MAHATHIR'S THREE LETTERS OF DOOM FOR UMNO

How ironic that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was once the most powerful man in Malaysia and ruled with an iron-fist for 22 years, has to resort to letter writing to air his views.

How ironic too, that having fine-tuned the destruction of independent institutions, so that he could ensure the continued dominance of Umno-Baru, that they are now an impregnable stumbling block for Mahathir.

With a week before the 2015 Umno General Assembly, Mahathir has written an open letter, pleading with the party’s supporters to oust Datuk Seri Najib Razak. He claims that he was forced to write in his blog, as he had been prevented from meeting Umno-Baru members.

Forty-six years ago, Mahathir shocked the nation with his first open letter to Tunku Abdul Rahman. At the time, the young Mahathir was bitter that Umno had performed badly in the general elections. Having lost his seat in Kota Setar Selatan to Yusuf Rawa of PAS, he blamed Chinese voters for switching allegiance from Umno to PAS.

Together with four of his closest allies, Mahathir blamed Tunku for "giving in" to the Chinese and wrote to the leading Malay language newspaper, saying the MCA should have been excluded from Tunku's new Cabinet.

A furious Tunku pleaded with each of the dissenters, to persuade them to help the government restore peace and harmony, and to refrain from issuing statements which could escalate the violence.

Mahathir's reaction was to launch a scathing, personal attack on Tunku, in a four-page letter, in Malay. He accused Tunku of failing to protect Malay interests, and for the May 13 violence. He demanded Tunku's resignation and withdrawal from politics. Thousands of copies of this letter were cyclostyled, and circulated throughout Malaysia.

Mahathir was expelled from Umno, after a meeting of the Umno Executive Council, at which he had been allowed to present his case. Undaunted, Mahathir wrote his controversial book, "The Malay Dilemma". By 1972 he was readmitted to Umno, and nine years later, became the fourth PM.

Mahathir's second infamous letter was sent in 1987, to 10-year-old Darrel Abercrombie, who was concerned about deforestation and the environment. The English schoolboy had written to request the PM to stop logging activities in Malaysia, because "he wanted to study animals in the tropical rainforests when he grew up".

Mahathir's response was a three-page typed document criticising Darrel for agreeing to be used as a pawn, by adults.  He said “The timber industry helps hundreds of thousands of poor Malaysians. Are they supposed to remain poor because you want to study tropical animals? Is your study more important than filling the stomachs of poor people? Are Malaysians expected to lose millions of pounds so that you can study animals?

“... tell your father to tell the rich countries like Britain to pay more for the timber they buy from us… I hope you will tell the adults who made use of you to learn all the facts. They should not be too arrogant and know how best to run a country…” (sic)

Today, Mahathir's third open letter warned Umno-Baru delegates, "Reject his (Najib's) leadership, before GE14, so that Umno would be safe and be able to win the election to remain as a fair government to all."

Mahathir, like many of his supporters, fails to realise that Najib is not the only problem, and his removal will not solve many of Malaysia's problems. If Najib were to go, the country may experience short-term effects, like the recovery of the ringgit, the return of foreign investors, and a euphoric rakyat. The inconvenient truth is that Umno-Baru is a big part of the problem.

Mahathir added in his letter, "BN and Umno would then become an opposition party. As an opposition party, Umno cannot do anything for the race, country and religion."  (sic)

Melayu, or perhaps, Mahathir, easily forgets! A few days earlier, when addressing delegates at the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2015, Mahathir said no party should rule forever, and that the best democracy would involve a two-party system, with a strong opposition as an alternative to the rakyat.

So, what is wrong with Umno-Baru being in opposition? - http://www.theheatmalaysia.com/