An open letter to Dr Mahathir – Wenger Khairy

Dear Tun,

In 1995, I remember that Malaysia was a land of hope, and the envy of many. Even the great Lee Kuan Yew was casting glances at the great hope that lay ahead - an international port which would suck up the entrepôt  trade that had made Singapore so successful and the great Multimedia Super Corridor that would propel Malaysia as the premier hub for Information, Communication Technology.

Alas, almost 20 years later, this is now a pipe dream. Singapore has forged miles ahead whilst Malaysia is still languishing behind, their people divided on the most irrelevant of issues such as whether cows can be slaughtered in public schools and whether non-Muslims can profess belief in Allah.

That is the issues that seem to be on the lips of everybody. Some take one position, others take another.

Let me first clear some of the misconceptions that you would like to have all Malaysians believe. Number one, there is a sizeable majority of non-Malay, non-Muslims who could not care less what the decision is. If, the government decides that cows can be slaughtered in public schools, then so be it. If the government decides, that Allah is only exclusive for Muslims, we could not care less.

We share a desire, like many of Muslim Malay Malaysians for a country that is not ruled based on political expediency but based on an open, transparent Government. We are not different as you would like to point out. We both have desires for a better life, better access to advancement, a safer society and economic advancement. We both would support the government if the government makes tough decisions for the betterment of all people.

But this I have against you. You said that the government is forced to be weak because of us non-Malays.  Because of us non-Muslims. You continue to try to use us as your tool in order to try and find relevance in today’s society.

All I can say is that a) You are going to achieve nothing and b) Your pathetic attempts have and will fail. To your credit, you had been the most able Prime Minister in the history of the country. You had great ambition and courage, which you had displayed while you were Prime Minister, and guess what - you were supported by the same non-Malays and non-Mulims whom you are trying so hard to demonise. You were supported not because we agreed with everything you said, but because you were consistent in whatever you tried to get across. People knew very quickly that in the end, you would still focus on a development agenda and at times, you would use the hard stick to whack others into line.

However, you failed to discipline your own flock. You did not have the guts to tell crony businessmen and rent seekers to piss off. Instead, you used their greed to elicit support. You "closed one eyes" to the many abuses that took place and people have formed their own opinions as to why you did so. Perhaps it was due to politics, perhaps due to other factors.

As a retired statesman, you could have had the opportunity to set the record straight. You could have used your previously considerable influence to direct the government into getting its act together and being clean and transparent, instead of being what it is today, but you failed. You tried to garner support by pitting race against race. Faith against faith. Man against man, woman against woman and child against child.

Today, I will tell it to your face that you have failed.

You have not failed in creating division, for you have been very successful in making sure that people are divided by race and religion, but you have failed in gaining any political capital from that. Your son has failed to defeat even the most weakest of candidates in the Umno elections. Your son failed to defeat Khairy Jamaluddin even when he was at his weakest. Your son has failed to defeat Hishammuddin Hussein Onn even when he was known the country over as "Menteri Amaran". You yourself have failed even to get your own division to elect you to become a delegate to the Umno General Assembly. Politically, you have failed and your influence can only go one way and that is down.

I do not urge you to do anything different because to me, you are a man without hope. You are so stuck in pursuing a race based agenda that I believe it has consumed you. You have decided to throw away a broad based multiracial support in favour of trying to get a race based support. That has been your decision, and you thought you were right.

I just want to end it by saying you have failed, you will be remembered as a failure. - rembautimes.blogspot.com