaysian PM reiterated his point that the Republic must pay higher prices for raw water from Johor.

when Mahathir needed someone or something, he'd backflip from his previous contra-position without hesitation or scruples, ever ready to sleep with the Devil (though to others, he was and is still the Devil)

marginalised and ignored by UMNO, and out of sheer desperation he needed the DAP (and PKR) to help his Parti Pribumi toppled Najib and his old party, thus probably in a depressed state of anguish he sang a different tune to bromance with Lim KS and politi-court Wan Azizah, the wife & rep of Anwar Ibrahim his archfoe & mortal enemy)

but now back in power he believes he can act as per his previous political lifeform (the old Mahathir of 1981 to 2003), and apart from reverting to his old rotten ways, is gradually transforming his Pribumi into a new UMNO (Mark III) to dominate Pakatan Harapan

and he'll do that once he has sapu-ed as many of UMNO frogs as he can, which he had earlier vowed he won't, thus showing he's as treacherous as ever

Putrajaya: Speaking to members of the Malaysian press on Sunday, March 3, Prime Minister Dr Tun Mahathir Mohamad said that if Singapore takes the water price issue to the High Court, the Republic would lose the case.

Online publication Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported that the Malaysian Prime Minister said to reporters that the Republic has no desire to bring the water issue before the World Court (International Court of Justice or the International Court of Arbitration), saying, “if they go to the World Court they will lose.”

[...]

He also had sharp words for Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Singapore.

In Singapore’s Parliament Committee of Supply debate hearing on March 1, Dr Balakrishnan had described Dr Mahathir’s comments on the 1962 Water Agreement as “strong, emotive words no doubt intended to rouse public opinion.”

Dr Mahathir had brought up the price of water yet again on February 28, saying, “We need to fight for this. A rich country (Singapore) (cannot be) buying water from poor countries at such an unreasonable price.”

The Foreign Affairs Minister said in Parliament, “I’m supposed to be diplomatic, but I think members of this House also know I call a spade a spade. This is a red herring. The 1962 Water Agreement is not about who is richer or poorer. It is about the fundamental principle of respecting the sanctity of agreements.”

I really hate to support a Sing minister against our own PM but alas for Mahathir, Dr V Balakrishnan has been correct that it is about the fundamental principle of respecting the sanctity of agreements.

But woe is us Malaysians, because where agreements or treaties are concerned, Mahathir has no compunction about breaking or ignoring them, cherry-picking only those which he wanted or wants, or cannot avoid for legal reasons to his disadvantage.

An example was the case of Chin Peng (also known legally as Ong Boon Hwa). After an international peace treaty was signed in 1988 to end the insurgency of the Communist Party of Malaysia against Malaysia, whereupon Chin Peng would by the agreement of that treaty be allowed to return peacefully to his hometown in Sitiawan (where he wanted to also bury his ashes there), Chin Peng was denied entry into Malaysia contrary to the International Treaty. But other Malay communist insurgents were allowed, even assisted in resettling in the nation.

The International Treaty was signed in 1988. Successive governments of Malaysia since then refused entry to Chin Peng. Those dishonourable Malaysian governments since 1988 were:

(a) Mahathir's government - ... up to 2003

(b) AAB's or Abdullah Badawi's government - 2003 to 2009

Knowing AAB's far more magnanimous character, I bet AAB didn't want to make waves and merely continued Mahathir's treachery towards Chin Peng.

Those successive Nay's to Chin Peng culminated in the retired guerrilla's unsuccessful court case in 2005 (and an also rejected appeal in 2008). We know our Judiciary.

According to journalist Terence Netto, even former IGP Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor weighed in firmly on the side of keeping our solemn commitments as outlined in an international peace agreement.

former IGP Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor 

The disbarment of Chin Peng, according to Rahim Noor, was in violation of the Hatyai Peace Accords signed in December 1989 between the governments of Malaysia, Thailand and CPM.

Look, the former IGP was the very man who headed the Malaysian team in the negotiations that led to the Hatyai Peace Accords, and his opinion was that we made an international “laughing stock” of ourselves in refusing Chin Peng’s ashes to be interred here. Alas, as usual in Malaysia, the public debate degenerated as like so many other things in a Mahathir-ised Malaysia into racist tinted sentiments.

Rahim Mohd Noor, then as Special Branch head at the time of accords with the CPM and as the government’s lead negotiator, should know the terms and conditions of the Hatyai agreement.

If there was/is anybody who can hold forth authoritatively on the contentious matter of whether Chin Peng had a right to come back to Malaysia and, now that he has died, have his ashes buried in his hometown of Sitiawan, it was Rahim.

I have strayed slightly off topic (water agreement with Singapore) to show how treacherous Mahathir was to an international agreement (return of CPM CTs to Malaysia), so dear Dr V Balakrishnan, that's how Mahathir regarded the so-called sanctity of International Treaty signed in 1988, so what would be the significance of an old (water) agreement signed in 1961?

And Dr Vivian, you're right on another score, to wit, that Mahathir himself (his gov't) did not review water deal in 1987. Yes, as Malaysiakini reported you telling Singapore Parliament:

... it was Malaysia that declined to revise the water prices when the deal came up for review in 1987 during Mahathir's first tenure as prime minister."

"Malaysia previously acknowledged that they chose not to seek a review of the deal in 1987 because they benefited from the pricing arrangement."

"Mahathir ... was the prime minister at that point of time, and himself explained that Malaysia did not review the price as any revision would affect the price of treated water sold by Singapore to Malaysia."

But that was only his "part of the real story" for in truth he was then so busy fighting for his own political life in UMNO that he couldn't be bothered with small issues such as personal grudges or benefits for the nation, such was his prioritisation.

43 lousy votes and Malaysia and us were thoroughly eff-ed

it broke Tunku's and Hussein Onn's hearts

photo borrowed without permission from 3rd Force 

Yes, t'was only 43 votes that changed the course of Malaysian history, to leave us where we are today.

OK, Dr Vivian, you can go back to Singapore now, wakakaka, while I continue my narration on Mahathir.

blame these two for that 43 votes, one for threatening (a la "making an offer the younger man couldn't/daren't refuse") and the other for succumbing

Mahathir's dissatisfaction with the water agreement is only part of his humongous GRUDGE against certain people, chiefly the Chinese Malaysians, but it has to be said he was/is generous in including all other Chinese including Singapore Chinese and PRC Chinese into his dislike-list, wakakaka.

Mahathir and his obsession with the supply of Johor water for Singapore could also be a guilt trip for himself, as he had 22 years of oil-rich endowed premiership to built a water purification plant in Johor but abysmally failed to do so. He left that vital necessity in the hands of Singapore and thus put Malaysia useless pride in the current mortal fait accompli.

It has been said, and I admit I picked this one up, that he detested the image of Malay chauffeurs (called 'Ahmads') to Chinese towkays so much so that when he had a limousine as a doctor in Alor Setar he recruited and employed a Chinese chauffeur. I wonder what Mahathir called him?

Ah Keat

wakakaka

Ah Chong? Kuan Yew (wakakaka)? Ah Kit (wakakaka again)?

Before he broke up with his mentee Najib, he repetitively voiced his disagreement with what he saw as Najib pampering the Chinese Malaysians.

He must have gone berserk when Najib was friendly and cooperative with the Singapore government as he was with KJ during AAB's premiership when the young S-I-L was similarly pally-buddy with Sings.

Since he became Malaysia's 7th PM, examine in how ways he has had issues with the Singapore government, some overtly fired from his hips whilst others might have been directed from behind the scene, as Lim GE was directed to regularly exposed Najib's alleged follies with Malaysian public financial management.

his humongous chip on shoulder
but his self inflicted burden

As we watch him withered today in the face of his deteriorating Parti Pribumi, I believe we should be merciful and remove him from the PM position A.S.A.P before he and his 'Cambridge USA'-educated deputy foreign minister (wakakaka) embarrass us further on the international scene, whilst domestically his Econs Minister suffers in the management of Khazanah.

hmmm, I'm gonna blame Khazanah's humongous loss of RM6.27 Billion to the previous government, yes, even though Pakatan has been the ruling government for a year already