Voters Will Permanently Support Pakatan Rakyat If It Works For The People & Governs Well, Says Dr M

The decision by former Gerakan deputy secretary-general Datuk Lee Kah Choon to accept a job under the Penang DAP Government should not be taken lightly by Barisan Nasional if it wishes to survive and regain the people’s support, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former prime minister said in a letter that Lee might be motivated by a genuine desire to work for the good of Penang and Malaysia but, “it may also be because loyalty to Barisan is now based on personal gains or fear of punishment of some kind.”

He said this was especially so among the leaders and there was no genuine love for the objectives said to be the raison d’etre for the coalition’s existence.

Dr Mahathir added that if the Opposition were able to provide a good government, look after the interests of ordinary people, and lead a spartan lifestyle, those who voted for them out of anger against Barisan would transfer their loyalty permanently to them.

When that happens, he said Umno and the other component parties could forget about recapturing the states they lost to the Opposition and their turncoat members would remain turncoats who would actively work against Barisan in the next elections.

“To lose once is bad but to lose a second time is an unmitigated disaster,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said unless drastic action was taken now there would not be enough time to rehabilitate Umno and all the other component parties for the next general election. (The Star)

***** In essence what Dr Mahathir is saying is that if Pakatan Rakyat does the opposite of what the corrupt Umno-led government has been doing all this while, then the BN can kiss goodbye to ruling Malaysia again.

It is evident that Dr M knows very well that the BN, especially Umno has not been doing things right when he says "if the Opposition were able to provide a good government, look after the interests of ordinary people, and lead a spartan lifestyle, those who voted for them out of anger against Barisan would transfer their loyalty permanently to them."

But do you think that by advocating 'drastic action' he will support good governance? Doubtful. He and the majority of the Umno leadership are yearning to get back to the bad old days of Mahathir-style dictatorship with its inherent corruption, cronyism, racism and extreme intolerance to free speech and the practise of the true tenets of democracy.

At this current turbulent moment in Malaysian politics, Dr Mahathir represents one of the greatest dangers to the welfare, unity and stability of Malaysia. It cannot be denied that at one point in our history he was considered a great leader, but that era has passed and in retrospect while he enhanced his international image and oversaw the rapid industrialisation of the country, he was also largely responsible for seriously damaging our democratic institutions.

What Dr Mahathir is passionately fighting for now is NOT for the interests of the average Malaysian but for that of the Umno politicians, cronies and hangers-on. His time in the Malaysian sun is over and we should not inadvertently do anything to contribute to his resurgence even via the backdoor. It is in our interest to do our utmost in firmly ushering him into political oblivion where all dictators finally rest and regret.