Mahathir Mohamad who wrote the Malay Dilemma is the main cause of the present malaise in the country, the Malaysian Dilemma. He was more concerned to the physical development of the nation rather than improve the minds of the rakyat.
The envious trait in him, watching the development and progress of Singapore, only a trading nation, could achieve so much so soon after leaving Malaysia. Mahathir started as Education Minister and could have pioneered the reformation of the Malay minds especially but his mission was more than that. The rural Malays became electoral safe deposits for UMNO in elections to ensure victory. He also ensured that the Malays depended on the UMNO for sparsely spread benefits, giving them financial aid to the full glare of the media.
Mahathir said he never took anything beneficial in terms of monetary gains. But Fortune 500 has named him in the top ten wealthiest politician in the world. His children, who he said, never received help or anything when he was PM but you can see the number of companies owned by his children, in and out of the country.
The intrigue of the blackout during the counting of votes for the presidency when Tengku Razaleigh challenged him in 1987 remains unanswered. He took care of the relevant leaders to ensure he stays in power. The destruction of country went on unabated and continued by the PMs of the backdoor government.
The story of Mahathir would take the whole article to describe but the present mess is caused when he and his government resigned abruptly. Any other concerned PM would have handed the reins to his Deputy PM but he only thought of himself and the grand design to subtle coup of the government of the rakyat's mandate.
Then we had SD poll to appoint a new PM, this secretive selection is not transparent and subject to abuse. Support is bought in broad daylight where benefits were gained by the leaping political frogs. That explains for the large Cabinet who did nothing but to support the PM who allegedly won the SD poll.
Mahiaddin was more concerned about his position as PM. He with the subtle support of his master never faced the rakyat in Parliament. He declared an emergency rule. He didn't last and he appointed a senior minister, Ismail Sabri, as the subsequent PM, who did what he was told.
There were no proper platform for the 2 PMs. They were there for the power it brought. Cost of living skyrocketed, the ringgit fell so quickly, the lockdown meant many small businesses collapsed. There were starving rakyat waving white flags for help. Some were too stressful, they, including Muslims, took their own lives. The spread of the PAS ideology of Islamic politics were left unchecked and PAS influence spread like wildfire.
When PM Ismail Sabri dissolved Parliament for GE15, the results showed the widespread influence of PAS.
PAS was given a headstart. Accusations abound and racial, religious overtones took centre stage. The so-called influence of the DAP being communist etc. Fortunately Pakatan Harapan won the most seats but could not form a government.
Then came the Royal hands who wanted a government with a majority and the Agong decreed the formation of a coalition of coalitions to form a government headed by Anwar as PM. Negotiations were aplenty and there was even the losers in the GE wanting to form an illegitimate government, by SDs of course.
Pakatan had to share the political bed with strange bedfellows. UMNO, their sworn enemy, came in to support Anwar as did the GPS and GRS. The formation of the unity government compromised Anwar's reformation agenda. The Malay Rulers mandate was the only way to keep Anwar as PM.
The announcement of the Unity Government cabinet was criticized for not keeping to Anwar's reform agenda. The criticisms were unfair because to keep the government in place, Anwar even had to include Zahid Hamidi, who is facing corruption charges in court.
In this case, the unity government must urgently appoint a non politician as the AG to dispel any notion of political interference in the court cases. Malaysia has to a certain degree earned and recognized to have an independent judiciary. We must improve on it and appoint an independent AG.
In the present scenario, it is unfair to accuse Anwar of abandoning his reform agenda and hopefully foreign investors understand the position Anwar is in. Anwar can lead and have a stable government. He has friends around the world who can help him despite being accused of being a foreign agent of many countries. The reformation of a nation cannot happen overnight especially in the present situation. Reformation is not overhauling the system immediately but it must be moved with purpose, time and inch by inch.
Anwar can live a comfortable life overseas if he chose to. But his patriotic instinct led him to stay back in Malaysia because he wants to improve the plight of the people. Malaysia needs Anwar than Anwar needs Malaysia. Give him the time and space to prove it.
Wan Ismail Annuar is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
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