We won’t miss Zam

Zainuddin and Mahathir obviously belabour in the delusion that they are fountains of wisdom in the country.

COMMENT

 Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin, once the editorial chief at the  Utusan Malaysia, flatters himself if he thinks that anyone will miss the hysterical drivel that he spins out predictably now and then in his Zamkata blog.

Zainuddin compromised his credibility by coming across like his political master, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, as one with a strong sense of proprietorship. Everything had to be done according to his dictates and if there was something which was not to his liking, and there was plenty of it, he would literally run amok in his blog. Mahathir did the same over at his blog.

The difference between Zainuddin and Mahathir is that the latter is more into unsustainable models of development and nation-building. Mahathir’s legacy has been coming apart since he left office after 22 years spent squatting on the nation and apparently getting away with it since there was no social media and alternative media then to call his bluff.

Zainuddin doesn’t see the unsustainability. He only sees Mahathir the political genius, the only one who can save the bangsa, agama and negara (race, religion and nation).

Zainuddin and Mahathir obviously belabour in the delusion that they are fountains of wisdom in the country, with a panacea for all ills. In fact, the man in the street can be forgiven for concluding that the apparently increasingly desperate duo may have even been convinced that they have a monopoly on wisdom.

There was nothing wrong with Zainuddin blogging, even if much of what he wrote won’t go down as even a footnote in the dustbin of history. Mahathir, his hero, is another matter altogether. This man doesn’t understand class. He forgets that as a former prime minister, he should be seen, not heard. In the US, for example, it would be unthinkable for a former president to comment on a sitting president. There’s a code of conduct in place. In Malaysia, it’s anything goes. Malaysia Boleh!

Of course, Mahathir has already said that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Well, we don’t care either what he thinks or for that matter what his little poodle, Zainuddin, thinks. There’s no money to fund Mahathir’s unsustainability.

Zainuddin has said that he will steer clear of political writing, Mahathir should do the same and spend the last of his time praying for forgiveness if he’s worried about what comes next. There are also others who should take the cue from Zainuddin, but it would be kinder not to go there.

Zainuddin’s last comment on doing away with dynasties was really hitting below the belt. Since Mahathir obviously agrees with him, we must wonder what his son Mukhriz is doing as the Menteri Besar of Kedah. If Mukhriz had not been his son, God alone knows what he would be doing today to keep body and soul together.

It’s really up to the people to decide whether they accept political dynasties even for a time. A political dynasty is a phenomenon, here today, gone tomorrow. We had the Nehru dynasty in India and the Kennedys in America. There are other dynasties around.