Since he has done so much good for this country, and one whole generation of Melayu Baru was born under his administration, he deserves nothing less than a pat on the back. Instead of retiring gracefully and reading books or writing his biography, he chose to be the de facto opposition leader and openly attacked his protege, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
When the first salvo was fired, many were caught by surprise. When the firing continued, many asked what Dr Mahathir’s agenda was. He is now like a man possessed. He must have his way.
Once he has set his mind that Najib must go, there are no two ways about it. It is as if the nation belongs to him and he decides the fate of anyone who takes over from him.
The fact that Najib was voted in by the people is irrelevant to Dr Mahathir. One mistake as PM, then you must go.
To Tunku Aziz, Dr Mahathir is a Machiavellian, where he is “... driven by a personal agenda, his actions only serve to harm the country more”.
A Machiavellian does not look at the bigger picture, although he thinks he does. To a Machiavellian, the tree must be separated from the forest at all cost, even though the tree has done much good to the forest.
Where will all this end? Will the next candidate who replaces Najib please Dr Mahathir?
Given what happened to Pak Lah and Najib, both who became PM with the strong support of Dr Mahathir, it makes me wonder whether the next candidate can go on having teh tarik sessions with Dr Mahathir.
It only goes to show that Dr Mahathir, unlike Singapore’s late PM, Lee Kuan Yew, has failed to have a solid succession plan.
Dr Mahathir admitted his failure when he addressed students at Universiti Petronas by apologising for having given his support to Najib.
By implication, Dr Mahathir is not a good leader then, for he has failed to prepare a good successor. When he was PM, Dr Mahathir was not an easy man to work with.
That was why he kept changing his No. 2, one after another.
Instead of nurturing and building the No. 2, Dr Mahathir chose instead to see the No. 2 as a nuisance and a threat.
At the same time, we cannot fault the No. 1, for the No. 2 is impatient to be the No. 1!
As an elder statesman, it is best for Dr Mahathir to let Najib run the show.
I am sure Najib has taken note of what Dr Mahathir has said, and has tried his best to improve on any shortcoming in his administration.
Dr Mahathir should stop haranguing Najib, for, as the architect and builder of modern Malaysia, he should not destroy what he has built, but instead help Najib make this nation a model for all others to see and emulate. Hassan Talib,Gombak, Selangor NST Home News Opinion You Write 20 October 2015
