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No News Is Bad News
Malaysia’s Father of Independence and First Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman saw through the devious and sly Dr M. - Facebook image
Ignore the racist pariah Dr M
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17, 2024: All Malaysians and the media should start ignoring the racist Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Dr M) who is out to destroy Malaysia at all costs.
Dr M governed Malaysia for a total of 26 years but he and his successors - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib “1MDB” Razak, the racist Muhyiddin “I Am Malay First” Yassin and Ismail “Turtle Egg” Sabri Yaakob - have left the country reeling with a national debt of more than RM1.5 trillion.
As if that is not enough, the old foxy politician is bent on destabilising the Government and Malaysia by sowing discord among multi-racial Malaysia with his relentless tirade of racial and religious bigotry.
For reasons best known to himself, Dr M has chosen the path of racial and religious bigotry for political mileage - thus dumping his legacy of governance and making him a pariah to multi-racial Malaysians who treasure national unity and harmony.
Dr M also called the Chinese and Indians “migrants”, saying they could not therefore claim that Malaysia belonged to them, adding that they should assimilate Malay culture and become Malay if they wanted to claim the country was theirs.
But, multiracial Malaysians are unlike the pariah Dr M who does not recognise his family roots.
Multiracial Malaysians also have no problems declaring that they are Malaysia First, unlike the racist Muhyiddin "I Am Malay First" Yassin who heads Perikatan Nasional (PN).
So, who's loyal or not loyal to Malaysia?
Political analyst and Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi said Dr M's recent comments about Chinese and Indians being not completely loyal (to Malaysia) could make him a political liability (to the Taliban-like PAS and PN).
Free Malaysia Today’s columnist Adzhar Ibrahim was on the spot when he suggested: “Let’s ignore him.”
No News Is Bad News reproduces below two articles on the highly bitter pariah old man:
Mahathir in old age: bitter, with a need for chaos. Let’s ignore him
The former prime minister’s remark on Malaysian Indians may stem from a need for some relevance and meaning after having been kicked out of power.
Adzhar Ibrahim - 17 Jan 2024, 8:45am
Just when we thought things were getting a tad boring – mundane rumours of plans to topple the government here, a vicious never-ending war there, you know, the same old stuff – along comes Dr Mahathir Mohamad to hijack the news cycle.
Nothing very new in that. The good doctor has a habit of dropping a news grenade here or there to liven things up. If you think the content of his latest news grenade is also nothing new – well, you’re absolutely right too!
This time, he lobbed a few incendiary devices towards fellow Malaysians with Indian ancestry, creating a few blazes here and there, with some of them still burning.
You’d think he was trying to outdo our current prime minister in offending Malaysian Indians! Our PMX put his own foot in his mouth recently when he mentioned the K word in reference to Indians, and created a major uproar that he later had to apologise for.
Perhaps this game of “who can offend Malaysian Indians more” is only open to PMs and ex-PMs. The rule for them seems to be – whatever you can do, I can do worse!
For the record, Mahathir accused Malaysian Indians of being disloyal to Malaysia, pointing to what he sees as their lack of assimilation as evidence. Our fellow citizens naturally took umbrage and lobbed a few choice words in Mahathir’s way.
The irony that Mahathir has Indian ancestry isn’t lost to many, except perhaps to Mahathir himself. Mahathir and irony have been proven not to mix, unlike the way Mahathir and sarcasm are enjoined as what young people call “besties”.
I myself actually have pretty much the same proportion of various bloods as him, mixed with smidgens from Thailand and Indonesia, liberal doses of the same sarcasm genes but with much higher levels of the genes that detect irony and cattle manure. So perhaps I’m the pot that has the right to call the kettle black.
Perhaps in Mahathir’s mind, he has buried his own Indian heritage and has become totally assimilated into Malay culture. If he’s forgotten that part of his past, you must remember what he’s often said about Malays – that we easily forget.
In an effort to make a connection between Mahathir and his many explosive utterances, I reflect on something I read recently which sought to explain the extreme polarisation in the world today, and how this polarisation grew and was propagated.
Polarisation has often been aided and abetted by conspiracy theories, and much of it is the work of politicians because polarisation benefits them, though there’s much also done by assorted bad actors enabled and amplified by social media.
But there has to be a rational, scientific explanation for why some people actually get into the position of willingly and actively supporting or even propagating such polarisation.
An interesting explanation is this – that built into some people is the psychological need for chaos; just as some people need love and want to see things grow, a small minority may actually prefer to see things get destroyed.
Or as a famous scientific paper published recently says “ Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn”!
In extreme cases, there’s an utter lack of morality and empathy. There are people for whom others not of their own chosen tribes don’t matter. Even calamities or tragedies that befall these “outsiders” fail to evoke any pity or sympathy.
Just remember this fact when you think about the various reactions, from both sides, on some of the conflicts afflicting the world. If you had ever gasped at how seemingly uncaring some people are, well, there’s a possible explanation.
Mahathir is not a psychotic anti-social person, but he certainly has many issues about needing high significance and meaning in his life – what we often call ego. He certainly had these when he was in the public eye, and especially when he was in powerful positions such as prime minister.
But he’s no longer there, in some cases having been ignominiously and embarrassingly kicked out. That must hurt, and the bitterness shows. Advancing age doesn’t help, forever reminding him that his moment has passed forever.
So, together with his Indian genes, it’s quite certain that he also has the “need for chaos” genes. In his old days, he’s giving these chaos genes a free run. In some ways, perhaps they’re giving him some relevance and meaning all over again.
At what cost you may ask? Certainly, at the cost of his own legacy, whatever that’s left of it. Even his most fervent admirers now cannot describe his life without at some point having a need to include a “but…” in their glowing testimony.
Expect that “but…” to be followed by a growing litany of instances where the multiple chips on Mahathir’s shoulders have combined with his “need for chaos” genes to give us the Mahathir of today: a bitter old man throwing chaos bombs left right and centre.
Expect this particular episode to pass away at some point, but expect to hear other news bombs that he’ll be throwing around. Tough and unfair as it may seem, let’s counter him instead with the most powerful gene we have – the “ignore” gene.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Better to cut ties with Dr M, PN told after comments on non-Malays
A political analyst says Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent comments about Chinese and Indians being not completely loyal could make him a political liability.
Mohd Farhan Darwis - 17 Jan 2024, 9:15am
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently said that Malaysian Indians and Chinese wanted to still identify themselves with their countries of origin instead of fully assimilating and ‘becoming Malay’. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: Analysts have warned of a possible backlash from non-Malay voters against Perikatan Nasional (PN) if the coalition does not cut ties with Dr Mahathir Mohamad following recent statements by the former prime minister about the Indian and Chinese communities.
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said Mahathir, who was appointed as an adviser to the four states administered by PAS, could be considered a liability after claiming that the Indian and Chinese communities were not “completely loyal to Malaysia” as they wanted to identify themselves with their countries of origin.
“If PN does not take action against Mahathir by ending their cooperation, it is proof that the coalition wants Mahathir to continue working with them to boost Malay sentiments without caring about the sensitivities of other races,” he told FMT.
“If this is so, I believe PN will face increasing rejection.”
He also said that Mahathir, who led the country twice, was now viewed as an “insensitive” person.
In a recent interview with Chennai-based Tamil news channel Thanthi TV, Mahathir claimed that the Chinese and Indians were still identifying with their countries of origin.
“They do not speak the local language at all. They have their own schools, their own language, their own culture. So, they are different from the original people who founded this country,” he added.
When the host noted that apart from speaking Tamil, Malaysian Indians also spoke Malay and were committed to Malaysia, Mahathir replied: “Malaysian Indians do not speak Malay as their home language. They speak Tamil.”
Mahathir also called the Chinese and Indians “migrants”, saying they could not therefore claim that Malaysia belonged to them. He added that they should assimilate Malay culture and become Malay if they wanted to claim the country was theirs.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia agreed that Mahathir’s remarks would have an impact on the PN coalition led by Muhyiddin Yassin.
He added that PN would not be unduly affected if it cut ties with Mahathir as he no longer had significant sway on the country’s politics.
“Mahathir still has influence, especially among the Malays… But it’s not as strong as before,” he said.
“Without aligning with a major coalition like Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, or PN… political parties led by Mahathir cannot win seats, let alone form a government,” he said, referring to the defeat of Gerakan Tanah Air in every seat it contested at the 2022 general election.
Mahathir himself failed to retain his parliamentary seat of Langkawi, losing his deposit as well.
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