Dr Mahathir twisting and turning

In his New York Times interview, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the reason why Malaysia has managed to remain stable and to grow economically all these years was because there was one big coalition of parties.

Actually, the ‘one big coalition of parties’ still exists until today. It is called Barisan Nasional and it was formed by Tun Razak Hussein back in 1973. Barisan Nasional -- unlike Pakatan Rakyat that was formed in 2008 and has now already broken up -- has not closed down, as Dr Mahathir seems to suggest.

Dr Mahathir also suggests that because Barisan Nasional has broken up it is going to lose the next general election and he also suggests that this is going to cause instability. First Dr Mahathir says that Barisan Nasional has broken up. Then he says this break up is going to cause Barisan Nasional to lose the next general election. Thirdly, because of this the country is going to be unstable.

Dr Mahathir said in that interview that democracy is about the right of the people to choose their own leaders. Then he says if the people do this and do not choose Barisan Nasional then Malaysia would be unstable. So what is Dr Mahathir really trying to say because he sounds very confused?

Dr Mahathir calls Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak a criminal. A criminal is someone who has been convicted of a crime. Najib has not been convicted of any crime. The only thing that has happened is Dr Mahathir is saying that unless Najib can prove his innocence then it must be assumed he is guilty.

I wonder what the foreign media must be thinking of Dr Mahathir’s inconsistent and contradictory statements. He is beginning to sound extremely incoherent that it has become an embarrassment to Malaysia.

Salleh Said Keruak