YOURSAY | ‘Mahathir is back. Back to his old self.’

Yoursay: Mahathir takes a sarcastic swipe at Lynas, khat critics

Gerard Lourdesamy: The prime minister works on the basis of primus inter pares, first among equals, in the cabinet. Not the PM being superior to or more equal than other members of the cabinet.

Cabinet decisions must be made through consensus or by a majority vote where there is no consensus. Consultation is very important on key policy decisions.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad is behaving like a one-man show. He makes up his mind, then issues a statement, and after that expects the cabinet to toe his line. This is neither fair to the rest of the cabinet nor good governance.

Lynas may be good for the economy but not for the environment and public health. Why doesn't Western Australia want to take back the waste if it is so safe as claimed by Lynas?

With regard to khat, why is it so important or urgent now when the public education system is in shambles? Instead of teaching more in English and introducing relevant subjects to prepare us for the Industrial Revolution 4.0, we are still stuck in the racial rhetoric of the 1960s.

As for controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik, is he a national icon or symbol of unity? He is a permanent resident with Saudi citizenship. Why is Zakir's presence so important to the Malays/Muslims in the country when he is not a Malay, and cannot speak Malay?

Aren't there enough Muslim preachers out there who can do a better job at dakwah activities compared to Zakir? Why must a wanted fugitive and alleged money launderer be regarded as the saviour of Islam here?

Being sarcastic is not going to improve the economy and the political and social situation in the country.

JW: As a leader in a society that aspires to be diverse and democratic, Mahathir should be more consultative and open to different ideas.

That means he has to win the hearts and minds of others. It is when you don't care to listen to others that you become a problem in a society that aspires to be diverse and democratic.

It’s high time that Mahathir got rid of his stubborn, backward thinking. A democracy is not based on just what he feels, likes and says. It is also bringing all that to the relevant stakeholders and making as strong a case of it as possible. Why should he have a problem with that?

It is not just DAP leader Ronnie Liu. Many others are thinking the same as Liu. It is thus unbecoming of Mahathir, as a democratic leader, to take this sarcastic swipe at a member of a party in the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Hmmmmmmmm: To think that I shed tears when Harapan defeated BN in the last election. I thought Mahathir was going to redeem himself by undoing all his past mistakes and lead us back on the right path.

It never crossed my mind that he still thought of himself as an eagle among the pipits (to borrow a phrase).

Shanmugam Subrayan: Perhaps we should have the recordings of his election campaign speeches replayed to jolt his memory.

To him, nobody is equal to his status and intellect. He seems to have forgotten about his pledge to make collective decisions after consulting all parties.

Appum: Mahathir, it looks like your despotic nature and style from Umno days are showing again. This is Harapan and not Umno-BN. You are leading a coalition of a different nature and style.

DAP leader Charles Santiago is bold enough to say what many on the ground are feeling.

You can take yourself out of Umno, but you have not taken Umno out of you. You condemn Umno and PAS for playing up race and religion, but you show the same kind of behaviour.

Anonymous_1527925538: Mahathir is wrong when he says foreign investors will not come if we terminate Lynas.

Just as foreign investors understand that we needed to renegotiate the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project because of costs, they would also understand that we would need to terminate Lynas because of the health risks it posed to our citizens.

If there was any leak of the accumulating radioactive toxic wastes into our groundwater, rivers or seas, we would have an environmental disaster that could cost us many more times the investment benefits we get from Lynas.

Vent: Mahathir should be reminded that he is prime minister again only because of the largesse of the non-Malays who helped sweep away the previous regime.

But true to his previous form, he is calling all the shots now that he is securely ensconced because he has managed to whip up sufficient support for a Malay base through the Islamist Ministry of Education's introduction of khat, and the harbouring of Zakir.

Cocking a snook at Liu and the principled Santiago is pitiable, to say the least.

Nicholas Lim: All Santiago said was for the decisions to be brought up for discussion with the leadership council, and not just be dictated by the head of the executive.

It should be a group effort in consultation with partners. Isn't that what a partnership is supposed to be?

Fair Play: At the rate Mahathir is digging his heels in, he would lose the plot and become irrelevant sooner rather than later.

He doesn’t realise, notwithstanding his long years in politics, that he cannot just take on the rakyat and expect to win all the time.

I don’t think Mahathir needs to consult Liu or Santiago, but certainly he needs to appease the rakyat.

Apanakdikato: Mahathir has answered his own question. He has always asked why his race and Islamic civilisation have been left behind. The answer is a lack of wisdom. Although he is a nonagenarian, wisdom does not commensurate with one's age and experience.

Much hope had been placed on his leadership since the Harapan government took over the helm of the country for a ‘New Malaysia’.

One by one, the promises spelt out in the Harapan manifesto have been demolished, not by the opposition parties but by Harapan itself.

Mahathir has failed to rally the component parties within Harapan to a common cause. Rather, he has pursued his own hidden agenda and "unfinished business."

His favouritism towards certain ministers who have proven themselves to be incompetent, with questionable morality and integrity, reflects on his short-sightedness.

The education standard in the country is in shambles, and the solution is irrelevant policies such as black shoes and khat.

The country's economy is in dire straits with the value of the ringgit depreciating to a worrying level, but there is no clear direction in the economic policies and programmes.

Increasingly, we see racial and religious topics being played up by elements within Harapan, not just the opposition, and this includes Mahathir himself. Harapan does not need the opposition to kill them as they are doing a great job themselves.

There is no difference between BN and Harapan. Why should there be when Harapan, through Bersatu, has become the recycling centre of Umno politicians?

The future of Malaysia will be bleak unless there is a new leadership which has the wisdom and political will to steer the country away from racial/religious polemics and focus on things that really matter.

BRoch: Dr M is back. Back to his old self.

The only reason Umno and PAS are backing him is because they know, with him leading Harapan, the ruling coalition will lose GE15.

Rehda: Fair trial is an excuse used by Jho Low to not face our courts. Zakir is using the same excuse (not to go back to face Indian courts).

Do you not think it's a mere excuse to run away from justice? 

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