PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should concentrate on writing his memoirs rather than meddling in a leader’s administrative style, said Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker (pic).
“After his retirement (in 2003), he (Dr Mahathir) said that he would write his memoirs,” the MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chairman said in a statement Tuesday.
“Ideally, that should be the way for a retired statesman – writing and talking, and not meddling and dictating the style and manner of the new leader’s administrative style,” he added.
Instead, Ti said Dr Mahathir was now imposing his view and insisting on what is right or wrong, and is even dictating and micromanaging how and when things should be done.
“No doubt Dr Mahathir has a lot to say, but the best way to do so is to put it into his memoirs,” he said.
He added that Dr Mahathir has a lot he could write about, such as the difficulty of managing a plural society, the emergence of political Islam, the scandals during his tenure, the Ops Lalang crackdown in 1987, and the sacking of former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, among others.
The former premier’s memoirs could also include writing about and admitting “to mistakes that he made as a leader in helming the country for 22 years,” Ti said.
He said retired leaders have many opportunities to reminisce about the decisions they made and the ones they regretted, or to tell how things should have been done or ought to be done in hindsight.
“This would benefit the nation and her future tremendously,” he said, adding that Malaysia has been waiting for Dr Mahathir to write an honest and sincere memoir without fear or favour.
“For me, my generation and for generations to come, there are many lessons we can learn from this great man who was loved, hated and feared when he was wielding power.
“We do not and definitely will not want to see him wielding power and authority again as we have seen that the damage he inflicted is worst than the good he brought us,” Ti alleged.
He said Malaysia was “helpless” and unable to stop Dr Mahathir, a man who would not allow anything to stand in his way such as when he removed former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Ti also called on the Pakatan Harapan chairman to mend his ways instead of “remaining recalcitrant and continuing his authoritarian ways”, while refusing to admit to any mistakes or attributing his mistakes to someone else, such as accusing the Memali killings on the muftis being silent.
At the recent Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia annual general meeting, Dr Mahathir, also the Pribumi chairman, had allegedly said that the Memali tragedy had occurred because of the silence of the muftis over “Amanat Haji Hadi” – a proclamation in 1981 by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (now PAS president) that Umno and its members were infidels.
On April 7, 1985, 14 villagers and four policemen were killed during clashes in Memali when the authorities tried to arrest religious preacher Ibrahim Mahmud for alleged deviant teachings.
-The Star-
中文
