I refer to the Malaysiakini article An interesting, albeit rhetoric article

I am writing to deplore Live and Learn on his/her uninspiring and shallow-minded writing. I am also writing to congratulate Helen Ang on not only her excellent writing, but her patriotism, sense of national pride, expressive ability and thought-provoking article.

However, I write mostly for the rebuttal of the silly rationale of some of the main points of the former's work. Shall we take a look?

So Helen, and the many others, who write really well, must be privileged enough to have received an overseas education? Most likely from a top university in the west? Sir, I ask you to elaborate on your point further, because the only thing I can make of your rhetoric here is the unfounded assumption that excellent writing cannot originate from within a Malaysian learning experience.

There seems to also be an implied assumption, that a western-educated mind is somehow more likely to espouse simplistic and perfectionistic views of the world. Sir, I ask you to consider the fact that whether you like it or not, all education systems in the world, one way or another, have been influenced by Western thought.

That includes Malaysia - did you really think that Malaysians came up with their education system all by themselves without input from the rest of the world? On the contrary, we inherited it from the British.

In fact, many of the basic principles with which Malaysians are all too happy to live with originate from the West. Democracy, for example, is a Western concept. And in a way you are right, because a true democracy, that espouses a governmental system which truly and fully represents the people, is an ideal and somewhat unrealistic way of viewing government which is never fully achieved. But that doesn't stop us from embracing it, though, does it?

However, the above rebutted rhetoric was only the introduction of that uninspiring article. Let's move on to our dear Dr Mahathir.

So our elders apparently have been teaching us to not look at the bad in people, but the good as well. That is sound advice, though I wonder who these ‘elders’ are. Could Dr Mahathir be one? Dr Mahathir, who undeniably put up with and led an administration rife with corruption (quantity doesn't matter here, really), who fired, detained, humiliated and exiled a leader who was suspected and deemed guilty of corruption and of being a sodomite.

Was Dr Mahathir giving Anwar Ibrahim the benefit of the doubt then - firing him, stripping him of his power, ending his then political career based on then-unfounded and then-uncharged suspicions? Perhaps this teaching doesn't originate from Dr Mahathir after all.

I now read the part of your article that advises us not to take Dr Mahathir’s words at face value. How shall we take them then? Metaphorically? Symbolically? He claims he will not remain in Malaysia if Anwar takes over. Certainly that must mean Malaysia will cease being Malaysia when Anwar does. I wonder how Dr Mahathir would feel, knowing that he has a fan who interprets his words for him.

Again, Sir, do demonstrate your rationale for this interpretation. Perhaps one has been watching The Da Vinci Code , and has come to try and peel the cover of everyday statements to uncover hidden messages just like Robert Langdon. I wonder if there might be an alternative explanation for what Dr Mahathir said though?

Is it at all possible that Dr Mahathir would likely flee, knowing that he has committed untold transgressions towards Anwar and the opposition? Ops Lalang comes to mind - did you think that the opposition was a new phenomenon? Dr Mahathir’s regime has been locking members of the opposition up through the ISA for generations.

Think a little before you come to your conclusions - if Anwar does come into power, do you really think that Dr Mahathir will be spared for all the corruption that he was responsible for during his time in office?

And if you truly believe that Dr Mahathir was a squeaky clean politician who never did anything wrong, then kindly state it. Though, keep in mind that there will be others who would vehemently disagree with you - Anwar, Irene Fernandez, Karpal Singh, etc.

Anybody who understands just a little of human behaviour and emotion would likely conclude that fear is a contributing factor to to Dr Mahathir’s continued attempt to get involved in the political scene, despite his pledge not to when he resigned (it seems that everyone forgets that).

And Dr Mahathir, you do have good reason to fear. If I did half the unjust things that you did while you were in power, I'd be cowering in my boots. You truly are a braver man than me.

On blogging and the Internet, I'd kindly remind Live and Learn that the blogging issue and Cyberjaya are two separate and largely unrelated issues - there is little value in devaluing the critics of Cyberjaya as not espousing the importance of the Internet. Such an argument makes no sense, Sir.

And now comes my favourite part - the definition of a true leader. “A true leader will die believing in what he did for his country.” Sounds nice and rosy, but does it make sense to the topic at hand?

Unless you are equating Dr Mahathir with the likes of an Adolf Hitler. Either way, I fail to see how Dr Mahathir is risking his life at all here. I wonder if Live and Learn has even read a book on leadership, or taken a course in organisational psychology before.

I wonder because I do not see any substance in such a definition of leadership. Oh, don't get me wrong - I do think that Dr Mahathir was a good leader. But just because one speaks one's mind untactfully doesn't make me a good leader (I'm aware of the irony that I'm doing the same here, though I claim to be no leader).

"The guilty keep quiet or plead the innocence, but not Dr Mahathir. He speaks because he is guilty of nothing." What a blunder! Even Dr Mahathir himself admits that he made a huge mistake in appointing Pak Lah as his successor - yet his padawan here is trying to convince us that Dr Mahathir is some saintly and perfect being.

He speaks out because he knows he made mistakes. And he is trying to rectify them from beyond the grave. If you ask me, this is what makes hig blog so interesting to read - it is akin to an attempt of a deceased one trying to affect the mortal world that he is now beyond. And just because one does the best that one can at a given time, that doesn't make us faultless or not liable for the mistakes that we do make.

And if you made a list of the mistakes that Dr Mahathir made, it would be a long list. Not because he was incompetent. But because he was simply a leader. All leaders make mistakes. I think defending Dr Mahathir's credibility by denying his faults and presenting him as a perfect being does an injustice to Dr Mahathir himself.

Other assumptions of Live and Learn that deserve mention is how the controlling of the mainstream media was an implied good thing, Malaysia being a wealthy and prosperous nation during Dr M's tenure, and that it is supporters of the opposition that need a reality check.

Actually, the controlling of the mainstream media is one of the worst things one can do for a democracy. You will see the practice in countries where political instability exists - China, Burma, Thailand, etc. It is a sign that the government is afraid of the people learning certain things - it is a curb to the freedom of rational speech.

Seriously, if a true democracy is your goal, controlling the media more than puts you back a few steps - it's like turning around and walking in the opposite direction. Now, if a dictatorship or totalitarianism is your goal, that's another story.

“Malaysia was wealthy and prosperous during Dr Mahathir's tenure.” Really? Actually, things are not as fantastic as you think. Economically we did advance, that cannot be denied. But don't fool yourself into thinking that we were or are a wealthy and prosperous nation - we still have a long ways to go.

Minimum wages are still ridiculously low. Brain drain is a very real, yet largely ignored problem. Corruption exists in virtually every level of government. The denial of merit-based values has created a generation void of drive and ambition. The disparity between the rich and the poor is still quite large.

Our education system, is frankly, a joke (this coming from someone who has experienced a local and a foreign education system). Racial tensions still abound. Things are okay, but that's about it. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that we're there yet.

I daresay that it is our BN counterparts that need a reality check. The 'divide and rule' methods of BN were inherited from the British. They are outdated and truly irrelevant in an advanced or advancing nation. Race-based politics espouse racism. It simply cannot be denied, because when you look out just for one race of people, it is inevitable that another race will be left out.

Rather, political parties should be based on economic principles instead, as what is practiced in all developed countries in the world. BN might not fade come September 16. But as time advances, it will become less and less relevant - that is the reality.

The days when people just want to hear that their race is being looked after is fading away. What people value today is justice, fairness, and economic aid to all who are poor. That is where a true democracy lies - when everyone is represented equally. The stamping out of racism is inevitable in any developing country that embraces democracy - for us, it is the next step.

So no, the show that is 'Democracy and Malaysia' is not over. It has only begun.