MAHATHIR’S FRUSTRATING BID TO OUST NAJIB SO FAR: THE END IS IN SIGHT BUT FOR WHOM?

Perhaps the biggest sore loser in Malaysian politics at present is Mahathir Mohammad. The erstwhile prime minister, who has been on a mission that seems to be getting impossible in his bid to oust Najib, has for nearly two years trying all sorts of ways and means to try and fix Najib but to no avail, as Najib keeps bouncing back with every blow that Mahathir deals at him.

Why is this so? This makes Najib look almost invincible. The truth of the matter is that Mahathir’s blatant hypocrisy and lies are the real reasons why he has been unsuccessful and frustrated in trying to get rid of Najib. And it looks like the presence of Mahathir in the opposition coalition is the actual reason why Najib always bounces back stronger and stronger.

This really doesn’t augur well for the nation as the crop of political leaders in this currently are deemed to be shallow, immature, foolish and unwise. Many people who assume that Mahathir and Najib are smart and astute leaders will be shocked to discover that their level of human understanding is at an abysmal low and this is really the basic quality that is needed to be a good and effective leader.

Failing to understand

It is really Mahathir’s failure to understand the human condition in this country that is being copied and followed by Najib. Najib is actually following exactly in the footsteps of Mahathir when he was dictator of this country by promoting corruption, cronyism, collusion and nepotism. Mahathir’s failure to have a sound human understanding lies at the root of his ploys to oust Najib that have all backfired so far.

Every time Mahathir tries to remove the splinter that is in Najib’s eye, the log that is in Mahathir’s eye is exposed and it becomes like the all to familiar tale of the pot calling the kettle black. Both men are misfits and failures to lead Malaysia anywhere and this is the reason for the haphazard state of affairs in this country for some time now.

Backers of Najib and critics of Mahathir are now witness to how thick skinned the two leaders are, how shameless and impudent their behavior is which nearly all Malaysians will testify to at present. This is why there is a pull and a push between them and the reason why there is now a crisis of credibility surrounding the two men.

Will Mahathir’s gambit finally pay off?

There is a belief or saying that as you keep hammering the nutshell it will finally crack. But Mahathir has been far on a flurry of moves to oust Najib and they have all failed leaving him all drained and bankrupt of further ideas as to how to get rid of Najib. The fact now emerges that only a person who is untainted by corruption, atrocities and wrongdoings is the person who can be in a position to evict Najib from the chair of prime minister.

This is why, while Najib is a heavy political liability to UMNO, Mahathir himself is a heavy liability on the opposition coalition. In the process like the Malay proverb says: “Gajah sama gajah berjuang, pelanduk mati di tengah-tengah” or the elephant fights with the elephant but it is the innocent deer caught in the middle of them that dies.

And this is very true of what is happening in this country now. Ordinary Malaysians are beginning to suffer unbearably and their plight and suffering is becoming more and more as the days go by. The cost, the human condition in this country is so pathetic and bad now that the country has most certainly regressed terribly on all fronts. There is no need to say anything further on this issue as every Malaysian should understand this statement.

The real culprit

A political leader or prime minister like Najib will not have emerged on the scene in this country if not for Mahathir. This is why the real culprit in the saga of how Malaysia is going downhill is Mahathir. He is the person who through his autocracy has evolved in this country to Najib’s kleptocracy. It was Mahathir who sowed the seeds of the implosion that is taking place in this country right now.

This is the reason why the people of this country need to get rid of these two political leaders and others who are of the same vein. There are now so many rotten apples in the barrel of Malaysian politicians that there needs to be a major overhaul of who gets the right to be leaders in this country. This is why there is such a stark difference in how Malaysia and Singapore evolved.

While Malaysia and Singapore set off at the same time, on going their separate ways, look how Singapore has become a First World nation and how Malaysia still in many ways is like a Third World nation. Perhaps its time for those aspiring to venture into politics in this country to look across the Causeway to the island-republic of Singapore to get some clues, ideas and inspiration on how to actually go about administering a multi-racial nation successfully.

Christopher Fernandez

– MAILBAG