David and Goliath

David and Goliath

Dr M: Umno using ruling to keep me quiet

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno's ruling that only supreme council members and ministers open the party's division meetings was made to prevent campaigning in the party elections, said former president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

But now, he said, the ruling was being followed not due to campaigning but to prevent some people like him from speaking at the meetings.

“It is one person who is a nuisance and we have to block him,” he said after delivering a lunch talk on Globalisation and Its Challenges, for the Developed and Developing Nations, organised by the Malaysia-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dr Mahathir said the party had issued the ruling because “some people wanted to make use of the opening speeches to campaign for themselves.”

Asked if issues raised by him had created doubts among Umno members, Dr Mahathir said he was willing to explain to the members if given the opportunity.

On the proposed bullet train, he said the Cabinet had done the right thing in deciding to carry out an impact study before making a decision.

“It (the bullet train) was proposed during my time but we turned it down as we found it not suitable,” he said.

“Maybe now it is suitable. We had our own ideas but other people may have their own ideas.”

Source:(The Star)

The former prime minister finally receives media attention because of his harsh criticism of his successor Abdullah Badawi.With local media not giving him much play these days, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has once turned to a new outlet to air his views: the popular online news site malaysiakini.com. The website, which faced threats of a shutdown when he was in power, has become his platform as his loud comments on issues of the day are being seen by officials in the Abdullah administration as unwelcome interference.

Mahathir had been in power since 1981 and was once Asia's longest serving political leader. He transformed Malaysia from a commodity-dependent backwater to one of Asia's richest countries, with a strong electronics exports sector and the world's tallest buildings.Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad is a political street-fighter with a score to settle with his handpicked successor, and he is about to punch where it can hurt most.Mahathir, burning with a sense of betrayal, wants to take his attack on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to the main ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the seat of power and the political vehicle for majority ethnic Malays.(excerpt from Reuters 2006).

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When Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's long-ruling former leader, handed the reins of this multi-ethnic nation to his deputy Abdullah Badawi in 2003, planned political and economic reforms promised to take the country into a new age of prosperity.

While Mahathir had overseen the country's transformation from an agrarian backwater into a manufacturing exporter, it was Abdullah who declared war on the country's endemic graft and scrapped mega projects that were leaving the nation sorely in debt.

He began easing restrictions to attract outside investors and promoted Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) to curb creeping fundamentalism.

But a recent war of words between Mahathir and Abdullah that has intensified in recent weeks may impede Malaysia's goal of realising Vision 2020, an ambitious national strategy to transform the country into a fully developed Asian giant by 2020. (excerpt from Aljazeera.Net )

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Mahathir threat to reveal graft

By Jonathan Kent
BBC correspondent in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says he plans to produce evidence of corruption against the current government.

It is the latest in a series of attacks by Dr Mahathir that some see as an attempt to undermine his hand-picked successor, Abdullah Badawi.

Dr Mahathir promised not to interfere when he retired three years ago.

But the partial dismantling of his legacy by the man he chose to succeed him seems to have proved too much.

Abdullah Badawi had already called back major contracts handed out by Dr Mahathir to his allies and eased the former prime minister out of an advisory position at Proton - the struggling national carmaker.

But his decision to cancel Dr Mahathir's controversial plans for a new bridge to Singapore appears to have been the final straw.

For months Mr Abdullah kept his council in the face of sustained attacks from his predecessor.

But this week, the prime minister broke his silence, denying charges of nepotism and claims that his son-in-law decided government policy.

Now Dr Mahathir is hinting that he will present proof of corruption within government.

If convincing evidence emerges, it could be a heavy blow for Mr Abdullah, who is widely seen as one of the cleanest politicians of his generation.

Dr Mahathir's critics accuse him of presiding over a collapse of standards in Malaysian public life during 22 years in power.

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Anwar: Dangerous to back Dr M

malaysiakini.com

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attack on the current administration is not a licence for the opposition to pledge their support for him, said former deputy prime minister and Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Anwar Ibrahim.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini last week, he said it was dangerous to "endorse a person subscribing to an authoritarian rule" despite the spat between Mahathir and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi benefitting the opposition.

“I think Mahathir is doing a service (in criticising the government) by opening up a little democratic space...I think it has helped us immensely not only PAS but also myself and the opposition. But we have to draw the line.”

Anwar said he made this point clear during a recent meeting with PAS leaders, some of whom have been openly supporting Mahathir. This has caused some discomfort to the Barisan Aletrnatif (BA) alliance between PKR and PAS.

“I had a long discussion with (PAS president Abdul) Hadi (Awang) and (central working committee member) Mustafa Ali, I (told them) the perception of backing Mahathir is not right.

“What they said was the party was willing to accept Mahathir if he admitted his wrongdoings and made amends. But do you think he is going to do that?” quipped Anwar, who was sacked by Mahathir in 1998.

“But if he does say: ‘I was wrong on this, on that, and please forgive me’, I would certainly forgive him. In fact, I may even be prepared to withdraw my civil suit against him.”

On June 24, PAS' deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, vice-president Husam Musa and Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub were seen attending an open talk by Mahathir.

Will he return to his old seat?

In the two-hour interview held at malaysiakini’s office in Bangsar Utama, Anwar said while he was not optimistic about bringing the disparate opposition under one roof, there should at least be a common agenda.

“I had several discussions with PAS and DAP separately and the general consensus is that they will continue to work separately with me and PKR. To me, this is something very positive.”

He said although DAP was not keen to engage PAS, it did not object to PKR continuing its discussions with the Islamic-based party.

Anwar was also unsure whether he would return to his Permatang Pauh seat - now held by his wife PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail- in the event he was allowed to participate in active politics.

He said the grassroots in the constituency have expressed their views that they preferred Wan Azizah but the matter had yet to be finalised, adding that there were proposals for him to run for a multi-racial constituency

Commenting on the religious debates which arose following the death of Everest climber M Moorthy, Anwar said he had been approached by both Muslim and non-Muslim organisations who asked for his views to find a solution.

After talking to the two groups, he was surprised by the extent of prejudice, misinformation and disinformation that they had against each other.

According to him, the government’s lack of commitment to provide a solution worsened the situation.

He said the authorities were not taking the effort to get the conflicting groups to understand their differences.

“When you get them to talk you'd be surprise the extent of prejudice, misinformation or disinformation among each other. It is shocking that this is happening in this country...”

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Khairy layak menerima anugerah pelakon lelaki melayu terbaik

Kelmarin dulu, kita dapat melihat lakonan hebat yang dilakukan oleh menantu PM iaitu Khairy Jamaludin. Mereka membakar bendera AS, Israel, patung Bush dan Ehud Olmert sambil mengutuk kekejaman Yahudi. Berapi-api ucapan anak muda itu sambil dikerumuni para wartawan. Wah, hebatnya!!!

Khabarnya lebih 10 ribu (baca: 3000) Pemuda UMNO yang sebelum ini disifatkan sebagai pengecut oleh Ketua DPP Pusat, YB. Salahuddin Ayub telah turun ke jalanan untuk berdemonstrasi. Amarah mereka telah dipamerkan sebaiknya kepada US dan Israel.

Inilah peluang terbaik buat Khairy bagi membina karisma dan imej sendiri di mata orang UMNO khasnya Pemuda UMNO sendiri. Jika dahulu, dia banyak bergantung harap kepada nama bapa mertuanya, namun kini dia perlu untuk bernafas sendiri. Ya, sudah tentu sahaja dia perlu membina kekuatan sendiri setelah karisma Pak Lah "dikoyakkan" semahunya oleh Tun Dr. Mahathir. Itu belum lagi dicampur dengan popularitinya yang merosot akibat kenaikan harga minyak, tarif elektrik dan sebagainya....(more)
(Source: Harakahdaily.Net )