Teaching thieves how to be better thieves

'It is not just a question of not flashing your wealth. The idea is not to deceive the rakyat into believing that you are poor like them.'

Stop flashing your wealth, Mahathir tells BN leaders

Who Is That Masked Man?: Mahathir, are you admitting that Umno leaders have more than RM7-8 million to flaunt?

Are you saying to them don't do it here but flaunt their wealth overseas like Sarawak's Abdul Taib Mahmud? So are you saying basically, yes, be corrupt but be smart enough to hide it?

There you are, people. How much more of this nonsense do you want to continue to take from BN? Squandering the country resources to enrich themselves. We could have, and can have, a better country. Better resources, better service, more jobs for all, better paid civil service, lower taxes, etc.

We don't want any more submarines, stadium roofs falling, bad quality teachers, corrupt police officers, roads with potholes, bridges with cracks, forests cut down, property developments with no adequate gardens or fields, high-cost broadband, business monopolies, pay high taxes for national cars, and most or all, politicians who don't know what they are doing or saying, resulting in untold embarrassment for Malaysia.

We are better than that.

Bledyfoo: I nearly died laughing when I read this. This, coming from a man who used to tell voters to vote for BN so that they could one day 'drive big cars and live in luxury mansions' just like the elected representatives.

BN taking advice from this clown is like making an arsonist out of a fire chief.

Kanninneh: Mahathir is teaching Umno thieves how to be a better thieves.

Anonymous: The level of corruption in this country is sickening. The people are waking up to the reality that all the government policies are geared to helping only the Umno cronies.

And what's more sickening is that it has become the accepted culture of this group of people, thanks to TDM (Dr Mahathir Mohamad).

Ben-ghazi: Yes, Mahathir is saying, "Go and plunder the country, and be as wealthy as me or even better!" But never never display your wealth.

Stash it away somewhere, where people do not see. Keep it in Argentina, buy a ranch, buy a mansion in London, Perth, Los Angeles, etc, but never build a mansion in Shah Alam where Malaysians will be able to see, and then make police reports.

I am surprised that the man is is still 'legal tender' in Umno functions. Umno is dreaming if they think this old man can change the fate of the party for the better.

David Dass: It is not just a question of not flashing your wealth or not driving your Mercedes Benz to the kampong. The idea is not to deceive the rakyat into believing that you are poor like them.

Those aspiring for elected positions must serve the people. They must show love and compassion for the people. They must commit themselves to changing the lives of the poor in their constituencies. They must help all regardless of race or religion.

It is time for Umno to lead other parties out of race-based politics and take it to a higher plane.

49boybum: "Parachute candidates are needed to introduce changes to the party, like (former Finance Minister) Daim (Zainuddin), who was not too keen about politics but needed to get into the Dewan Rakyat.

"So we asked the person in Merbok to step aside for (Daim), who wasn't even from Merbok, but whose abilities were much needed," said Mahathir.

Yes, the abilities of Daim to milk the country dry and send all of it offshore for 'helping me, my family and cronies' to enjoy a pompous lifestyle. Let the rakyat suffer by keeping them ignorant while BN enjoy their loot.

If the rakyat becomes aware of BN's evil, Umno will revert to plan 'B', i.e. Project M - give citizenship in exchange for votes. I hope all Malaysians be aware of this and do the right thing.

Restless_Native: The real estate friends I have in London tell me that out of 10 real estate buyers in London in 2011, six are Malaysians.

I went to see some of the apartments belonging to our government officials (all in their spouse's and children's names) not long ago and wondered about their source of funds.

Mahathir was the one who elevated the whole culture of kickbacks and skimming to a level never seen in our sedate history. It is interesting that he is increasingly vocal now - at the prospect of fresh elections and the potential of BN losing.

He fears the investigations that will surely follow should the opposition win.

Anonymous: Mahathir is absolutely correct. As the people are not fools, hoodwinking the people is no more a viable option. Basically, the people have had enough of the corruption in this government and the unfairness dealt out by them.

Feelletdownbybn: Yes, as if people do not know. They may not show their wealth here, but many ministers have houses in London. How could they afford such houses in London and Australia and other parts of the world on their salaries?

Based on their income, they can't even afford to renovate their houses like Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom did. That's why Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat is held with high esteem by many. Most BN ministers, even the one in charge of religion (who are supposedly more pious), are crooks.

Mahathir is more or less telling the BN leaders to hide their ill-gotten wealth - 'don't show people that you are swindler and you will be okay, people will still vote for you.'

I'm not surprise as the advice came from the master crook.

Pemerhati: When Malaya gained independence, a lot of native Malays were backward and so they were given special privilege. The constitution allowed some Muslim immigrants and their decendents from countries like India, Turkey, Indonesia, China, etc, to also become Malays.

A lot of these greedy and unscrupulous people abandoned their original nationalities and started calling themselves Malays so as to benefit from the special privileges. They thus reduced or even deprived the needy native Malays of the benefits.

Many like Mahathir became top leaders in Umno and all the prime ministers were of foreign descent. Mahathir, who is of Indian descent, stole the most money and caused the most havoc by destroying the major institutions.

Some top Umno leaders of Chinese, Turkish, Bugis and Javanese decent have also stolen a lot of money and caused havoc. To hide and deflect any attention to their original ethnicities and crookedness, they all champion Malay supremacy and preach morality.

Malaysiasakit: Correction - stop flashing your 'ill-gotten' wealth. If wealth is obtained through hard work, no one will stop you from enjoying the fruits of your labour. - Malaysiakini