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Mahathir seems to be having himself such a good time taking pot shots at Pak Lah. These repeated criticisms of the prime minister further enables the former to conveniently side-step any candid reflection and admission of his role in setting Umno and the BN down the path it has gone.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's recent call for an Umno EGM has clearly added to the pressure Abdullah Badawi is facing to hold on to the reign as president of Umno. Mahathir Mohamad of course did not let another opportunity go by to put the squeeze on Pak Lah as he backed Ku Li's call for the Umno EGM. Amazing how the winds of politics can make for ironic convergence of perspectives and alliances, albeit rather opportunistic ones. The irony in this instance must make for more fascinating drama that is Malaysian politics. However, as intriguing as this triangulation dance between Mahathir, Ku Li and Pak Lah must be for those truly obsessed with the minutia of these personalities and their intersecting political drama that continue to play out, I actually write to suggest that while Pak Lah has certainly made some serious miscalculations and also while his skills as a leader leave much to be desired, we need to be weary about efforts by our former prime minister (and various others) to lay the whole BN election debacle almost singularly at Pak Lah's feet. Indeed, I find this effort to make Pak Lah the culprit a rather convenient exercise that has required –on the part of Mahathir and several others who are lamenting BN's losses – a transparent and quite feeble exercise in historical revisionism. As a result, if allowed to become the dominant interpretation, I fear that many of us Malaysians will in turn lose sight about the underlying antecedents – and those responsible for putting them into motion – that led us to March 8th, 2008. Let me be clear, I am not a Pak Lah apologist. However, it warrants understanding that the forces that coalesced, and the critical mass that emerged, to deliver the electoral blow to BN had been building up to March 8th for a number of years now and have more to do with the culture and approach to political dominance fostered by Mahathir during his days. It is too convenient and opportune now for Mahathir and others to simply attempt to make Pak Lah the 'poster boy' for the now floundering Umno and BN. There is more to it here than the mere lack of leadership – and its rippling implications - that the former PM keeps harping about. Mahathir seems to be having himself such a good time taking pot shots at Pak Lah. These repeated criticisms of the prime minister further enables the former to conveniently side-step any candid reflection and admission of his role in setting Umno and the BN down the path it has gone. Let's not forget it was Mahathir's disregard for the autonomy and independence of the judiciary that led to the weakening of one of the central pillars of democratic governance. The eventual outcome of this process of gutting the judiciary was to further fuel Mahathir's sense of self-righteousness at the expense of institution building that defines a plural society. Pak Lah inherited that legacy. Let's not forget that it was in the prior regime that we saw the culture of 'Ketuanan Melayu' taken to new heights and perpetuated unabated. Pak Lah inherited that legacy and culture. Let's not forget that it was Mahathir's regime that gave us all the extravagant government spending and lavish no-bid contracts that typify the kind of cronyism the public has progressively become so fed-up with. Pak Lah inherited that legacy. Let's not forget that it was during the seemingly endless years of Mahathir's reign that the culture of inter-ethnic and religious intolerance was meticulously stoked and perpetuated. Yes, Pak Lah inherited this too. Let's not forget that it was during Mahathir's years that the practice of intimidating the opposition and peddling fear of racial strife to voters was fine-tuned to a repulsive art-form. Of course, the former practice was not just directed at the opposition; dissenting voices within the government and Umno never stood much of a chance either. Pak Lah inherited all of the above and then some. It would not have mattered much if in 2003 Mahathir had hand-picked Najib – or anyone else for that matter - instead of Pak Lah. The outcome of that succession would not have changed in any fundamental way the modus operandi – with some of the aforementioned traits – of Umno and BN that Mahathir had put in motion and consolidated years before. Put another way, the eggs he had incubated have hatched and have come home to roost. Pak Lah is surely his own man and hence shoulders responsibility for leading what have become a deeply flawed Umno and BN. However, Mahathir – and more so we Malaysians – should not overlook the fact that Pak Lah had a front-row seat for many years seeing his predecessor at work. Perhaps it's unfortunate that the lessons Pak Lah learnt were not how not to govern like Mahathir, and it would have been very refreshing indeed if he had been able to better appreciate that the days of the entrenched authoritarian political culture which only served elites for so many years was indeed untenable and grossly unjust. But then again, this would have also been asking for much. What is more important, at least for us - if not for Mahathir - to remember is that Mahathir laid the foundation and guided Umno and the BN to become what it has become. The abuses and failures of the BN and Umno that a vast number of Malaysian rejected in the recent elections were put in motion, if not perfected, under the previous regime of Mahathir. Pak Lah did not do himself any favors by not recognizing that Malaysians have reached a breaking point and will not be duped by the shallowness of the Umno and BN leadership. However, he has also been conveniently made to be the culprit when, at worst, he may be merely the scapegoat. By G. Krishnan
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