You know, when you scold or hit kids when they’ve done something wrong, it’s because you love them. At least, that’s how you should think about it; if you’re a sadist, you have no place being a parent, probably. What about saying that same sorta thing to an elder statesman? I suppose it could mean one of a few things.
It could be that you feel said elder statesman has gone completely bonkers, become senile and therefore has reverted back to his childhood (not necessarily in that order..). But, having some residual memories of said elder statesman controlling one’s destiny tends, I believe, to give one cause for restraint in one’s um recriminations against the same.
So, basically, instead of whacking Dr Mahathir with the ISA, delegates tell the elder statesman: we’re shutting you up because we love you.
(If only kids nowadays bought that line of reasoning…Incidently, I wonder how Mahathir feels at all this high-handed paternalism.)
Another thing I’m taking away from the whole delegation election thingie is that, all protestations to the contrary, AAB loyalists were looking for a killing stroke. I mean, look at this this way, lah. Mahathir submitted himself to the ultimate test of his relevance to his own constituency. He was asking for a minor mandate (ha!) from his own people.
The people have told him to fly kite, with due respect of course.
This couldn’t be better for Khairy J and gang, of course. Politicians are nothing without the support of the people, right? Mahathir, it seems, didn’t get much of that.
Comments (2)
And thus the era of Dr Mahathir has come to an, albeit undignified, end.
I have mixed feelings on the treatment meted out to Dr M by his own party. On one hand, he was our Father of Modernisation, and Malaysia would still look like Indonesia if it weren’t for his leadership.
On the other, he was undoubtably a disbeliever of democracy. The was the ISA, UUCA, OSA and Printing Presses Act were used during his reign to silence political dissent are unforgivable.
That’s the thing, isn’t it? When Mahathir started asking questions, some of us were backing him, but the question of what he’s actually done to this country (good? more bad than good) was never answered…
And then RPK featured him on Malaysia-Today, PAS ‘gave way’ to him, and much more. It’s just funny how these people have very short memories.
But like you said, it now looks as if his own UMNO Baru have sounded the death knell for him…