Another era of Mahathirism is dawning – People Power needs to act!

by R. Shan

Having Mahathir for 22 years was the cause of the deterioration of education, abuse of power, abuse of the judiciary, corruption, nepotism, cronynism, inequality and unfairness in the system. All in the pretext of protecting the Malaysian citizens and developing the nation.
Speak to any Malaysian citizen prior to his rule and they will tell you that people used to respect each other and dealt with one another with humanity, equality and kindness.

Fast forward 22 years and you see division, inequality, emotions running at an all time high. This was his contribution to Malaysia and what he is still trying to contribute while trying to uphold his artificial legacy. Why do you think an 83 year old man needs to create a blog! Other than to serve his legacy and ensure Mahathirism survives, what other reason could there be?

He has purportedly brought modernization and material wealth to society. But what good are these when humanity and civil liberties are compromised. It leads to greed and corruption.
Look around at his advisors and cronies. When it is a business deal, it is always the Indian and Chinese, even the convicted Jew, Jack Abramoff (the poster boy for lobbyists in Washington DC who set up the meeting between Mahathir and President Bush and received about $1 million from the Malaysian government for his lobbying services in 2001 and 2002).

And yet, he is the great divider by championing Ketuanan Melayu. And there are many who fall into his trap, enticed with the promises of more wealth. Yes, the wealth is going to the Malays. But which Malays? Is every Ahmad, Abu and Ali getting any richer?

What I can't understand is why he goes on dividing us further. What is his objective? To uphold his so-called legacy or to do what is good for the society? If it is for the society, then show me the results! Don't point to stone and mortar and tell me these make people better citizens.
Imagine an 83 year old, ready to hit his grave, can still generate a blog and dictate the course of our generation in Malaysia. This is truly fascinating. Apparently 9 million hits on his blog already!

It is people like TAR, Dr. Burhanuddin Helmi and Tun Dr Ismail who are the true heroes of Malaysia. They had nothing to hide, no hidden agendas and only the goodwill of the nation in mind.

People Power must rise to create the awareness that these true heroes tried to instill in Malaysians. We cannot continue to live our lives feeling superficially secure.

We all say we have faith in the Malaysian public, but do you even know your Malay, Chinese or Indian neighbours? Would you help them in their time of need? Would you even know if they are in need? Faith alone is not enough if it is not practiced. We need to rejuvenate and reinvent ourselves to find out what a Malaysian society truly means. It should not mean we are divided by colour, race, religion or creed. We should all be equal.

We cannot go on living in our coconut shell and think "semua boleh". Mahathir with his magic wand will make all bad things go away. Riiight!!!

Look around and see the truth and the reality that is persisting in Malaysia. If you do not want to change and your conscience allows it, then it is your choice. Hey, we can't save everyone! But to the rest, we can go on trying. We should continue trying. We need to keep on trying to create the change we seek for a better Malaysia.

We can't allow Mahathirism to re-emerge and shed away whatever humanity and liberty that was given some breathing space during Badawi and submerge our future generations. One lost and coconut-shell generation should be a good enough lesson to all of us.

You need to look at yourself and be your own judge and executor to see if you are doing your part for change.