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7/31/2006
Emperor Mahathir speaks
The Emperor speaks.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad has met Malacca Chief Minister Khalil Yaakob, who is playing the role of a mediator following his strained relationship with the present leadership of the country. Confirming this, Dr Mahathir said: "When Khalil met me before I left for my holidays recently, I told him what needed to be done. "I told him the solution is very simple, just don't bow to Singapore's demands, don't undermine Proton and don't sell Agusta."...
Meanwhile, Malaysia Today, an online magazine reported that that the key issues in Dr. Mahathir's speech in Kota Baru yesterday included the following: ·
Kalimullah Hassan, PM Abdullah's aide and former editor of the New Straits Times, is "a Singapore agent" without clarification. ·
Khairy Jamaluddin, the PM's influential son-in-law, became a millionaire in three years. "If want government contract, go see Khairy."
The above were extracted from littlespeck.com.
After handpicking his successor and bypassing his first choice in Najib, Mahathir now declared that he no longer supports Abdullah Badawi, implying that this is his edict and Badawi must go. He has decided.
Then he went on to tell the people that he would not make a comeback as if he will be returned to power if he wanted to. He is the Emperor afterall and he is the one to decide whether he wants to be the Emperor again.
Haiya, old news lah. Kalimullah used to be the Malaysia correspondent for Straits Times in Singapore and is known to be close to Wong Kan Sing, the Singapore Interior Minister. He did not receive a security clearance from the Special Branch when he was appointed as the Press Secretary to former DPm Ghafar in the 90s precisely because of that.
ReplyDeletemy main point is the power or presumed power of mahathir. he is behaving as if he owns malaysia. the sultans used to behave that way. now the royalties have quieten down and an ordinary citizen has risen and acted as if he is the emperor.
ReplyDeletehe decides who shall rule the country, how to run the country, and he is untouchable.
the same can be said of lee kuan yew.
ReplyDelete1 difference
ReplyDeleteTun Mahathir has no offical position, MM Lee is still in the cabinet as Minister Mentor.
there are some similarities and differences. but mahathir is a class of his own. he is above the law.
ReplyDeleteDr. Mahathir is playing with fire. If Pak Lah does not douse it in double quick time, his standing at the world stage would be adversely affected; and the consequence would be unfathomable. I pray earnestly that nothing untoward would happen to our neighbour.
ReplyDeletehi socaps,
ReplyDeleteindeed mahathir is playing a game which he thought he has nothing to lose. on the other hand he might have underestimated what badawi can do. the latter is playing cool and has not opened up his cards. and i think he is made of sterner stuff.
given a two way fight, it could be tough. but the anwar element may come in useful to badawi and could be a useful card to play when needed.
mahathir may have overplayed his hands. in his camp there is unlikely to be someone strong enough to stand on his own. rafidah is no longer with him. najib is not a street fighter. the best he could get is hishamuddin. but that is not good enough. heard that he has quite a number of mentri besars with him. not sure how this group will turn out.
we are now witnessing the realignment of forces. too early to tell. but i will put my money on the badawi anwar camp.
If my memory does not fail me, Dr. Mahathir blamed Mr. George Soros for causing the the M'sian Ringgit Exchange Rate to depreciate drastically during the Asian fianancial crisis in 1998. Instantly, Mr. Soros retorted by calling Dr. Mahathir a 'loose cannon' which is very descriptive of his character.
ReplyDeleteThe Malaysians are once again going to be entertained by his antics when he starts his road show. Perhaps we may even liken him to an injured bull going on a rampage through the towns of his country.
george soros is one among several big funds or syndicates who manipulate stock and financial markets to their advantage. unless govt ganged up together and have the same kind of muscles, the govt are going to lose. the other way for the govt to win is to use the laws and regulations to their own advantage.
ReplyDeleteblaming soros and other fund managers is no use. take the appropriate action, which mahathir did. i would say that he did well to control the damage. at least he did not allow foreign funds to screw his arse willingly.
for the time being, unless mahathir is so fortunate to have a second blessing in his life, his time is over. he is fighting a losing battle, also against time. only the very brave and very short sighted would dare to put their future in someone who can kick the bucket any moment.
yes, lee kwan yew is smarter. he chose to go behind the curtain and be the puppet master instead of just fading away. however, it doesn't change the fact that he is a power hungry madman, who is still clinging on to power even as he approaches his final days on earth. oops, i believe he did say he can still wield power from the grave when he finally bites the dust. so he will be the world's first eternal emperor.
ReplyDeletehi anonymous,
ReplyDeletewe all look at things from different perspectives. just the two sides of the coin can mean totally different things, one insisting that it is head and the other saying it is tail. both are right. but the truth is still the truth. a coin is still a coin, head or tail.
malaysia boleh..........
ReplyDeleteDR M is the lagend leader in the world..........................!
hi marlin212,
ReplyDeletewelcome to the blog.
indeed both are legends in their own rights. but the achievements and problems created by both are way too different to compare the two. the legacy of mahathir is one of megaprojects and bumiputra domination. but he has done severe harm to the nation by doing away with the english language and by filling up the whole civil service and the private sectors with inept bumiputras. this will destroy the country in the long run. malaysia will be relegated to the stage of economic development as Indonesia and the Phillipines. It could be fighting at the same level as singapore mahathir did not mess it up.
lky's legacy is quite different.