Marhaen Dan Rakyat

Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s latest attempt to whip up fear over Malaysia’s trade negotiations is not about sovereignty or national interest - it is yet another repetition of a political script he has relied on for more than four decades. When Mahathir is not at the centre of power, he manufactures a crisis, declares the country is under threat, and positions himself as the only gatekeeper capable of saving Malaysia. The country has seen this too many times to take it seriously. His sudden alarmism over “traps” and “foreign control” is especially hollow considering his own record. During his premiership, Malaysia entered into numerous deals and partnerships that were opaque, risky, or ultimately unsuccessful - many of which the public is still paying for. From the crooked “Buy British Last” policy that collapsed within a year, to the troubled Perwaja Steel project that suffered billions in losses, to the shipping and automotive ventures like MISC and Proton that required repeated government ...

In his twilight years, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the 99-year-old former Prime Minister of Malaysia, seems content with spending his last days being an internet troll obsessed with his former protege, current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. It's become like clockwork, as when Anwar says A, Mahathir must come out to say no, it's not A, it's B. This has become so routine that even Mahathir, the neoliberal champion of Malaysia in the 1980s and 1990s, has sought to position himself as a champion of people with low incomes as if he were a socialist icon, just because equitable share of wealth has become a key pillar for Anwar's administration. However, this self-portrayal is steeped in hypocrisy, given his long history of cultivating the conditions he now claims to criticize. The irony of his self-proclaimed role as a champion for the underprivileged is stark, inviting a critical view of his actions. As the architect of Malaysia's economic policies for over two decades, he is of...