“KNOWING the way and not contributing would be wrong.”
And this is why at the age of 95, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is still actively involved in politics.
The nonagenarian told The Malaysian Insight that his love for the country is the force that keeps him going despite his age.
“This is my country. I am proud of it and I think we can do as well as anybody else. That drives us and we see the way,” Dr Mahathir said.
The Langkawi lawmaker said in spite of his being ousted by his former party, Bersatu, he still is keen to stay on in politics as he still has much to contribute to the nation he has helped shape.
“I thought I had shown the way for this country (to move forward) – from being a very poor agro-based country to becoming an industrialised country.
“You did not see any of the high-rise buildings when I became PM in 1981 but this happened, because it can happen.
“There are people who are capable of doing this but if you don’t enable them to do it, this country will never grow,” he said.
Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister in February when he did not consent to Bersatu breaking away from the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, which led to the collapse of the government after just 22 months.
Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin went on to form the Perikatan Nasional government with Umno, PAS, Sarawak’s Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and other Barisan Nasional component parties.
Since then, Dr Mahathir has parted ways with Bersatu and along with five other members of Parliament, formed Pejuang, another Malay party.
Dr Mahathir has constantly slammed the new government for working together with kleptocrats in Umno, especially former prime minister Najib Razak, whom he has labelled a “prisoner”, and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is facing a slew of criminal charges.
The Pejuang chairman added he was shocked when politicians tried to profit from public coffers as they were paid adequately and everything was provided for them.
“I cannot understand why people don’t love the country and want to make money out of the country. That is foreign to me.
“For me, the money I get is not important, I think I was overpaid as PM. I didn’t have to use my money at all. Everything was provided for by the government,” Dr Mahathir said.
Vision 2020
Dr Mahathir was disappointed that his brainchild, Vision 2020, did not come into fruition as there were multiple policy shifts between his two successors, after he first resigned in 2003.
“I believe if we had continued the policies, we would have grown and achieved Vision 2020.
“What I did not expect was my successors not following through with the plan. They implemented new approaches and also misused their powers,” he said.
Vision 2020 was introduced by Dr Mahathir during the tabling of the Sixth Malaysia Plan in 1991. It called for the nation to be self-sufficient by 2020 – this encompassing all aspects of life from economic prosperity, social well-being, to having a world-class education system, political stability, and attaining psychological balance.
The former Umno president said corruption was the main factor and blamed the sixth prime minister Najib Razak in particular for the economic mess the country is in, which he says will “last for some time”.
He said when Najib was mired in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, the country had to borrow billions from other countries including China, which in turn has become a burden to the country’s economy.
“There were allegations of rampant corruption. During Najib’s time, the allegations were bad. People alleged millions went missing. This was not expected by anyone, not even me.
“Money also was owed, and that burdened the country. If this was allowed to continue, our country would have been bankrupt.
“This has happened and there will be lasting effects for a long time,” Dr Mahathir said.
As the infighting between political parties continued to dominate headlines, Dr Mahathir warned about the challenges of democracy.
“Politics is destroying this country. Democracy is great if you understand how it works. If you don’t understand how it works, it will destroy the country.
“If you look at any democratic country in the world, they usually only have two parties. Either one can win and people don’t tie themselves to the parties.
“But in Malaysia, many people tie themselves to a party to the extent even when the party is doing wrong they still continue supporting it because ‘it is my party’,” he said.
The former prime minister warned that Malaysia could end up being torn apart like in some countries in the West, if the country’s politics became too divisive.
“That is where democracy has gone awry, yielding the kind of results that it has yielded in many of the democracies in the West.
“We need to be educated on the weaknesses, strengths and methods that make democracy deliver the promises that have been made,” he added. – November 16, 2020.
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