Mahathir in old age: bitter, with a need for chaos. Let’s ignore him

 

Just when we thought things were getting a tad boring – mundane rumours of plans to topple the government here, a vicious never-ending war there, you know, the same old stuff – along comes Dr Mahathir Mohamad to hijack the news cycle.

Nothing very new in that. The good doctor has a habit of dropping a news grenade here or there to liven things up. If you think the content of his latest news grenade is also nothing new – well, you’re absolutely right too!

This time, he lobbed a few incendiary devices towards fellow Malaysians with Indian ancestry, creating a few blazes here and there, with some of them still burning.

You’d think he was trying to outdo our current prime minister in offending Malaysian Indians! Our PMX put his own foot in his mouth recently when he mentioned the K word in reference to Indians, and created a major uproar that he later had to apologise for.

Perhaps this game of “who can offend Malaysian Indians more” is only open to PMs and ex-PMs. The rule for them seems to be – whatever you can do, I can do worse!

For the record, Mahathir accused Malaysian Indians of being disloyal to Malaysia, pointing to what he sees as their lack of assimilation as evidence. Our fellow citizens naturally took umbrage and lobbed a few choice words in Mahathir’s way.

The irony that Mahathir has Indian ancestry isn’t lost to many, except perhaps to Mahathir himself. Mahathir and irony have been proven not to mix, unlike the way Mahathir and sarcasm are enjoined as what young people call “besties”.

I myself actually have pretty much the same proportion of various bloods as him, mixed with smidgens from Thailand and Indonesia, liberal doses of the same sarcasm genes but with much higher levels of the genes that detect irony and cattle manure. So perhaps I’m the pot that has the right to call the kettle black.

Perhaps in Mahathir’s mind, he has buried his own Indian heritage and has become totally assimilated into Malay culture. If he’s forgotten that part of his past, you must remember what he’s often said about Malays – that we easily forget.

In an effort to make a connection between Mahathir and his many explosive utterances, I reflect on something I read recently which sought to explain the extreme polarisation in the world today, and how this polarisation grew and was propagated.

Polarisation has often been aided and abetted by conspiracy theories, and much of it is the work of politicians because polarisation benefits them, though there’s much also done by assorted bad actors enabled and amplified by social media.

But there has to be a rational, scientific explanation for why some people actually get into the position of willingly and actively supporting or even propagating such polarisation.

An interesting explanation is this – that built into some people is the psychological need for chaos; just as some people need love and want to see things grow, a small minority may actually prefer to see things get destroyed.

Or as a famous scientific paper published recently says “ Some People Just Want to Watch the World Burn”!

In extreme cases, there’s an utter lack of morality and empathy. There are people for whom others not of their own chosen tribes don’t matter. Even calamities or tragedies that befall these “outsiders” fail to evoke any pity or sympathy.

Just remember this fact when you think about the various reactions, from both sides, on some of the conflicts afflicting the world. If you had ever gasped at how seemingly uncaring some people are, well, there’s a possible explanation.

Mahathir is not a psychotic anti-social person, but he certainly has many issues about needing high significance and meaning in his life – what we often call ego. He certainly had these when he was in the public eye, and especially when he was in powerful positions such as prime minister.

But he’s no longer there, in some cases having been ignominiously and embarrassingly kicked out. That must hurt, and the bitterness shows. Advancing age doesn’t help, forever reminding him that his moment has passed forever.

So, together with his Indian genes, it’s quite certain that he also has the “need for chaos” genes. In his old days, he’s giving these chaos genes a free run. In some ways, perhaps they’re giving him some relevance and meaning all over again.

At what cost you may ask? Certainly, at the cost of his own legacy, whatever that’s left of it. Even his most fervent admirers now cannot describe his life without at some point having a need to include a “but…” in their glowing testimony.

Expect that “but…” to be followed by a growing litany of instances where the multiple chips on Mahathir’s shoulders have combined with his “need for chaos” genes to give us the Mahathir of today: a bitter old man throwing chaos bombs left right and centre.

Expect this particular episode to pass away at some point, but expect to hear other news bombs that he’ll be throwing around. Tough and unfair as it may seem, let’s counter him instead with the most powerful gene we have – the “ignore” gene. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.