'Mahathir has lost his way, forgotten history'

Malay daily Utusan Malaysia has joined the mainstream media's choral lambast against former premier Mahathir Mohamad, criticising the ex-PM's alliance with DAP and his former deputy and until recently his nemesis Anwar Ibrahim, as songsang or deviant politics.

On Friday Mahathir led a gathering of strange bedfellows from across partisan divides and ideological lines, who signed a citizen's declaration calling for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to be removed by all legal means possible, as well as for democratic and institutional reforms.

The paper claimed that the famous elephantine memory of Mahathir may have failed him as he appeared to have forgotten, if not willfully ignoring political history, by offering his hand in alliance, if not friendship, to his most bitter of enemies.

"While in politics anything goes, the reality is that it is not easy to erase dark episodes (from history). They will continue to be haunted by suspicion and the fear of falling prey to political conspiracies.

"What more Mahathir, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang and PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim who getting on in years. Being embarrassed and failing in the sunset years is a more painful experience," wrote Awang Selamat, the pseudonym used for Utusan editorials.

Lim was present on Friday while PKR representatives came with Anwar's blessing.

Feud forgotten

Awang claimed that Mahathir may have forgotten the history of his feud with both DAP and PKR which had once gone truly beyond the pale.

Indeed Awang also pointed out that it was Mahathir who was personally responsible for propaganda which had besmirched DAP's image in the eyes of the Malays.

"Lim too was just as vitriolic in insulting, slandering and questioning Mahathir during their long feud. DAP itself gained momentum as an anti-Mahathir party, painting the ex-PM as a cruel leader who presided over a corrupt government.

"Indeed the DAP which Lim controls had (said that it) wanted Mahathir arrested and imprisoned, if it ever came into power," read the opinion piece.

Awang also brought up the same miraculous mending of ties between Mahathir and his protege-turned-nemesis Anwar, as the ex-PM seemed to be ignoring his feud to work together with the jailed former opposition leader.

Will Mahathir now take back all the venom that he has dripped unto DAP and Anwar, or has he forgotten? questioned Awang, who believed that Mahathir may be losing his way in his desperation to find an end to his current problems, which include Najib.

The column said that the absence of notable critics of Najib, Gua Musang MP Razaleigh Hamzah and former DPM Musa Hitam from the declaration, may indicate that Mahathir has lost his once vaunted political elegance, and is now grasping at straws.

Awang also praised PAS and its president Abdul Hadi Awang for being smart enough to avoid walking into what he claimed was DAP's well-laid trap. --Mkini