COMMENT | For a moment, I thought Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it in jest.

However, after reading the story a few times, a clearer picture emerged.

The prime minister was serious when he told the Financial Times that "at the moment Mahathir Mohamad remains the only person able to run Malaysia.”

He did qualify his response with a ‘maybe’ in replying to a question from the journalist.

My immediate reaction: even if the line was made in jest, I don’t find any humour in it. It was a statement of very bad taste.

Haven’t we noticed that of late, Dr Mahathir has repeatedly indulged in self-glorification? This latest - ‘the only person able to run Malaysia’ - is possibly one of the worst self-praise statements coming direct from the prime minister’s mouth...