Time To Go Buddy...

Having followed Che Det's blog from inception and watching him today, I feel a tinge of pity for the man. I am 50 this year and for the most part of my life, Mahathir has been in the limelight and in the thick of politics in Malaysia. To say that this man affected my life is an understatement. The same can be said for the majority of Malaysians today. That being the case, it is ironic that Mahathir today is a man still concerned about how history will judge him, regardless of how much he denies it!

In this post, I would like to offer my two sen worth of observation about the man since May 2008, when he had no choice but to start blogging. It was the first time Malaysians could see from close up the workings of Mahathir's mind (and heart perhaps); he wrote his own posts unlike other major politician bloggers. His blog has clocked 25.50 million hits since.

Nowadays, he does not blog as much and his style seems getting more and more pedantic. More obviously, he sometimes seems confused and cantankerous. His blogging allows us this closer examination. It is almost as if he has tried so hard since he retired as PM, to hang on to his badly battered legacy that he does not care to realize times are a changing. His dogged defense of anything and everything from his time as PM seems to indicate he feels under siege.

He felt demonized during the later years of Pak Lah's tenure but he certainly did not expect that more uncomplimentary facts about his premiership have surfaced during Najib's watch.

Ironically, the PMship of that village idiot from Kepala Batas now seems a blur in the psyche of Malaysians but Mahathir now appears to be blamed for most ills facing the nation today. From his choice of Badawi to his forced endorsement of Najib; from emasculating the Judiciary to (in Kit Siang's words) "his high-handed and autocratic rule which brook no dissent especially in the public service with his propensity to abuse his powers against all who crossed his path including the abuses of draconian laws like the Internal Security Act and the Official Secrets Act"; from the wanton wastage of public funds (latest estimate USD100 billion) to the crippled education system; from cronyism to engendering money politics; from racially divisive mentality of Malaysians to endemic corruption; the list goes on and on.

Perhaps what is most telling is his latest incredulous act of endorsing the BTN in its current form. This despite so much evidence of racism and of devious attempts at brainwashing. His ongoing childish tirade with Nazri Aziz makes him appear like the very old man he has suddenly become.

So Che Det, it is time to bow out and fade away buddy! Perhaps Malaysians will still celebrate your 100 years unlike Bapak Malaysia whose 100 year anniversary of his birth (February 2003) passed without commemoration and virtually unnoticed into the sands of time. You were still PM then, remember?

UPDATE:

More evidence to show that Che Det is bullheadedly defending BTN just for the sake of defending. This is from Malaysiakini today:

Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) wants former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to admit that the National Civics Bureau or Biro Tata Negara (BTN) programme is racist in content.

At a press conference at Universiti Malaya today, representatives of student groups in the coalition registered their objection to Mahathir's claim that BTN courses have helped promote unity and patriotism.

Rather, they argued, the courses have been used to propagate "Umno Islam" and to invoke racism among university students.

Kelab Rakan Siswa Islah Malaysia president Abdullah Omar Muhamad Fuad said previous BTN directors have conceded that the programme is infused with a political agenda. As such, he said Mahathir should admit the truth as well.

Agreeing, SMM president Shazni Munir Mohd Ithin said Mahathir should be truthful in keeping with the traits of a good statesperson.

"He should accept our criticism which is valid," added Shazni.

The coalition further called for BTN courses to be abolished, as these are the cause of race-based enmity among Malaysians and are being used as a tool of political propaganda.

SMM, which represents 5,000 students from several public universities, will now boycott courses organised by BTN.

"We urge other students to stop attending the courses as these are conducted in such a way that we have to blindly accept everything the instructors tells us. This restricts our thoughts and intellectuality," said Shazni.

'Stop threatening scholars'

In addition, the groups want the government to stop imposing attendance in BTN courses on recipients of government scholarships.

"We feel that it is not fair to force the scholars and to threaten us into attending the courses," said Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen president Hilman Idham.

The representatives said they have been told that they cannot graduate if they fail to complete at least one of the BTN courses.

Abdullah said the programme should not be funded with the people's money.

"If a certain political party wants to organise such programmes, they should run it with party funds," he added.

SMM further told journalists that the coalition has a MP3 recording of one of the BTN seminars and that this will be revealed in the near future.

"We will take further action to investigate and expose more of the BTN's racist indoctrination," Hilman added.

The BTN courses have come in for severe criticism in recent weeks, leading the cabinet to issue a directive to revamp the modules.

The Selangor and Penang governments, led by Pakatan Rakyat, have banned civil servants in state-based agencies from attending these courses.