YOURSAY | ‘A lanun (pirate) will always be a lanun, whether in Bersatu or any other party.’

Dr M: Some in Bersatu willing to work with thieves for benefits

Vijay47: The sad truth, disputed Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is that you are so right when you say that members of your party are willing to work with thieves for their own benefit.

However, this is not only in Bersatu, but it is a sickness even more pervasive than Covid-19.

We can find a similar illness in Umno and PAS, who like your Bersatu, preach ad nauseam about how unflinching they are in defending race and religion. Worse, they experience no shame in inviting recognised bandits to again lead them forth to damnation they seem to relish.

But perhaps in your passion to condemn, you should also pause to examine your own role in this contemptible greed for power and wealth. Or have you, like the Malays you so easily sneer at, also sudah lupa (forgotten)?

To bolster up your Bersatu, the smallest and weakest link in Pakatan Harapan, you were not averse to offering a warm welcome to similar dregs – crooks who deservedly should have been sent to Sungai Buloh found sanctuary in Bersatu.

Today we have, no thanks to your missed machinations, a raced-based government that does not hesitate to indulge in bare-faced abuse of authority to offer ministerial positions and plumb posts in government-linked companies (GLCs) to lure and tempt other opportunists to board the gravy train. Is this also due to scheming by the non-Malays and DAP?

If the present government’s legitimacy remains questionable, it is fully attributable to all that you did to deny pledges and destroy the manifesto upon which we supported you to victory.

We are now an avalanche hurtling deep into the abyss and it does not matter that the reins are held by a quavering Muhyiddin Yassin. When we hit rock bottom, we will not lupa that this too was wrought by Mahathir Mohamad.

Kural: Mahathir, it’s both sad and quite telling to see a former long-standing prime minister moan over an absence of ethical and moral grounding of politicians he makes references to.

An old truism states quite objectively that “there is no honour amongst thieves”. And under this form of values, it is not surprising when a spoils culture of polity enables deviant behaviour that is totally at variance with moral values, hard work and just rewards notions of ordinary citizens.

How we got into this form of lowlife behavioural habits is the fundamental question that has to be addressed by him as a senior statesman and society at large before such a culture of corruption engulfs primary institutions of governance, including the judiciary and civil services.

It must be troubling to many hardworking decent Malaysians why a young nation with so much promise is already on the decline as a viable and vibrant democracy.

Can race and religion become a negative instrument in the hands of charlatan politicians? One wonders.

Amateur: Umno and Bersatu have the same political ideology which places priority in descending order - race, religion and nation.

Recently, before a Kedah Bersatu assemblyperson switched camps, he saw Mahathir who reminded him to uphold the long-held priorities. Consequently, he abandoned Harapan for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.

The clear distinction is that Harapan is a multiracial coalition while PN is a Malay coalition. Thus, Mahathir can't blame people for supporting the return of kleptocracy and bountiful rewards.

The eventual damage to the nation, being the last priority, is of negligible importance.

Anonymous_90651587810205590: Currently, there is no difference between Bersatu and Umno. I am still amazed that all Harapan parties worked in unison to overthrow a corrupt government.

Now, however, the same people who fought Umno are now working with Umno once they have high positions. We no longer know what they are fighting for. The Umno these politicians hate is now their friend once again. Opposing corruption is no longer important, only their positions and their power.

If Malaysia continues to be ruled by these people, the country will be destroyed.

Anonymous_13671585904196276: It is a case of “monkey see, monkey do”. The leader, being you, Mahathir, led the way.

Others are just following your footsteps when you didn’t fulfil the promises in your election manifesto, especially the transfer of power to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

Mahathir, didn’t you say the manifesto cannot be fulfilled in full? So, you are just like the pot calling the kettle black.

Let us reverse the scenario. Suppose many Umno and PAS leaders seek to hop parties and join Bersatu, would you accept them to remain in power?

Anonymous_2d09ced0: Indeed, Mahathir created the problem when he strongly recruited former Umno MPs and leaders to join Bersatu after GE14 so as to strengthen his party within Harapan.

Now, you complain when they turn against you. You can’t have it both ways.

Shenandoah: Mahathir, if you want to change for the better, why did you form another party in the mould of Umno? You cannot get away from race, that's your problem.

The nation’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman would be turning in his grave. So, before meeting him, kindly fight racism and champion unity instead.

As for Muhyiddin, he will not be around much longer but sadly, he effectively unravelled the shaky Harapan coalition. Hope you can outlast him to unravel his “backdoor” government.

Fairmind: Umno will always be Umno. A lanun (pirate) will always be a lanun. Wherever they are, be they be in Bersatu or any other party, they remain the same and carry with them the same traits - lanun without principles.

It's just a matter of which degree they carry the Umno DNA.

Kawak: It is mind-boggling. The very politicians who chanted "demi untuk Islam, bangsa dan Negara" (for Islam, race and country) are the very people who are overwhelmed with greed to destroy the country.

This includes PAS, a supposedly an Islamic party that is in cahoots with thieves and kleptocrats to run the country.

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