Politics And Principles Cannot Go Together

 

The answer to all that is because this is powerplay, a game of thrones, where everything goes and principles have no place, a move where the end justifies the means, a zero-sum game where winner takes all and loser loses all, where you either win or die if you lose.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

If you look at the comments on the internet and in the social media, you can see that most Malaysians do not really understand the facts of life. Politics and principles are not compatible. Politics and principles cannot go together. And those who talk about principles in politics should stop talking about politics. That’s like talking about virginity in prostitution.

Politics is about power. And to get power you must win at all costs. Politics is a zero-sum game. Winner takes all, loser loses all. There is no in-between or second prize. Hence you must make sure you win by hook or by crook. The end justifies the means (matlamat menghalalkan cara).

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad knew this — and that is why he managed to stay as prime minister for 22 years.

Mahathir knew he must first get himself crowned as a Malay Hero or Wira Melayu. And that was why he turned into an ultra-Malay and wrote his anti-Chinese book, ‘The Malay Dilemma’.

But Mahathir is not anti-Chinese. When he was PM, Mahathir made many Chinese into millionaires and many millionaires into billionaires. Whether they are his proxies, nominees or trustees is immaterial.

After ousting Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1970, he ousted Tun Hussein Onn in 1981 and took over as prime minister. He then ousted Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009 and ousted Najib Tun Razak in 2018. When Anwar threatened to oust him in 2020, Mahathir ousted himself and allowed Muhyiddin Yassin to take over.

What is Mahathir’s objective in doing all this? Simple! Power! This is all a game of thrones or powerplay. You either grab power, or you be behind the person who grabs power — what can be called power by proxy. And to do this, principles have no place in this game of thrones or powerplay.

People ask me why I supported Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 if I knew he was guilty of sodomy? Why did I support Mahathir in 2006 when he wanted to oust Abdullah Badawi if I knew he had robbed Malaysian taxpayers of RM100 billion? Why did I support Najib Tun Razak in 2015 if I knew he was involved in the 1MDB scandal?

The answer to all that is because this is powerplay, a game of thrones, where everything goes and principles have no place, a move where the end justifies the means, a zero-sum game where winner takes all and loser loses all, where you either win or die if you lose.