End of the Mahathir era?

“For those of us climbing to the top of the food chain, there can be no mercy. There is but one rule: hunt or be hunted.”

When pondering Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s political career, one cannot help but to echo the words of the cunning Frank Underwood from the thrilling TV series, House of Cards.

Dr Mahathir played a key role in ousting the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, and later his own successor Tun Abdullah Badawi after Barisan Nasional’s (BN) poor performance in the 2008 general elections.

Now, he has gone on yet another crusade to remove the current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, from his seat of power after being riddled by the enormous financial scandals surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the mysterious RM2.6 billion donation.

So obviously, Dr Mahathir’s reign of power did not end with his premiership.

He continues to have a strong presence in Malaysia’s political scene through the means of the media which has become the medium that carries his criticism of national issues.

It is with the sense of desolation a lot of Malaysians tend to feel, that seems to be the foundation in rallying support behind him – in hopes he will once again succeed in his excellent “toppling” record.

However, a recent counter response that would be deemed accurate, by The Malaysian Insider's columnist Julia Yeow, who referred to the recent police questioning he faced as his “emasculation” – the ultimate symbol of defeat wielded by a desperate cling to authority.

From what I have been surrounded with growing up, I have come to acknowledge that many people still hold Dr Mahathir in high regard.

The common rhetoric being, “He was not a perfect man but we must be grateful for him because of the economic progress and infrastructure that Malaysia now has under his leadership. Don’t believe me? Look at the Petronas Twin Towers! Sepang F1 circuit! Menara Kuala Lumpur!”

Perhaps this is indeed true, but it does little compared to the great damage witnessed by the country’s democracy and governance.

This has often been repeated as a forceful reminder – whether it is the undermining of the judiciary’s integrity to racial segregation in the economy.

We would have to admit that what we are today is a result of an incompatible ideology that is unsustainable.

Yet so persistently, there is a call to look past the dark spots in the annals of history and give him, along with those of similar sentiments another shot at fixing the situation. 

Even though he has clearly stated his main priority is to remove the PM, not systemic change, in a speech reported by several news portals.

This prompts the question of why Malaysians still feel that the progress we want, lies in those who are not as serious about reforms as civil society is.

Maybe it is that possibility to satisfy immediate gratification? If so, we have fallen once again into a myopic trap of looking at short term solutions, rather than the long run of where we are headed.

But to me, the bigger problem is that we still feel dependent on the influence of elites on deciding our future instead of seeing ourselves as leaders.

Evidently, the nature of our politics since the Dr Mahathir era has become so detached from the plights of reality, we easily see ourselves outside the building of the framework.

Repressively, the outcome is a Malaysia suffering the symptoms of hero-worshipping, hegemonised by patronage politics (or as my favourite historian Farish Noor puts it – a case of ‘ampubodek’).

It is somewhat peculiar that Malaysians always seem to have this tendency to search for a classic hero to save the day before the nation surrenders to the plagues that ail our health.

It is as if we are all waiting for some testosterone buffed, oiled up young man wielding a keris to come and set things right, battling out with whatever evils that have plotted against peace.

Perhaps that is where this culture originated from, our nation, like all others, is bonded with a common opus of fantastical myths and legends that serve as a representation of collective morality and values to be the soil embedding the blood of patriots.

To a certain extent, these stories play a vital role in being a compass to set the direction of our society. Although, it could also be said that a misconstruction of these values can also derail us from the original path.

Tales such as Hikayat Hang Tuah or Hikayat Sri Rama, are centred mainly on the theme of heroism to be looked up to.

Nonetheless, for some strange reason, instead of being taught to emulate the bravery and strength of the protagonist, it has been perversely taken out of context and made to seem that everyone ought to wait for someone else to be our saviour.

As a result, we keep waiting for that ‘someone else’ to be celebrated, worshipped for taking the bold move.

As always, that individual is deemed to be more superior that others. Such mentality has been entrenched into our society for so long that we have forgotten to be our own saviours, even when there is a clarion call to reclaim Malaysia for ourselves.

The passiveness in our democratic participation has a deep stronghold in the system due to not only this attitude, but an acceptance of the familiarity with fear.

If we expect those in power now to take responsibility of the recent institutional failures, the very person that left behind us a legacy should abide to the golden rule – “Do to others as you would have them do to you”.

Otherwise, there is little prospect for any real, positive transformation to occur.

In order for to truly move forward, this nation once again, needs to have a restoration of our national values and principles – to return to the founding fundamentals of our country.

A liberal, secular spirit with a sense of dignity that is upheld by the rule of law.

If we wish to write a new chapter in the story of our development, I believe it must begin with the rejection of those who persist to propagate the very notions that have set us back.

In my belief, it is up to civil society to be the ones to charge forward while the dangerous influence of hypocrisy and its affront to our aspirations, seizes to its end. – November 19, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.