YOURSAY | 'So despite being authoritarian in the past, what matters is now and the future.'

I, dictator

Abasir: The kleptocrat and his co-conspirators in the cabinet have many reasons to be fearful, and this "senile" old man just tops the list. Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad has shown his detractors that age is a mere number.

His mental acuity and acerbic wit even at 93 (aided, of course, by the inbred sycophancy of mediocre Umno ministers) explains why he was able to rule the roost for 22 long years.

Gerard Lourdesamy: This piece is vintage Mahathir. Prime Minister Najib Razak must be worried. Indeed, who says age is a factor in the appointment of the PM?

Mahathir has proven once again that he is as sharp and acerbic as ever.

Goldee: Dr M is a sly old fox. He can't fault the people and the opposition parties for labelling him a dictator then, due to many of the controversial issues. The worst of which was the sacking and humiliation of his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, and his family. It was Dr M's biggest downfall.

That said, the worst thing is, those who had supported Dr M, then, are now the ones condemning him for all the things he had done. Back then, these ministers who are still in the present government were backing Mahathir, and always shouted "sokong" each time Dr M made a decision.

They are now condemning Dr M for all the things they had supported during his premiership. These hypocrites are far worse than the dictator.

Clever Voter: Mahathir at his age has remained witty, yet subtle and straight to the point. At his peak, his outrageous and often controversial opinions were his way of getting attention.

He had sincerely wanted to raise the living standards of the Malays, who should be grateful. He did succeed in producing a number of top-notched corporate and government leaders, but with a huge price and the opportunity costs were immeasurable.

Mahathir, despite being labelled as dictator, is only a pale shadow to modern dictators, from Italy's Benito Mussolini, Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin and Chile's Augusto Pinochet to Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Mahathir certainly did not throw anyone into a volcano or assault the bride at a wedding.

Mahathir had upset many who haven't forgiven him. Intellectually, he was way above others, but if only he had surrounded himself with a more diverse team, and more importantly, if only he had locked the safes so they wouldn't have been so easy for others to gain quick access.

History will judge his final attempt to undo his legacy.

JusticeNow!: Sabahans have nothing to thank Dr M for. One million "illegal" citizens and the intentionally re-engineered demographics of Sabah is his legacy. His Biro Tatanegara (BTN) has produced a generation of people who now depend on Umno to survive.

These undemocratic and dictatorial legacies, including the limitations imposed on judicial power, cannot be easily undone.

Anonymous 2020841435418535: Dr M, the sacking of top judges and replacing them with lower level judges who were your cronies removed the independence of Malaysia's courts.

The restructuring of the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Finance Ministry to report to the PM also removed any form of check-and-balance a healthy democracy should have.

The only reason Najib can do what he is doing now is all thanks to you.

Not to mention, the dumbing down of our education system by your statement on wanting “more graduates”, which caused your stupid but loyal ministers to lower the bar at local universities, so we now get “graduates” with no value.

Of course, it wasn't your fault. Nothing ever is, is it?

Quigonbond: Nice try, Dr M. You did have authoritarian tendencies and there's not going to be any whitewashing that.

But Malaysians are smart enough to know you also brought good things to the nation, like our rapid development, and now, being out of power and seeing the other side of the fence, you hopefully value the importance of democratic institutions and democracy itself.

So despite being authoritarian in the past, what matters is now and the future. Live long and prosper!

Anonymous 728021502366367: Mahathir, in the eyes of many people, you were a dictator in some ways. But then again, to err is human.

Your most profound legacy yet is if you can help bring down MO1 (Malaysian Official 1) and help reform the government. If so, you will be best remembered more for doing good than evil.

Zuraida: It doesn't matter now who Harapan's PM is

Just A Malaysian: PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin, you are partly right. It should not matter too much who is the PM. In a matured democracy, your job is to ensure the PM does not accrue absolute power, and that he or she stays within the agreed Pakatan Harapan goals for the country.

Your job is to provide checks and balances to any future PM, and not just be a "yes person" and treat the PM like a feudal lord or demigod. Your job is to have the courage to criticise and stand up against any excesses, even those of the PM you choose.

Yes, Zuraida, it does not matter who is the PM.

Sinner: That’s the correct position to take, Zuraida. After all, you can name me your choice of PM, and I will give you 20 big reasons why he is not the best choice.

Wg321: Zuraida is now doing damage control to protect her reputation. She claimed that she did not call Mahathir "mahazalim" and "mahafiraun", but she did call him a recycled candidate. This was picked up by Umno minister Azalina Othman to attack Mahathir as Harapan's PM candidate.

It is very obvious Zuraida is not a team player in PKR.

Tekad: While most opposition leaders want to win the general election badly, people like Zuraida want to play politics to serve her personal interests and that of her boss.

PKR will be weaker with ambitious leaders who cannot abide by a majority decision. The danger to Harapan is having leaders like that within the component parties.

RedHero: I am baffled by the level of intellect and strategic thinking by many of the PKR leaders, including Zuraida. Don't they realise that without their leader Anwar, nobody comes close to Dr M, not even their president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail or deputy Azmin Ali?

Even Anwar cannot make inroads into the rural areas and Felda like Mahathir can. So this is the best solution for now.

Mahathir will not be PM for long, and will hand over the reins to a younger PM in due time. So stop all this nonsense, PKR leaders, and get down to work.

Fair Play: So finally, you have come to terms with the reality of realpolitik. Without Dr M, do you think Harapan can really take over Putrajaya?

Azmin is still a boy when it comes to the reality of fighting Umno, and more importantly, in winning the GE.

LCCTs: Zuraida, you have the right idea. Anyone can be PM now, but he will never have absolute power as compared to what they have in the current BN structure.

The opposition coalition may be untested or possibly fractured, but in many ways, this could turn out for the better as compared to BN now.

Harapan should move on to focus on winning Putrajaya, and not be counting its chickens before the eggs hatch.

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