Dr M was no angel, but are we better off today?

By TK Chua

Dr Mahathir Mohamad should stop denying and stop apologising. Some of the mistakes he made in the past were blatantly clear, so it is useless to deny them.

Apologies will make those who were wronged feel better but they will not make the situation in the country better.

At his age, I think very few of us doubt his determination and resolve. It is simply unfathomable that he wants to be prime minister again at 93 years old and after serving 22 years before that. For many younger than him, we are not even sure we can get up the next morning.

Some said he is doing all this for his son’s sake but we have no way of knowing for sure. But this much I can postulate: I think it is much easier for his son to become the PM if Mahathir had chosen to remain in Umno rather than out of it.

I think it would have been much easier if he had behaved like the three wise monkeys rather than become Umno’s most vocal “tormentor”. It would also have been much easier to “promote” his son when he was in power; certainly not after more than a decade out of power.

For us Malaysians, it is really a choice — who can redeem and bring forward this country with less baloney.

Many of us lived through Mahathir’s era. We know what he did. We know his shortcomings as well as his accomplishments. Many of us have also seen how his successors performed, since 2003 in fact.

We have the benefit of sufficient time to compare and contrast Mahathir’s era with that of his successors.

Technically, over time, our life should have become better. We have the benefit of economic growth and accumulated savings. Over time, infrastructure and national capital stocks too should have become bigger.

Rightly, we should be asking many questions today.

Is our life getting better? We earn more in nominal terms, but do we get to buy more? Is home ownership becoming easier or more difficult?

We pay more taxes but do we get to enjoy more benefits? What about the environment; is it getting better or worse?

We are very near to 2020. Are we achieving 50% of what we envisaged when the vision was first mooted?

Mahathir had his tolls, independent power producers (IPPs), Proton, Internal Security Act (ISA), a dictatorial tendency and favourite cronies. Some of these may have been necessary, but he could have managed much better.

Today, in what ways are we better off? Are we a more liberal society? Is it really true ISA and emergency rule are no longer with us in spirit and intent?

Are we more prudent, more effective and less “lopsided” when dealing with our national resources — from government-owned land, oil and gas, forests and sand. What about tax revenue, granting of permits, licences and concessions?

Mahathir was no angel when in power. But I keep asking myself why is he doing all this today. What really motivates him?

Is he craving to seek and enjoy power again? Is he remorseful for what he did and now trying to make good the wrong he committed?

Is he concerned with the future of this country or is he concerned with his son’s future?

Is he doing all this for fame or at the risk of being ridiculed?

I think all of us have our own answers to these questions.

TK Chua is an FMT reader.