Fresh from publicly endorsing his son Mukhriz for the Kedah chief minister's seat, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad next trained his sights on his daughter - Marina.
Urging the sometimes outspoken Marina to be 'sensitive' of how her often liberal behavior could affect her brother's political chances, the 86-year-old Mahathir revealed for the first time his parenting skills to the nation.
And it is clear, as far as the Mahathir family goes, politics come first.
“I do hope she will realise what she is doing is not good for herself, not good for the government party at least. She should also be sensitive about her brother who is contesting in the election,” Mahathir said during an interview with online television station The Malaysian Observer (MobTV).
He had been asked to comment on Marina, an AIDS/HIV activist and open supporter of the Bersih rallies for clean elections - two issues that Mahathir is openly and vehemently against but which Marina apparently endorses.
Drawing a line
Just a day ago, Mahathir warned that allowing the LGBT community rights would lead to the end of 'mankind'.
Today, he publicly warned his daughter not to get carried away with her volunteer work and end up fighting for the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender folk.
“She never said she supports this; I hope she doesn’t. She cared for this people but she has to draw a line between them and the idea that being homosexual is okay, or men marrying men is okay,” said Mahathir.
The former PM who ruled Malaysia for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 also let slip he did not like Marina to associate herself with Bersih, the movement for free and fair elections as he believed it had been hijacked by the opposition.
However, Mahathir skirted the issue of whether he supported the principle of clean polls. This is not surprising given that his critics have often accused him of massive gerrymandering and even offering citizenship to foreign workers if they voted to keep his Umno-BN coalition in power.
Typical big-mouth Asian dad?
And in reminding Marina to be 'sensitive' for Mukhriz's sake, Mahathir revealed his own insensitivity not only by putting his daughter's interests lower than her brother's, but also by blaring to the public that she had "no ambition".
“She doesn’t care about what people think. I care about what people think. If not, I won’t get anywhere," said Mahathir.
“Maybe it’s because she has no ambition so she speaks her mind. I cannot agree with the things she is doing, but nowadays you cannot tell your children ‘please stop this, please stop that’; they have a mind of their own.”
Marina is Mahathir's eldest child and despite his current obsession in making sure Mukhriz lands the Kedah chief minister's post, it is well-known that she is his favorite offspring and their father-and-daughter relationship enviably strong.
Nonetheless, it would be interesting to ask Marina what she thinks of her dad's latest comments - has his thinking become antiquated with age or is he just another Asian dad, cherishing the sons as serious business and the daughters - mere decoration!
Malaysia Chronicle
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