Dr Mahathir’s Fevered Politics

If Dr M is bent on forcing BN to contest the by-election, let Najib nominate him as the candidate; otherwise, he could as well contest as an independent candidate. His resentment against Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, after all, has to be settled up one day; let Penanti be the Waterloo.

By TAY TIAN YAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily

If BN must contest the Penanti state by-election, there is an appropriate candidate – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Since the old man is so aggressive, he will never give up if he is not being offered a battlefield.

Our politics is having a high fever and it is now the time to cool down. But Dr M still thinks that it is not hot enough. When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that BN may not contest the by-election, Dr M could not stand for it and said: No.

Dr M said that BN had never withdrawn from any by-election during his time as Prime Minister. If the party does not contest then it means a defeat.

What a “soy-vat” thinking! It must be a product of many years ago.

"Penanti is not a strong area for BN, thus it should not insist on it."

Just like a feudal family in the past, when a daughter-in-law, who had just gave birth to a child, was feeling hot and wished to breathe fresh air, her mother-in-law shouted: No! No!

The mother-in-law got all the doors and windows sealed and even fans were not allowed in the room. The daughter-in-law had to dress a lot and be covered with a bed quilt. Also, she was forbidden to take bath or wash her hair and she ate sesame oil chicken breast for breakfast, sesame oil chicken wings for lunch and sesame oil chicken feet for dinner.

The mother-in-law kept saying that it was for the daughter-in-law’s good and all women did the same last time.

The poor daughter-in-law was like being steamed in a pot. A few months later, she got rashes on her face, heat rashes all over her body and head lice.

Today, the mother-in-law could be sued in court as she is not only fettered by old conventions, but as well against humanity.

MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said that we must cool politics down and Najib said we must focus on economy. In other words, the-daughter-in-law wishes to breathe fresh air, do exercises, eat more fruits and vegetables, read books and listen to music, so that she can become a beautiful and healthy lying-in woman.

UMNO needs reform and BN needs reborn. Instead of contesting with high fever, they should cool down, do a good job in reforms, focus on fighting for economy, improve the relationships among racial groups and build the people’s confidence in the party.

Penanti is not a strong area for BN, thus it should not insist on it.

It is understandable that Keadilan wants to resolve its internal problems through the by-election and offer the people a more appropriate representative. It benefits all indeed.

BN is just acting according to its ability if it withdraws from contesting. It is also to show mutual respect. This is what we called the rational politics, rather than Dr M’s fevered politics.

If Dr M is bent on forcing BN to contest the by-election, let Najib nominate him as the candidate; otherwise, he could as well contest as an independent candidate.

His resentment against Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, after all, has to be settled up one day; let Penanti be the Waterloo.