UMNO forever

Dr M Refutes Allegations That He Is Now Supporting The Opposition

TAIPING, May 13 (Bernama) -- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has refuted allegations that he is now supporting the opposition.
He said that his criticisms of the Umno and government's leadership were aimed at strengthening Umno so that its members reverted to the party's principles and not blindly support its leaders.
Some quarters in Umno recently alleged that the former prime minister's continued criticism of Umno and government leaders indicated that he was now favouring the opposition parties.
"I am not supporting the opposition, I (just) want to ensure Umno remains strong. Giving support blindly without upholding Umno's principles will eventually make the party become very weak," he told reporters after delivering the keynote address at the Colloqium to Internationalise the Malays organised by Umno Youth's International Relations and Non-Governmental Organisations Bureau here today.
He also said that he was worried that some quarters were claiming that Umno now was much stronger because it won 90 per cent of the seats it contested in the last general as this was a very subjective interpretation.
Earlier, in his address at the function, Dr Mahathir said the rise of a people depended on two factors, the first an untiring quest for knowledge and the second a sense of shame when having done something wrong.
"We see how Japan and Korea have progressed, their peoples work very hard and feel ashamed if something is not done well," he said.
He said based on these factors, the action by some Umno members in willing to give and accept bribes was something deplorable as they had no sense of shame and were willing lower their dignity because of money.
He said the Malays must continue to be steadfast in the noble values handed down through the generations as in "hutang budi dibawa mati" (good deeds follow you to your grave) and "budi yang baik dikenang juga" (the good that one does will be remembered).
"Here we have some people willing to sell their honour for a mere RM200 to give their vote to a leader. This is something that is utterly disgusting," he said.
He added that the scourge of corruption would eventually lead to the destruction of a race and history had proven this as many an empire had fallen because the people did not safeguard their honour.

The Star
Dr Mahathir denies shifting support

TAIPING: Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied shifting his support to the Opposition.
He said his recent criticism was not the result of a shift in his support but was instead to ensure the continuing strength of Umno and the Government.
“The reason behind my criticisms is to see Umno become stronger. If I do not support Umno and keep holding on to its fighting principles, then Umno will become weak,” said Dr Mahathir to reporters after Umno Youth Wing’s ‘Internationalising Malays’ colloquium here yesterday.
Earlier, speaking at the closing of the colloquium, Dr Mahathir advised the Malays to work hard and learn to feel shame from failure, to build a stronger race.
He said this was the only way for the Malays to catch up with the Chinese.
“If you remain lazy, you will never see progress,” he said, adding that the Malays had a tendency to be lazy and find shortcuts to earn a fast buck.
“God gave us this uncanny power that the more we do something, the better we become at it.
“But in order to do this, we must be hardworking,” said Dr Mahathir.
He told the Malays that if they were given business licences, they should make use of them instead of finding other means of earning money from them.
“We have given the Malays many opportunities under the New Economic Policy and some have made use of that positively while some have taken it for granted.”
He added that although many Malays had done well for themselves, the achievements of an individual should not be confused with that of the race as a whole.
“Although the Malays are better off today than before, they are still far behind the Chinese,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also said the only way to banish the culture of bribery was to understand the meaning of shame.
“If we don’t know shame, it (bribery) will become a way of life. It can be stopped but only if we recognise that it can destroy us.”


tunku : only idiots will say that Tun Mahathir support opposition. He has always had UMNO very close to his heart and even though was expelled from UMNO once, he did not join the opposition like some of expelled UMNO leaders.His criticism is to make UMNO wakes up from dreaming. His criticism is because he loves UMNO, otherwise why he bothered to move around to explain to people. His not doing for money or power as his had enough of them, but because of the love and interest for his party, race and nation.Those who don't get this clear,please do your research well before accusing him.