YOURSAY | ‘The memoir is yet another exposé of the failures of Malay leaders.’

In new memoir, ex-AG reveals Dr M wanted him out after Malay backlash

6th Generation Immigrant: The revelation that Dr Mahathir Mohamad asked Tommy Thomas to resign before he could even report to work at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, showed that Thomas, as expected, was a principled man.

Despite being willing to comply, he nevertheless served as attorney-general for 20 months and resigned immediately when Mahathir suddenly threw in the towel as Pakatan Harapan's nominated prime minister. He was adamant in wanting to do things right for the nation.

Thomas' revelation has actually revealed more of Mahathir as being selfish and wishy-washy whenever the Malay racial card is used. Simply put, it only confirms that Mahathir is singular in his purpose and his words are never gospel. Thank you, Thomas.

Vijay47: The one part of this shocking news that is confusing and just doesn’t add up is the fact that despite Mahathir’s demand that Thomas resign his one-day tenure as the attorney-general, Thomas stayed on at his post.

He was compelled to finally step down only when Mahathir betrayed the very government that he himself had set up and Harapan became another victim in Mahathir’s long line of victims.

With the prime minister asking for his head, how did Thomas survive for 20 months? Perhaps we will learn the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth when the book hits the stands on Jan 30.

But when we consider Mahathir’s role in the entire plot, no one will be surprised at the deceit itself, perhaps surprised only at lack of logic which seems to accompany the aged former prime minister with devastating frequency of late.

The absurdity of Mahathir’s resignation demand becomes more evident when we reduce to basic simplicity the entire sequence from the establishment of the Harapan government to the almost inevitable stab-in-the-back from Mahathir’s dagger.

Mahathir submits to the Agong only one name for AG - Thomas. That must mean that Mahathir meant business, he would brook no protest from any quarter. The king grants his assent.

Yet the very next day, Mahathir wants Thomas to resign, quoting savage opposition from the Malays as the reason for the demand. The berserk Malay response occurred within a day of the AG’s appointment?

Did Mahathir, with his doctor’s finger deep on the Malay pulse, believe that the Malays, after two generations of being mollycoddled and having all their whims and fancies served to them on a silver platter, would accept a non-Malay in any position of responsibility? He did not believe an Indian-Christian as attorney-general would spook the Malays?

So why did he submit Thomas’ name? And right after the Agong agreed, why did Mahathir ask for Tommy to step down?

The other issue that has not yet surfaced is Lim Guan Eng. Surely the Malays would have been equally amok at his appointment as finance minister. Why did Mahathir not ask him to resign? Or did he?

We look forward to your book also, Lim.

Headhunter: I think we can make an educated guess that as soon as Thomas was appointed, there were Malay leaders surrounding Mahathir who put pressure on him to reconsider the appointment of both Thomas and Guan Eng and the old man caved in.

And judging from the hue and cry that followed after the two appointments by ultra-Malays, I think that was what happened.

And for once, Mahathir underestimated his subordinates like Thomas. At least, we have something to be grateful and proud that someone like Thomas was able to hold the fort well.

FairMalaysian: Indeed, 2018 is a watershed year. The Harapan victory exposed the ugliness of Malay hypocrisy and extreme racism.

The crude and blunt racial/religious assault on a fragile democracy revealed to the world all that is bad about Malaysia - the colossal corruptive ways of its leaders and the racial and religious hypocrisy as against humanity, honesty and integrity.

The extremists became bold and blunt - what they could not achieve through the ballot box they did so with the "dark forces". There is a price to pay for that.

Apanakdikato: This memoir is yet another exposé of the failures of Malay leaders who lack the political will and moral strength to do what is best for the country. I think many non-Malays have their own story of what it is like to live in this "wilderness" of Malaysia.

I, for one, witnessed how my late father, who was a respected education officer, trained many younger Malay officers who later became his bosses. He retired not feeling fulfilled in his career as he could not realise his true potential because of the prevailing racial bias. This can only happen in Malaysia.

Malaysia will never be a great country, a country that commands a high level of respect and awe from the international community, as long as there is no meritocracy. Mediocrity has crept into most areas of government and civil service through Malay- and Islamic-centric policies and practices and has become "accepted" like the proverbial frog in the hot pan.

Over the decades, race and religion continue to be raging electoral topics, propelling more incompetent and corrupt politicians into important positions in government. Communal politics has turned Malaysia into the perfect breeding ground for corruption.

The largest corruption case in world history, 1MDB, was the brainchild of a Malaysian PM, and has brought immense shame to the whole country, a stigma that will remain and haunt future generations.

The unjust and racially-biased policies have also not escaped the attention of the international community and is partly the reason for the continuously falling level of FDI (foreign direct investment), which is a reflection of the low confidence in the government of Malaysia.

It is said that the true mettle of a country is put to the test in a crisis. Such a test arrived in the form of a pandemic early last year and continue to spiral out of control one year later in Malaysia.

In contrast, we can see how a well-managed and high-integrity country like Singapore has approached the crisis with utmost professionalism, urgency, competency, and detailed planning, and is years ahead of Malaysia in its anti-Covid-19 and vaccination programmes.

Only strong and highly principled Malay leaders can bring Malaysia out of the present sorry state. Unfortunately, Malaysia will never be a great country under the current type of selfish and corrupt leaders, including Mahathir.

We can only pray for a miracle for Malaysia, as the damage done is deep and may be irreversible.

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