So now I challenge the Umno veterans, in particular those opposed to Najib, to openly declare that they want the paramilitary movement to be disbanded so that the opposition can take over without any danger of a civil war breaking out and blood flowing on the streets of Malaysia.
No party should rule forever, says Mahathir
(Malaysiakini) – Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that no party should rule forever in a democratic country.
He said the best democracy is a two-party system where the opposition is strong enough to take over and offer an alternative to the people.
“The best way is for the country to have two political parties; this would ensure that one or the other would win a majority to form the government,” he said in a keynote address at the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2015.
“A weak opposition would not be effective in ensuring the government does not abuse its power,” he said.
“For good governace, the opposition must be very strong and able to offer alternative. No party should rule forever,” he said.
*****************************************************
That is what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says today. But that was not what he said back in 1990 and 1999.
When Dr Mahathir plotted to oust Tunku Abdul Rahman back in the late 1960s, it was to prevent Umno from losing power and to prevent the country from falling into the hands of the Chinese. Dr Mahathir’s beef with the Tunku was that the latter was too accommodating with the Chinese and gave them too much face. Hence the Tunku must go so that the Malay nationalists could take over.
In 1969 Umno did almost lose power and the country almost fell into the hands of the Chinese. In fact, Penang did fall to Gerakan (at that time a Chinese-based opposition party) while in Perak and Selangor Umno held those two states with the skin of its teeth.
And that was when the Malay paramilitary movement came into being. It was created basically to ensure that in the event another May 1969 does happen then the Malays would be ready to put the Chinese in their place and Umno would not lose political power.
Since then every prime minister was made the patron of this paramilitary movement so that it can be activated in the event Umno loses power. The bottom line is only Umno must rule Malaysia even if the streets need to flow with the blood of the Chinese.
In 1990, Umno faced the greatest threat in its history. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah entered into an electoral pact with DAP, PAS and PBS and there was a very real possibility that Umno may get kicked out. A meeting was held with certain key people in the Umno headquarters at the top of the PWTC and what they discussed sent shivers down my spine. The long and short of it was: if Tengku Razaleigh and his Semangat 46 wins the election in a pact with DAP, PAS and PBS then a civil war was going to explode.
Tengku Razaleigh may not want to talk about it but he knows this. He knew that if his party won in cooperation with DAP, PAS and PBS then Malaysia was going to break out into chaos and bloodshed. And that was why Tengku Razaleigh kept stressing again and again that a win for his party together with DAP, PAS and PBS does not mean an end of Malay political power. He was worried that the post-1990 elections would be the start of a race war in Malaysia.
In 1999 (by then it was no longer Semangat 46 but Parti Keadilan Nasional) yet again Umno was in danger of losing power. During the launch of Barisan Nasional’s election machinery at the Bukit Jalil stadium Dr Mahathir warned Malaysians that if Umno and Barisan Nasional do not win a two-thirds majority in Parliament then the government cannot guarantee the safety and security of the people. In short, expect bloodshed on the streets.
So what Dr Mahathir said above is not quite true. If it was then he would have openly demanded the disbanding of the paramilitary movement whose main function is to ensure that Umno does not lose power. And one of the reasons he wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak ousted (as he himself admitted in 2013) is so that Umno will not lose the next general election.
And if Umno does lose the next general election Dr Mahathir will activate the paramilitary movement that has never been disbanded and whose sole purpose is to take to the streets if Umno ever does lose power.
So now I challenge the Umno veterans, in particular those opposed to Najib, to openly declare that they want the paramilitary movement to be disbanded so that the opposition can take over without any danger of a civil war breaking out and blood flowing on the streets of Malaysia.
Once they do that then I will believe the song and dance routine about Malaysia needing two strong parties and that it is time that Umno hand power to Pakatan Harapan and that this can be done peacefully without the loss of life and without blood flowing on the streets of Malaysia.
In short, Dr Mahathir is saying he wants Umno to get kicked out and for Pakatan Harapan to take over. If you can believe that then you can also believe that I am still a virgin.
