YOURSAY | For Dr M, it is always 'my way' or the highway

 

YOURSAY | 'He will fire anyone who criticises him or is smarter than him.'

Liew's new book reveals Dr M wanted to sack Yeo Bee Yin

Mano: There were many a time I have felt frustrated that DAP had become MCA 2.0 in the Pakatan Harapan government.

It also occurred to me what would have been the scenario if DAP stood very firmly on their principles. Knowing Dr Mahathir Mohamad, that stand may be playing into his hands.

He may take the opportunity, God-sent, to appear ultra-Malay and play to his Malay gallery by booting DAP out. He may then fulfil his mission of having a unity government.

In that event, most of us would have condemned DAP for not toeing the line and not finishing the term and blamed DAP for causing a premature collapse of the government.

What most of us hazard - and it is increasingly clear - is that Mahathir seems not to have any intention for Harapan to serve the full term, lest Malaysians, including the Malays, get to see the dedication, honesty and patriotism of the ‘kafir’ DAP working their butts out for all Malaysians.

If the Malays see that, it may become difficult to raise the flags of race and religion to dumb the Malays down.

I somehow feel it was a very challenging and strenuous time for DAP and its leaders. What they were forced to be under the Harapan government is not the essence of DAP, neither was it the essence of Harapan nor the spirit of reformasi.

Perhaps DAP thought that over a period of time together, things will change, and the old maverick will change too and go along with them. The same scenario was probably also the situation for PKR and Amanah.

PKR leaders Nurul Izzah Anwar and Rafizi Ramli were probably the ones who could see that the old man would not change and left the scene quietly, without wanting to be seen as the cause of toppling the government.

It was all because we, the rakyat, were so ecstatic and blinded post-GE14 to see things as they were. This was exactly what Rafizi warned us in a video pre-GE14. All is history now.

Apa Nama: When a leader does not have a vision for the long-term welfare of a nation and its next generation (Mahathir's Vision 2020 is a scam as far as I am concerned) and gets carried away with the dollar sign, this is what happens.

This ultra-Malay called Mahathir is actually not a smart fellow. He brought great havoc to our country, the institutions and the civil service. All of which still have the stains and scars left behind by him.

As I have often mentioned, he is always a menace and nuisance to Malaysia. I am not surprised that he will sack anyone who crosses his way because his personal song is Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Yeoh Bee Yin was the brightest and one of the most intelligent ministers of the environment we ever had.

Mahathir does not favour intelligent and independent thinking ministers. They will show up the others from his party. Mahathir has always been that way, and that is how he operates.

This policy has seeped into the civil service during his 22 years as PM. Any civil servant that shows an iota of intelligence is bypassed because it will show up those who have been promoted above him or her. Only obsequious and compliant individuals will be promoted to their level of incompetence.

Today, we are reaping what Mahathir has institutionalised with civil servants who cannot think out of the box unless they have been given a political directive. Our public service sector is in a shambolic situation where long queues are the norm and not an exception. That will be Mahathir’s lasting legacy.

Siti Baldishah: Of course, Yeo should be sacked. One of the first things she did upon her ministerial appointment was to marry a figure connected to IOI Properties. Isn’t that a conflict of interest?

There was plenty of the same during Harapan’s time, and it hasn’t improved under Perikatan Nasional. Only the rakyat are screwed over in the end.

BrownFalcon4984: @Siti Baldishah, a minister marrying a businessperson does not mean there’s a conflict of interest so long as the minister does not take part in decisions relating to the type of business the husband is doing.

Please don’t comment about conflict of interest when you don’t understand the concept.

Milshah: I think it is normal to have discussions and then finally reach an outcome. Mahathir may have his reasons to remove Yeo. But he did discuss with DAP leaders Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang before deciding not to remove her.

The important thing is there was a discussion and an outcome reached based on the discussion.

Anon090536: @Milshah. Discuss sacking someone good and valuable to the country? Just because the person is doing a great job? Or because Yeo had taken the shine from him?

What kind of discussion is that? In fact, that discussion should never have even been considered in the first place.

Did he even discuss his useless Perak menteri besar when the other colleagues complained? He is just a vindictive old man, if you do not mind me saying.

Instead of choosing a first-class cabinet to bring Malaysia out of its doldrums, he chose to be racist and was up to his old habits of running the country.

He had such a wide talent pool in DAP to choose from. This is the reason why he has failed as a good leader and should never be a PM ever again.

IndigoTrout2522: As more books are published - first by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, now by DAP leader Liew Chin Tong - more is being revealed about Mahathir.

His record is comparable to Donald Trump and shows that he would fire anyone who does not listen to him or criticise him or is smarter and stronger than him.

Yeo certainly is not the first. He wanted to fire Thomas too. I am wondering why Guan Eng, Kit Siang and others are still courting him and defending him.

They should stop trusting him. The rakyat do not trust him. It’s time to ignore him and move on. - Mkini