Author and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks of a house divided in one of the chapters in his recently published memoir. He is opening up old wounds when the time now is of reconciliation.
The memoir indirectly serves to elevate the status of Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah since Mahathir acknowledges he is prime minister material.
“He could have been if he ( Razaleigh) was patient,” notes Mahathir.
How can we know what went on or what motivated people who were close comrades to go against one another?
Certainly we have to listen to both sides. In his memoirs Mahathir tells his side of the story.
Razaleigh may not be ready to write his memoir yet, but there are others who dispute what Mahathir has said.
If Mahathir continues to blame Razaleigh for all the ills that are setting upon Umno now, Razaleigh may have justifiable reasons to abandon Umno once more.
If he does that then he is simply emulating Mahathir. For the record, Mahathir was expelled from Umno once.
Mahathir then went on to destroy the Umno he was expelled from.
He formed a new Umno. Two or three years after forming the new Umno, Mahathir resigned.
And if I interpret such actions as a person wanting the cake and eating it- I can’t be faulted.
Distorted politics
Mahathir shifts the goal posts as many times as he want. Some people may even describe Mahathir as a selfish person.
He has done it according to his favorite song – I did it my way.
If more than 10,000 people bought the book in the first few days, I agree that Mahathir is an immensely popular person. I am also a fan of Mahathir.
But that does not mean that everyone has to take what Mahathir tells as absolute truths.
I am not going to dispute his views on family, values, childhood, etc. It’s the politics that Mahathir speaks of that are open to debate.
Umno politics is not a story that ONLY Mahathir can tell. Since Umno’s story and history is shared by all, everyone else deserves space to tell their version.
And their version may not conform to what Mahathir has said in his memoirs. But then this is to be expected.
The Razaleigh route
There are so many chapters written by Mahathir which I find pleasant and agreeable.
But I don’t accept his version on some of the politics that he raised.
This disagreement does not however diminish our reverence to Mahathir and to the many path breaking ideas that he introduced into Malaysia.
Chief among these ideas must be a sense of supreme confidence to chart the future based on our abilities. He did indeed make Malaysians proud to be Malaysian citizens.
But his rendition of Umno politics is a different matter.
Take for example the part where Mahathir said his salvation came from Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who overlooked his behavior.
We find this to be an oversimplified version and self-serving.
Yes, he became a minister because Razak appointed him. But Mahathir wasn’t in Razak’s radar in the first place.
The late Harun Idris played a pivotal role in exposing the good doctor to Razak.
And Mahathir did not mention that his entry into Razak’s radar screen was also facilitated by Razaleigh.
Self-described troublemaker
Mahathir would hang around in Razaleigh’s office at BBMB (Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad) on most occasions when he travelled from Alor Star to KL.
Razaleigh would then bring Mahathir into Razak’s sight.
So, I would say that Mahathir’s claim that Razak was his mentor isn’t quite whole – it was Razaleigh who was Razak’s protégé in more ways than Mahathir.
In the book, Harun’s role was overshadowed by Mahathir’s eagerness to point out the fact that Harun Idris and his sons helped Razaleigh to contest against him.
Surely, such defiance would jolt the minds of readers to question as to why friends like Harun Idris and Razaleigh, who were once jointly instrumental in rescuing Mahathir from political wilderness, would then stand opposed to Mahathir?
Mahathir sees no wrong in describing himself as a rebel and a troublemaker but finds it almost blasphemous when people rebel against him and played troublemaker to him.
I am conscious that this is a Mahathir memoir, a personalised one with much nuances.
Mahathir has every right to state the facts and the stories as he sees fit.
It therefore incorporates his own subjective views and his understanding and the version of a particular story he wants to put across.
Mould breaker
When his version and his personalised account are at odds with what we, who deserve to enjoy the same rights and privileges as Mahathir has, we have every right to offer a counter narration.
Isn’t this what democracy is all about? The presentation of choices to people?
I take it as a duty to read the book in preparing to disagree. His chapter 1 is also an uplifting narration.
That a commoner can eventually become a prime minister in itself has symbolic significance.
As pointed out by Mahathir himself, all previous PMs came from the elite of society – Tengku Abdul Rahman was a prince, Razak was a chieftain from Pahang, Hussein Onn came from Johor’s elite family with close links with Johor Royalty.
I can find no fault when Mahathir says – “but I broke the mould and paved the way for them to head the government of Malaysia.
“An ordinary person can become a PM of Malaysia – but here is where I must add, that the ordinary person must distinguish himself in terms of being able to contribute something.”
Mahathir has indeed broken the mould to present us, what I have written in several articles before and on many occasions – that the selection of a person to high office is no longer because of inherited status, no longer as a result of ascriptive attributes.
Anyone then can become a PM not because of who they are but because of what he can do. What he can become is no longer restricted by social stratification.
That is indeed uplifting.
This is an excerpt of a commentary which first appeared on the writer’s sakmongkolak47 blogsite.
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