MiG-29

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 28, 2009 4:00 PM

1. Saya dengar pesawat pejuang MiG-29 Tentera Udara Di-Raja Malaysia sudah tidak dapat digunakan lagi. Jika saya tidak silap umur pesawat ini kurang daripada 20 tahun.

2. Banyak negara-negara lain, termasuk India, menggunakan pesawat ini. Apakah mereka juga tidak dapat guna MiG-29 mereka lebih daripada 20 tahun? Apakah mereka sudah kondem pesawat MiG mereka seawal ini?

3. Walaupun pesawat tentera Rusia lebih murah daripada buatan Amerika, tetapi wang yang banyak terpaksa dibelanja juga. Kalau di-kondem ratusan juta Ringgit akan hilang.

4. Jika kita beli ganti lagi ratusan juta diperlukan. Dalam keadaan ekonomi negara sekarang, mampukah kita belanja ratusan juta untuk pesawat ganti?

5. Penjualan dan pembelian pesawat oleh Kerajaan mampu memberi keuntungan besar (berjuta-juta) kepada orang tengah. Apakah ada kepentingan orang tengah yang mempengaruhi keputusan kondem MiG-29 untuk beli yang baru?

6. Saya percaya ada cara untuk baikpulih pesawat pejuang dan pesawat lain. Tak bolehkah kita baikpulih MiG-29 ini? Kalau kita tak boleh, orang Rusia mungkin boleh. Mungkin India juga boleh.

7. Jika pesawat pejuang yang berharga ratusan juta hanya tahan 20 tahun, lebih baik kita tidak ada pesawat pejuang.

8. Pesawat Amerika kononnya tahan lebih lama. Tetapi kita perlu ingat apabila duit untuk beli MiG-29 diguna untuk beli pesawat F/A-18, akhirnya kita tahu syarat ketat yang dikenakan oleh Amerika Ayarikat.

9. Mereka tidak beri "source code" yang mana ini menghadkan kegunaan F/A-18 untuk pameran sahaja.

10. Saya harap keputusan untuk kondem MiG-29 dibatal dan kita baikpulih pesawat ini.

WORKING AFTER WORKING HOURS

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 27, 2009 8:05 AM

1. Like the Bar Council I am disappointed that the Appeal Court had overturned the High Court's decision to stop the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission from questioning suspects after working hours.

2. We must respect working hours. Criminals should not commit crimes after working hours. Of course police should not investigate crimes after working hours. Firemen should wait until office opens before putting out fires.

3. The same should apply for weekends and public holidays. No questioning, no investigations and no putting out fires during non-working days.

4. What about politics and politicians? Well no politicking outside office hours also.

5. If we have more holidays then the crime rate would go down as crimes should only be committed during working hours.

MALAYSIAN MAVERICK

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 24, 2009 2:30 PM

1. Barry Wain was formerly with the Asian Wall Street Journal and Asia Week.

2. Presently he is with the Singapore think tank, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

3. He knows that if he writes anything against Singapore leaders he would be dragged to the courts, sued and forced to pay huge indemnity. His colleagues have all been found guilty of defamation when they wrote something that was not approved by Singapore leaders. There has never been a libel suit by Singaporean leaders which has been thrown out by the courts. It is safe for journalists to impute all kinds of misbehaviour by Malaysian leaders. There have been many cases where the courts have found in favour of the journalists.

4. In Barry Wain's book I was accused of losing Government money over the purchase of tin being sold by speculators. When the time came for them to deliver the tin, they could not deliver as they had no physical tin. But the London Metal Exchange ruled that the speculators need not honour the contract to sell to us.

5. We lost money but not in billions of Ringgit as alleged.

6. Bank Negara traded foreign currencies.I don't know how much but we lost money. Government stopped the trading by Bank Negara. Again the amount is not as imputed by Barry Wain.

7. The third case is with regards to the losses by Bank Bumiputra in Hong Kong.

8. Altogether I don't think the amount lost added up to RM10 billion even. If we had lost 100 billion Ringgit the Government would be in deep trouble. But although we did have poor growth during certain years, the Government had never failed to meet all financial commitments including the servicing of loans. In fact we had enough money to prepay loans. The projects of course cost a lot of money. But the projects can be seen by the people. Penang Bridge, Twin Towers, KL Tower, KL International Airport, North Port and West Port in Klang, commuter train, LRT and monorail, numerous expressways all over the country, electrification and double tracking, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Langkawi development, Proton, Modenas, Silterra chip manufacturing plant, cement plants etc. etc. However, I don't think Barry Wain was referring to these projects when he said I burnt RM100million of Government money.

9. The five years of Tun Abdullah's regime saw unprecedented profits by Petronas due to the high price of oil. In my 22 years Petronas paid to the Government 126 billion Ringgit. Petronas paid to the Government of Tun Abdullah a total of 270 billion Ringgit in five years.

10. How was this huge sum spent? There are only empty corridors everywhere.

11. The public has a right to know how 270 billion Ringgit in five years have been spent. What projects have been financed by it. Why do we have to borrow money from China to build the second Penang Bridge?

12. I know every effort was made to find whether I had misused Government money. Failing to find anything the Abdullah Government set up a Royal Commission and accused me of being influenced by others in the choice of judges.

13. I have a right to clear my name. Tun Abdullah also has a right to clear his name.

14. The Government should cooperate and open all its books. There should be no cover-up. The Government is committed to transparency. It should demonstrate that it keeps its promises.

FORM ROYAL PROBE ON DR M'S SQUANDERING

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 22, 2009 3:30 PM

1. I welcome Lim Kit Siang's proposal for Najib to set up a royal commission on whether I burned RM100 billion on grandiose projects and corruption during my 22-year reign.

2. Such a commission should not be made up of Government nominees but should have as members impeccable people including foreigners and members of Transparency International.

3. The commission should not confine to one Prime Minister only but to Tun Abdullah Badawi's regime.

4. It should include how RM270 billion of Petronas money paid during Abdullah's five-year term was spent; what projects were financed by this huge fund and the cost of all these projects.

5. It should include how much money was lost due to the cancellation of the crooked bridge and the Johore Baru to Padang Besar railway.

6. What is the cost over-run in the construction of the Bakun Hydroelectric project.

7. The financing of the second Penang Bridge and the procedure followed when giving out this contract.

8. I also agree with Lim Kit Siang that the investigation would reflect Najib's commitment to "combating corruption".

9. In order that the enquiry by the commission would be successful, Government must give the undertaking to give full access to the commission of all the documents and accounts of the Government over the period 1981-2009. There should be no cover-up of any kind.

10. Barry Wain must provide documentary proof of any sum that he alleged I had burned.

11. I will co-operate fully with the commission.

12. Depending upon the result of the commission, I reserve the right to sue Barry Wain, Lim Kit Siang and Malaysiakini.com for libel for a sum to be disclosed later.

13. If the Government is witholding the book: "Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times", I would request that the book be released forthwith. I am not in need of Government protection.

SOUND BITES - GRAFFITI, X'MAS & DEVELOPMENT

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 21, 2009 1:38 PM

GRAFFITI

1. Dirtying and defacing the walls and buildings with writings and drawings is not a Malaysian culture.

2. But Malaysians as usual like to copy everything that is done by Europeans. It is part of their inferiority complex. Defacing public property seen in Europe and Latin America is now being taken up. Kuala Lumpur which has spent a lot of public money to clean and beautify is now being defaced with ugly graffiti.

3. Unchecked this alien culture will negate all the efforts of beautifying our cities and towns. I have noticed that where this abuse is common city authorities stop trying to clean and beautify their cities. Their attitude seem to be if people like a dirty ugly city why bother to clean and beautify it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

1. Christmas is just around the corner. The shopping complexes have already decorated the malls and soon we will be hearing the familiar Christmas songs.

2. I would like to wish the Christian visitors to my blog and to all Christians in Malaysia a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

DEVELOPMENT

1. I have been visiting several countries lately. Some are developed. Some are developing.

2. It strikes me that it will be good if we send groups of young and educated people to those countries which achieved independence together with us. This is because young people were born and they grew up long after independence and cannot possibly know the Malaysia before independence or even in the early years of independence.

3. Perspectives and perceptions are what colour our thinking. Most people are reluctant to go to poor countries. If we go only to rich developed countries then our perceptions would not be correct.

PERSIDANGAN "MUSLIM UNITY"

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 18, 2009 6:23 AM

1. Minggu ini kita amat sibuk dengan persidangan. Pada hari Isnin 14 Disember, The International Muslim Academy of Science dibawah Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) telah bersidang di Shah Alam. Ramai saintis Islam dari seluruh dunia mengambil bahagian.

2. Pada 15-16 Disember satu konvensyen dianjur oleh Ramadhan Foundation United Kingdom dibantu oleh Perdana Leadership Foundation untuk membincang "Muslim Unity" (Perpaduan Islam). Ramai ulama dan imam-imam dari 20 negara Islam dan bukan Islam telah hadir.

3. Ulama-ulama ini terdiri daripada pelbagai mazhab termasuklah dari puak Sunni, Syiah, Wahabi. Terdapat juga wakil dari China dan Jepun.

4. Walaupun fahaman Islam mereka berbeza tetapi mereka menunjukkan persaudaraan Islam semasa bersidang dan di luar persidangan.

5. Dalam ucapan-ucapan mereka tekanan diberi kepada persaudaraan dan persahabatan. Perbezaan tafsir dan pendapat, tegas mereka, tidak harus memisahkan orang Islam daripada orang Islam lain.

6. Wakil Arab Saudi berkata pakaian tidak menentukan ke-Islaman. Pakaian Arab adalah kerana budaya Arab dan bukan kerana Islam. Pakaian hijab juga berbeza. Yang utama ialah anutan agama Islam.

7. Ini disokong oleh seorang imam besar Syiah yang mengetuai lebih 500,000 orang Islam di Dearborn, Michigan, Amerika Syarikat.

8. Mereka tidak berhajat untuk menukar kepercayaan dan tafsiran Islam yang berlainan antara mereka. Sebaliknya mereka ingin utamakan persamaan antara mereka sebagai orang Islam.

9. Semua mengutuk perbuatan bunuh-membunuh antara orang Islam di negara-negara tertentu kerana kelainan fahaman dan mazhab.

10. Konvensyen perpaduan yang pertama diadakan di United Kingdom dengan kehadiran ramai ulama-ulama dari negara-negara Islam dan bukan Islam yang mempunyai penduduk Islam yang ramai.

11. Ramadhan Foundation telah pilih Malaysia untuk yang kedua kerana ramai ulama dan orang Islam diseluruh dunia berpendapat Malaysia adalah contoh pembangunan agama dan negara mengikut ajaran Islam. Saya percaya ramai di Malaysia tidak dapat bersetuju. Tetapi inilah yang diperkatakan oleh mereka.

12. Sebagai tuan rumah saya diberi peluang untuk buat ucaptama di kedua-dua persidangan berkenaan tajuk-tajuk yang dibincang.

13. Kehadiran lebih 500 orang termasuk rakyat Malaysia pelbagai agama tidak bergerak. Mereka menuruti perbincangan selama dua hari itu dengan penuh khusyuk.

14. Pada malam akhir tiga buah badan perniagaan dan institusi pelajaran swasta, dua daripadanya bukan Islam telah hulur derma sebanyak RM11,500,000. kepada tabung pelajaran anjuran Ramadhan Foundation. Ahamdulillah.

15. Laporan ini saya buat kerana tidak banyak "coverage" daripada media tempatan.

16. Senarai penceramah yang hari pada persidangan Muslim Unity adalah seperti berikut;

1. Dr. Bachir Soualhi - Chairman, International Promotion & Collaboration, University Islam Antarabangsa, Malaysia

2. Shaykh Ahmad Hussain Darwish - Hadith Scholar, Egypt

3. Shaykh Dr. Abdul Munim Al-Ghumari - Senior Hadith Scholar, Tangier, Morocco

4. Dr. Robert Farook Dickson Crane - Former Adviser to President Nixon, USA

5. Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Ali - Senior Hadith Scholar, Tangier, Morocco

6. Mr. Afzal Abdul Rahim - CEO of TIME dotCom Berhad, Malaysia

7. Mr. Mohammed Khan - Director of USA Operations for 2nd IMUC 2009, USA

8. Imam Sayid Hasan Al-Qazwini -Senior Shia Scholar, Iraq/USA

9. Syakh Ahmad Nisar Baig Qadiri - Vice Chairman British Muslim Forum, UK

10. Syakh Salman Al-Oudah - Founder of Islam Today Network and Islamic Scholar, Saudi Arabia

11. Dr. Wang Yong Bao Musa Ahmed - Muslim Scholar from China

12. Shaykh Muhammad al Yazdani - Co-Founder of Abu Hanifah Institute, UK

13. Mohammed Shafiq - Chief Executive, Ramadhan Foundation

14. Shaykh Abdur Rahman Weld Al Hajj - Renowned Scholar, Mauritania

15. Muhammad Umar - Chairman, Ramadhan Foundation

16. Shaykh Muhammad Abul Huda Al-Yacoubi - Lecturer, Grand Omayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria

17. Dr. Naji Rashid Al Arabi - Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Bahrain

18. Prof. Abdul Ghafar Ismail - AmBank Group Resident Fellow for PLF, Malaysia

19. HE Dr. Abdur Rahman Al Jarrar - Senior Scholar Ministry of Islamic Affairs & Awqaf, UAE

20. Prof. Dr. Zulaiha Ismail - Trustee, KL Foundation to Criminalise War, Malaysia

21. YBhg. Prof. Dato' Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin - Deputy Director General, Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia

22. Dr. Mahmood Chalabi - Activist, Syria

23. HE Dr. Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah - Former Minister of Justice of Mauritania and Renowned Scholar.

KITA SUDAH TUKAR

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 16, 2009 8:11 AM

1. Presiden Amerika Syarikat Barack Obama berjanji akan tukar (change) dasar-dasar Amerika Syarikat.

2. Tetapi jauh daripada menukar Obama sudah tambah tentera Amerika di Iraq dan Afghanistan. Kem tahanan Guantanamo pun masih diteruskan.

3. Tetapi kita sudah tukar. Dahulu kita pertahan negara-negara yang ditindas Amerika Syarikat. Sekarang kita sokong Amerika Syarikat menindas Iran.

4. Kononnya kerana Iran hendak membuat senjata nuklear. Kononnya dunia akan diancam oleh Iran dengan perang nuklear. Setakat kita tahu yang mengancam ialah Amerika Syarikat dan Israel. Dan Iran menjadi sasaran mereka.

5. Amerika Syarikat mempunyai 10,000 nuclear warhead. Israel mempunyai beratus senjata nuklear.

6. Yang sudah guna senjata nuklear ialah Amerika Syarikat dan Israel bukan sahaja di Hiroshima tetapi di perang Teluk dan di Gaza. Mereka guna "depleted uranium" daripada bahan nuklear. Kita relakan. Secara rasmi kita tidak protes.

7. India punyai senjata nuklear. Begitu juga Pakistan.

8. Kenapa Iran tidak boleh? Gilakah Iran hendak lancar perang nuklear dengan dua biji bom nuklear? Amerika Syarikat, Rusia dan Israel sudah tentu akan balas serangan Iran dengan 25,000 bom dan roket nuklear yang dimiliki mereka. Iran akan hancur dan hilang daripada muka bumi ini.

9. Jika India, Pakistan, China, Peranchis, Britain, Amerika Syarikat dan Israel boleh memiliki senjata nuklear kenapa Iran tidak boleh?

10. Sekatan sanction sudahpun dikenakan keatas Iran. Kita tidak membantah. Tetapi kita tidak pernah sokong sanction.

11. Tetapi sekarang duta kita dipanggil balik untuk disoal kenapa tidak sokong Amerika.

12. Dasar-dasar lama memang patut dihapuskan. Tetapi inikah dasar baru kita?

LIMA '09

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 15, 2009 9:55 AM

1. This year's Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition is not as big as the previous ones. This is to be expected as the countries that produce aircrafts and warplanes are going through financial and economic crisis. All international air shows are not as well represented as before. But for such a period of recession the turnout at LIMA in terms of exhibitors, airplanes and ships is still quite impressive.

2. But what is worthy of note at this LIMA is the progress of Malaysia's own aerospace industries. This took up almost one-third of the space and the exhibits were reflective of their progress and sophistication. Malaysian companies now design and produce electronic command and control systems. They proudly exhibit their capabilities in the production and servicing of sophisticated aircraft components and mastery of aviation electronics.

3. There were quite a number exhibiting UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). These remote-control airplanes come in many sizes. They can be used for aerial photography and target location and even for aggressive attacks against the enemy.

4. The first Malaysian submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, was also on show. I had more than an hour briefing on the different functions and features of the submarine.

5. Of all the fighting crafts I have seen the submarine is easily the most complex. It has scores of monitors and TV screens to inform the operators of what is happening in every part of the craft. There were wires and tubes everywhere. All of them I am told are crucial to the operation of the vessel, on the surface, at periscope depths and underwater.

6. Because of the small space available everything is cramped and overlap each other. I wondered whether the crew can identify all these wires, tubes and equipments and locate where they head to. The commander assured me that they could. They have learnt to locate things in the dark even in case of electricity failure.

7. I noted that all the parts bear scientific names. All the manuals on operation and emergency measures were in English and French.

8. The sleeping bunks are tiny. Once in bed the crew can hardly raise their heads. It was claustrophobic and I don't think I can survive in that environment. But the boat sailed all the way from France to Malaysia without mishap. The crew do not seem to suffer from anything serious.

9. A group of MPs including from the opposition also visited the submarine and they were as impressed as I was.

10. I remember the first navy vessels of the Royal Malaysian Navy, which I visited in 1958 when they sailed right up to Alor Star. They were wooden boats, rather small and armed with a small gun. A friend laughed when I told him about my visit. We have come a long way since then and the Royal Malaysian Navy is now as modern a force as any other country.

11. I would have liked not buying the submarine. I don't think we would be going to war. But the neighbours have bought submarines and our navy would feel rather inadequate if they don't have at least two of these very costly vessels.

12. Altogether I would consider the 9th LIMA a success. Apart from the displays LIMA has helped initiate and stimulate Malaysia's aerospace industry.

POHON MAAF

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on December 14, 2009 3:31 PM

1. Saya ucap berbanyak terima kasih kepada ramai yang memohon untuk berjumpa saya.

2. Saya telah cuba bertemu dengan seberapa ramai yang mungkin. Saya juga telah terima jemputan untuk beri syarahan berkenaan pelbagai tajuk. Di masa yang sama saya membuat lawatan keluar negeri kerana diundang untuk bercakap berkenaan tajuk tertentu. Juga saya menulis untuk ucapan, rencana dan blog. Banyaklah lagi jemputan yang telah saya tunaikan termasuk majlis perkahwinan.

3. Sesungguhnya saya lebih sibuk sekarang daripada masa saya jadi Perdana Menteri.

4. Oleh kerana sudah tidak ada masa lagi saya pohon maaf kerana banyak permintaan yang tidak dapat saya layan.

5. Harap maaf jika saya terpaksa menolak jemputan atau temujanji.

UMNO

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 30, 2009 12:07 PM

1. Pilihanraya Umum ke-13 hanya dua tahun lagi. Saya sedang meneliti reaksi rakyat terhadap UMNO dibawah pimpinan baru. Saya terkejut. Saya terkejut kerana seorang bekas pemimpin UMNO yang kanan telah meluahkan perasaannya dengan berkata "UMNO is rotten to the core" (UMNO busuk hingga ke ususnya).

2. Beliau telah berkata yang beliau sedang memikir untuk menyokong PAS. Beliau juga berkata beliau telah bertemu ramai pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang telah bersara dan mereka speendapat dengannya.

3. UMNO busuk daripada peringkat terendah hingga ke peringkat tertinggi katanya. Di cawangan, ketua cawangan hanya berjuang untuk mengekal dirinya sebagai ketua sahaja. Kenapa? Sebabnya majoriti ketua cawangan dapat jadi pengerusi Jawatakuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung dengan elaun tertentu dan kuasa untuk mengagih peruntukan. Berpeluang juga untuk jadi kontraktor Kelas F untuk projek kecil di luar bandar.

4. Untuk menentukan dirinya tidak dicabar ketua cawangan tidak akan benarkan sesiapa yang lebih terpelajar daripadanya masuk UMNO cawangannya. Lebih daripada itu kebanyakan peruntukan untuk jadi ahli UMNO, yang mana dia mesti melalui cawangan, tidak akan dilayan. Tujuannya ialah supaya cawangannya tidak mempunyai banyak ahli kerana mereka tetap akan menimbulkan masalah dan sukar dikawal, bahkan sukar disogok pun.

5. Sebab itu tidak ramai ahli profesional yang dapat menjadi ahli UMNO. Sebaliknya semakin ramai daripada pemimpin PAS terdiri daripada doktor, peguam, jurutera dan lain-lain profesyen.

6. Oleh kerana ketua cawangan biasanya tidak memiliki pelajaran yang tinggi dan beliau menentukan ahli lain dalam cawangannya mempunyai ilmu pengetahuan yang lebih rendah daripadanya, maka apabila ketua terpaksa berhenti kerana sebab-sebab tertentu, maka penggantinya akan terdiri daripada yang kurang berkebolehan daripadanya. Dengan itu kualiti kepimpinan akan merosot sepanjang masa.

7. Tentu ada cawangan yang tidak seperti ini tetapi pengecualian hanya mengesahkan keadaan yang sebenar.

8. UMNO, kata bekas pemimpin kanan ini sekarang dipimpin oleh perasuah. Mereka menjadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi kerana sogokan wang. Orang ramai tidak akan serah nasib mereka kepada perasuah.

9. Penempatan perasuah dalam Kerajaan dan badan-badan lain juga memburukkan lagi imej UMNO. Sudah tentu perasuah akan dipilih sebagai calon UMNO dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13. Jika mereka diberi kemenangan maka negara akan dapat Kerajaan perasuah. Sebab itu beliau tidak akan sokong UMNO sebaliknya akan menyertai dan menyokong parti lawan. Katanya lagi hingga kini separuh daripada orang Melayu tidak merasai nikmat kerana Kerajaan-Kerajaan pimpinan UMNO menidakkan hak mereka sedangkan mereka juga orang Melayu walaupun mereka menyokong parti lawan. Mereka yang menyokong parti lawan bertambah sejak (Tun) Abdullah kerana ramai daripada ahli UMNO sendiri sudah tidak percaya kepada UMNO.

10. Yang tinggal katanya ialah orang yang berkepentingan yang berharap mendapat sesuatu kerana menyokong UMNO. Mereka ini bukan nasionalis dan mereka tidak boleh diberi kepercayaan.

11. Banyaklah lagi hujah-hujahnya akan sebab-sebab UMNO tidak lagi akan diberi peluang untuk memerintah negara yang disayangi olehnya. Saya tidak akan hurai lebih lanjut. Hanya yang saya ingin sebutkan ialah pendapat beliau sudah menular ke semua peringkat orang Melayu, bahkan ahli UMNO juga.

12. Rakan-rakan dalam Barisan Nasional semuanya berpecah dan lemah. Mereka tidak mampu menjayakan Barisan Nasional.

13. Masa semakin singkat untuk memperbaiki keadaan ini. Saya mencatat maklumat ini untuk pengetahuan umum sahaja.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILADHA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 27, 2009 8:00 AM

Kepada semua Muslimin dan Muslimat saya dan isteri saya ucapkan selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Adha.

Marilah kita berdoa agar kesemua jemaah kita dapat mengerjakan ibadah Haji dengan sempurna dan agar amal ibadat mereka diberkati Allah s.w.t. serta dapat pulang ke tanahair dengan selamat.

DEMOCRACY IN POLITICAL PARTIES

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 23, 2009 10:00 AM

1. All praise for democracy, the best system for politics ever invented by man. But being invented by man, it is not free from imperfections. It works only if you know these imperfections and their limitations.

2. It is fine to determine everything by majority vote and not by consensus. It is fine only if the loser accepts the winner. But when the loser refuses to accept the decision of the majority and launches a campaign to undermine the party, the only result would be a split and therefore a weakening of the party.

3. With UMNO the loser took the case to court and the party was made illegal. When revived it lost a huge chunk of the members.

4. But for Liong Sik, the MCA President who headed BN, accepting UMNO Baru and not Semangat 46, life would have been difficult for me.

5. Fortunately the voters in the General Election restored UMNO Baru's credibility and strength. Otherwise UMNO Baru would have become Peking Duck, deader than the Dodo.

6. History has many lessons for us. As George Santayana said: "those who forget the lessons of history will be punished by making the same mistakes over and over again" or words to that effect.

7. But we never like to learn from history. We think our case is different.

8. No. Actually our case is the same.

9. You can interpret this any way you like.

ANWAR AS ECONOMIC ADVISER

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 20, 2009 8:55 AM

1. I would like to thank everyone for their comments on the above. I appreciate very much the positive comments and I accept the negative ones also. I am not perfect. I make mistakes. But some of the wrongdoings attributed to me are just not true or correct.

2. We see what we want to see. Everyone is like that. So do I. But I try my best to be factual.

3. My greatest mistake is in the choice of people. I seem to be picking the wrong people all the time. They not only did not live up to my expectations but they went all out to do all the wrong things, including abusing me.

4. I accept the blame for making wrong choices. But they were all so good before they were chosen.

5. Anwar was pious and holy almost. Before I admitted him into Umno no one told me of his peculiar inclinations.

6. The other one was known as Mr. Clean. Well he and his family certainly did a lot of cleaning.

7. Awarding privatisation at inflated prices! Well the contract to double track and electrify the railways from Johore Baru to Padang Besar was for RM14 billion (including the spur line to KL). It was cancelled by Abdullah.

8. Then it was found necessary to double track and electrify from Ipoh to Padang Besar. I understand the price is RM12 billion. Work out the new cost if we build up to Johore Baru.

9. Putrajaya and Cyberjaya - bought by the acres. Putrajaya, 10,000 acres for RM700 million or approximately RM17,500 per acre or RM0.43 per square foot.

10. Today average price of Putrajaya land per square foot is RM130.00.

11. Bailout happens when a business receives injection of capital to get over a financial crisis.

12. Selling a business at below cost is not a bailout. It is called a fire-sale. That was what my son had to do. Petronas subsequently sold ¾ of the fleet for more than what it paid for the whole fleet when the market was good.

13. Ekonomi Malaysia berkembang pada kadar 8.5% dari 1987 dan bukannya 10% dari 1991. Mula merosot pada 1997 di waktu Anwar sebagai Menteri Kewangan melaksana "ubat" IMF tanpa IMF. Memang Anwar ditangkap semasa krisis hampir berakhir. Kerana kegagalannya MTEN ditubuh untuk ambil alih tugas memulih semula kewangan dan ekonomi Negara, jauh sebelum dia ditangkap.

14. Sila semak SEJARAH dalam laporan akhbar dalam dan luar negeri.

15. Thank you for agreeing that I am a dictator. Tell me which dictator ever resign.

16. Terima kasih kerana membaca blog saya.

ANWAR SEBAGAI PENASIHAT EKONOMI

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 16, 2009 4:32 PM

1. Saya ucap taniah kepada Kerajaan Negeri Selangor kerana berjaya menganugerahkan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim dengan jawatan penasihat ekonomi dengan bayaran hanya RM1 setahun.

2. Mungkin kepimpinan Kerajaan Selangor tidak tahu akan prestasi Dato Seri Anwar sebagai Menteri Kewangan Kerajaan Pusat diwaktu krisis kewangan melanda Malaysia.

3. Dia begitu taksub dengan Dana Kewangan Antarabangsa (IMF - International Monetary Fund) dan Bank Dunia sehingga menerima bulat-bulat nasihat Michel Camdessus (pengarah urusan IMF) dan James Wolfensohn (presiden Bank Dunia dan sahabat karibnya) supaya negara ini mengurangkan perbelanjaan Kerajaan untuk mencapai surplus, menaikkan faedah pinjaman bank dengan tinggi supaya peniaga kekeringan modal dan tidak dapat berniaga, memendekkan masa untuk membayar hutang bank daripada enam bulan kepada tiga bulan untuk menjadikan yang berhutang muflis dan bank dibeban dengan hutang tak berbayar (non-performing loans), supaya bank tidak dapat berfungsi dan memerlukan suntikan modal dan bermacam lagi tindakan yang melemahkan dan memburukkan lagi ekonomi negara ini supaya terpaksa mendapat bantuan IMF dan Bank Dunia dengan syarat ekonomi Malaysia diserahkan kepada institusi-institusi ini.

4. Jika pentadbiran ekonomi Malaysia diserahkan kepada IMF maka Dasar Ekonomi Baru akan dihapuskan.

5. Tindakan Anwar ini dikenali dalam akhbar-akhbar sebagai pengamalan dasar IMF tanpa IMF - iaitu tanpa apa-apa bantuan kewangan daripada IMF.

6. Dengan dasar yang diperkenal oleh Dato Seri Anwar maka keadaan ekonomi menjadi lebih buruk dan Ringgit Malaysia jatuh lagi nilainya.

7. Jelas sekali Anwar tidak faham sama sekali pengurusan kewangan dan ekonomi negara.

8. Kuasanya keatas kewangan dan ekonomi terpaksa dipindah kepada Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Negara (MTEN), sebuah jawatankuasa dan think tank yang ditubuh untuk menangani masalah kesusutan nilai Ringgit dan ekonomi negara.

9. MTEN-lah yang mencipta currency control atau kawalan matawang dan menyekat CLOB (Central Limit Order Book - pasaran saham haram yang ditubuhkan di Singapura) supaya segala perniagaan Ringgit oleh penyangak matawang dan penjualan saham Malaysia dalam CLOB ditamatkan.

10. Tindakan MTEN ini berjaya memulihkan ekonomi dan kewangan negara.

11. Mungkin sikap Gabenor Bank Negara dan Timbalan Gabenor yang cuba mengagalkan currency control tidak ada kena mengena dengan Dato Seri Anwar. Tetapi hakikatnya ialah kedua-dua pegawai ini terletak dibawah bidangkuasa Menteri Kewangan.

12. Saya berdoa Kerajaan Selangor tidak akan dipermainkan oleh Penasihat Ekonominya.

Sound Bites

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 14, 2009 8:00 AM

The al-Aqsa Mosque

The Malaysian media is totally dependent on the so-called wire services (Reuters, AP, AFP, etc) for foreign news. As a result there has been no report on the Israeli desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque and the beating up of Palestinian Muslims who wanted to pray there.

I don't think the Malaysian media is deliberately blacking out news which are not in favour of Israel but if they depend solely on the wire services they would always be unfair to the victims of Israeli brutalities.

We read very little about the blockade of Gaza and the sufferings of the people there.

What Israel is doing is illegal, but such is the control that Israel exercises on the international media that it can actually openly commit genocide and nothing would happen to it.

These are the people whom we had sympathised with because the Nazis of Germany tried to wipe out. Now they are the ones doing the very thing they, or their forebears had suffered from in the past.


Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

The Singapore Straits Times on Tan Sri Khalid contains one error.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was not the CEO of the (Malaysian) Government investment vehicle Permodalan Nasional which "pulled off an infamous dawn raid" on the London Stock Exchange by taking over Britain's Guthrie Corporation in 1981.

The officer involved with the raid was Dato' Desa Pachik, the first CEO of Permodalan Nasional.

Water

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 13, 2009 9:31 PM

1. Pahang will soon be selling water to Selangor/KL. I don't think Pahang would be happy to receive 3 sen per thousand gallons.

2. Melaka has been paying Johore 30 sen per thousand gallons and is still doing so and will continue to do so I suppose. Would Johore be asking for more than 30 sen in the future? God knows.

3. In 2011 the first agreement with Singapore to sell 350 million gallons of raw water daily at 3 sen per thousand gallons will end. What would we do then? I suspect despite Singapore's famous Newater, it would still need the 350 million gallons daily.

4. The other treaty would end by 2060 in which the price is also 3 sen per thousand gallons. But without the 350 million gallons daily according to the first treaty, Singapore's rapidly increasing population of new immigrants would not have enough water.

5. So, the amount supplied according to the first treaty would be even more crucial despite Newater and desalination.

6. The Government of Tun Abdullah had very cleverly decided not to raise any of the issues outstanding with Singapore after the bridges were jettisoned. I suppose this charitable act would help cement friendship with that city-state with a per capita income of US$36,000 (Malaysia's per capita incidentally is US$7,000, i.e one-fifth of Singapore).

7. 2011 is not too far away. Have we thought about extending the 2011 treaty or not extending it or negotiating a new water supply agreement? Are we going to be charitable again and sell raw water at 3 sen per thousand gallons to our rich neighbour?

8. Being charitable and not raising prickly issues is a good way to make friends. But what is the cost to the people of Malaysia.

Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 10, 2009 2:41 PM

1. Saya baru-baru ini telah tulis sedikit dibawah tajuk "Hukum Allah" berkenaan apabila sesuatu yang didakwa adalah hukum Allah samada benar ia adalah hukum Allah. Saya dikecam hebat oleh orang yang mungkin lebih terpelajar dalam agama. Nampaknya agama Islam di Malaysia ini tidak boleh disoal barang sedikit pun, walaupun untuk mendapat penjelasan.

2. Saya berdebar hati apabila membaca yang Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin bekas mufti Perlis ditangkap dan dibawa ke balai polis. Dia dilepas dengan ikat jamin polis.

3. Seramai 30 anggota polis dan 20 lebih anggota Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) telah melakukan tangkapan ini. Ternampak seolah-olah Dr Asri ini seorang penjenayah besar yang mungkin mengganas apabila ditangkap. Tetapi beliau tidak pula memberontak. Sebaliknya beliau turut sahaja tanpa bantahan yang keras.

4. Kemudian akhbar melaporkan kes terhadapnya belum pun disediakan. Apakah tidak ada "due process" dalam penguatkuasaan undang-undang Islam di negara ini. Apakah mereka yang diberi kuasa dalam melaksanakan hukum Islam boleh dengan sewenang-wenangnya menangkap sesiapa sahaja.

5. Teringat saya akan "Islam Hadhari" yang saya dimaklum adalah Islam yang sesuai untuk zaman ini, iaitu Islam moden. Apakah ia sebahagian daripada kepercayaan ahli Sunah wal-Jemaah? Jika Ya maka orang Islam di Malaysia hendaklah masuk Islam Hadhari. Jika tidak apakah tindakan yang perlu diambil oleh penguasa agama Islam terhadap ajaran Islam Hadhari?

6. Selain dari itu saya juga keliru apabila membaca tulisan seorang pengkritik Dr Asri bahawa satu dari kesalahannya ialah beliau cuba berpandu kepada Al Quran dan Hadith dan tidak kepada ijma ulama ahli Sunnah wal jamaah.

7. Walaupun kita diberitahu ulama adalah pewaris Nabi tetapi mereka bukanlah Nabi. Mereka hanya manusia biasa walaupun terpelajar dalam agama Islam. Manusia biasa boleh membuat kesalahan termasuk kesalahan mentafsir. Sebab itulah terdapat banyak tafsiran yang amat berbeza antara mereka sehingga berlaku permusuhan dan peperangan antara pengikut mereka. Ini bermakna ada diantara tafsiran mereka yang mungkin tidak betul.

8. Di negara kita ini pun terdapat banyak perbezaan pendapat walaupun kita semua menerima ajaran ahli sunnah wal jamaah imam Shafii. Diantara sembilan negara dan satu wilayah di Malaysia terdapat banyak perbezaan dari hukum dan ajaran Islam. Hendak tentukan Hari Raya pun terdapat perbezaan pendapat.

9. Tentu jelas perbezaan pendapat tidak menjadikan seseorang itu sudah terkeluar dari arus perdana Islam sunni. Sudah tentu jika dikaji pendapat ulama yang mengikut ajaran sunni di negara-negara lain akan terdapat lebih banyak perbezaan.

10. Hanya kerana adanya perbezaan pendapat yang tidak besar tidak sepatutnya menyebab tuduhan bahawa seseorang itu sudah tidak lagi turut ajaran sunni. Apatah lagi perbezaan pendapat itu dialas dengan hujah-hujah yang berasas kepada Al Quran dan Hadith.

11. Semasa saya kecil lukisan rupa manusia dan binatang, penggunaan lampu letrik di dalam masjid dan kegunaan kereta bermotor untuk jenazah dilarang. Tetapi semuanya dianggap halal sekarang. Sekali lagi ajaran Islam dalam kaum sunni juga boleh berbeza dari satu masa ke satu masa.

12. Saya tidak nafi ajaran sesat ala Arqam, Ayah Pin dan Rasul Melayu perlu diawasi dan disekat. Tetapi janganlah penguasa agama terlalu ghairah hendak haramkan syarahan agama oleh orang yang tidak sebulu dengan mereka tanpa membuktikan ajaran itu memang bertentangan dengan Islam.

13. Jawapan kepada saya tentulah saya jahil berkenaan agama Islam dan tidak berhak bercakap berkenaan dengannya. Yang tidak akan dijawab ialah yang mana satu yang saya perkatakan ini adalah tidak berasas kepada kenyataan.

14. Janganlah terlalu cepat nak tangkap orang.

SOUND BITES - PROTON

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 5, 2009 7:30 AM

Dear Ir. Syahrizan,

1. I am not going to deny that in my time Proton was protected. All countries including Britain, Germany, Japan and Korea protect their car market. Britain had Imperial Preference, Japan and Korea ensured no foreign cars could be imported, even America insists on Japanese, Korean and Germans producing their cars in America, employing Americans and paying high salaries.

2. The protection for Proton cars had been there all along. Without protection we would have no car industry. Proton gained 80 per cent of the market at one time benefiting from protectionism.

3. Because of the APs (Approved Permits) for cars from countries which Proton cannot penetrate (Korea and Japan) sales of Proton went down. Proton lost money, the foreigners made a lot of money with the lower price of their cars sold in Malaysia. Their lower price is due to volume i.e. economies of scale. We could not achieve this because of their protected car market.

4. Now Proton is fighting back despite imports of foreign cars. I was making a comparison only between Proton under the previous management and the present management. The present management is definitely more capable even though foreign cars are still coming in.

5. The keeness to buy Proton is because it is doing well and that it owns a lot of property.

6. I am not responsible for the recent National Automotive Policy. I am not in the Government now. Please make your complaints to the Government.

CRIMINALISING WAR

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on November 2, 2009 5:06 PM

1. The conference on criminalizing war (making war a crime) was held for two days (28 - 29 Oct) at the PWTC and was followed by a sitting of the Kuala Lumpur Commission on War Crimes and the Tribunal's sitting on 31st October to decide on whether it was competent to hear the complaints of the victims of Guantanamo and other places of detention as well as to decide on whether Heads of State and Heads of Government are liable for war crimes committed under their rule.

2. Many have asked what can this conference and the hearings by the commission and tribunal do.

3. If I may be allowed to explain there are many things which were common, normal and accepted in the past which the whole world rejects now. The rejection was achieved actually by the people gradually realizing that these practices were wrong and unacceptable.

4. Thus slavery was common and proper in the past but is totally rejected now. Black people were regarded as subhuman almost but today blacks may even become president of the most powerful white nation. Women too were regarded as inferior and not as capable as men but now they have equal status with men.

5. Torture was acceptable in the past but is now considered illegal and criminal. Human rights were unknown before but now the world accepts that every man or woman has a right to be treated well. And many more.

6. All those changes in human perceptions and values have been brought about mostly by people agitating against these practices, forcing their Governments to pass laws to abolish them.

7. But war is still accepted today although certain acts are regarded as criminal even in war. If war itself is made a crime than automatically war crimes cannot be committed.

8. To make war a crime, the people must condemn it as unacceptable, just like they did with slavery etc. Why should war be condemned now when it has always been a common means of settling disputes between nations?

9. War is basically about killing people. Everyone regards killing people a crime. How can we consider killing a person a crime but killing thousands of people not to be criminal. In the past the capacity to kill and damage was limited because of the weapons being less lethal.

10. But today the weapons can actually wipe out the population of the world and destroy it physically. Even the use of depleted uranium has been shown to cause cancer and diabetes. The nano-particles carried by dust storms, wind and stratospheric air currents can affect lives and carry the diseases hundreds of miles away. Therefore wars also endanger neighbouring and distant countries not involved in the war.

11. Now the big powers have developed nuclear bombs and missiles many times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Even if they explode deep in the ground the dust blown up would still be carried far and wide. The inclusion of small amounts of nuclear material in conventional bombs would also spread the effect to distant places.

12. Conventional weapons have also increased in power. The 15 megaton bombs can cause the same damage and deaths as the Hiroshima bomb. Guided missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles have also increased the range and effectiveness of aerial weapons.

13. Where before wars were fought by soldiers on battlefield, today's wars kill more non-combatants than combatants. The whole country would become the battlefield. Casualties would number in their hundreds of thousands and the whole country would be devastated. Neighbouring countries and even distant countries which are not involved would also be affected by radiation fallouts and people would be attacked by diseases which are fatal.

14. War today is massive, widespread and lethal to whole populations. No one would be spared, belligerent or non-belligerent.

15. War is now no longer limited to the adversaries. Nor are they controllable.

16. That is why war must be of concern to everyone. The 1st and 2nd World Wars were supposed to end all wars. Obviously they haven't. The only way to stop wars is to make them a crime - to make those who resort to war guilty of a serious crime, to punish them.

17. Only Governments can put a stop to wars. But Governments will not stop wars until the people pressure the Governments to do so. If they do and they sustain the pressure, it is likely that war can be made a crime just as slavery has been made a crime.

18. That is why we have initiated a campaign to make war a crime. We are doing this on a worldwide scale.

THE PROTON SAGA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 30, 2009 1:02 PM

1. Proton is gradually returning to profitability. I notice that the new Proton Saga is often seen on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. I know that a new car would not be noticed on the road until a certain volume of sales is achieved.

2. Other Proton models are also more frequently seen - a sign of good sales. Before this the new cars most often seen were from the Perodua stables.

3. Since Proton acquired a new chairman in the person of Datuk Nadzmi Salleh, I find it easier to perform the work of Proton adviser. The Prime Minister has also indicated that Proton affairs should be referred to me. Accordingly I have been busy on a plan to resuscitate the company. I have been talking to potential technology partners for Proton.

4. Lately I had been disturbed by media reports that Proton is to be sold to certain parties. This talk has agitated the staff of Proton. They know of cases where after a new investor took over a company, senior staff had been laid off. Their worry over this matter affects their performance. This is bad at a time when they are trying to contribute to Proton's recovery.

5. I have told the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer that Proton is not for sale, but I think I should assure the senior staff and the workers that there is no plan to sell Proton in the foreseeable future. The need is to restructure the company and reach agreement with the potential partner, After that work has to be done to ensure Proton fully recovers.

6. I agree with the headline in a certain tabloid for everyone to leave Proton alone. If Proton staff is assured of this I feel sure we would be able to put Proton firmly on its feet.

BUSES FOR RAPID KL

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 26, 2009 3:58 PM

1. Some months back I put on my blog a comment on the supply of buses for Rapid KL.

2. I had pointed out that Scomi, a company owned by the son-in-law of the former PM was involved. Pictures were also shown of numerous buses in a junkyard - apparently condemned.

3. Scomi denied that it was the only supplier of these buses for Rapid KL and Rapid Penang but admitted that almost 80% of the buses were supplied by it.

4. The Star Business on Wednesday 21st Oct reported the following: "The NAR (National Audit Report) also said there were weaknesses in the way Prasarana (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd) bought buses. The report said that Prasarana bought additional buses from companies that were not approved by the Finance Ministry. Furthermore, the buses were said to be lacking in quality and hence put its users at "risk".

5. The NAR report is very illuminating. But it is likely to end there. The case would be closed and the miscreants would enjoy their ill-gotten gains and go on doing the same thing.

6. Has the NAR investigated the sale of MV Agusta at one Euro (about RM4) when it was bought for more than RM300 million? The buyer who paid one Euro subsequently sold MV Agusta for a total of RM400 million to Harley Davidson and BMW.

LINGAM TAPES

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 23, 2009 10:45 AM

1. The NST reported that the Lingam case is closed. He will not be persecuted (or prosecuted).

2. He must be feeling very relieved. But what about the Commission's report on his influence over me in the selection of judges?

3. I was waiting for my day in court so I can defend myself. I have a lot of things to say about attempts to influence me on the appointments of judges.

4. Now that Lingam has no case to answer, how does it affect my being accused of being influenced by him, remembering that the tape was about his alleged phone conversation with other individuals. Did he say that I asked him to speak to those people? Was my name involved in his phone call?

5. These questions will remain in the minds of the people who read the conclusion of the Commission. So what now?

6. For some time during the past regime I was told that a thorough search was made to find instances where I abused power or accepted illegal gratification while in office. Apparently nothing was found.

7. Could it be that one way of getting at me was to accuse me of being influenced by Lingam in my choice of judges?

BLAIR OF THE BLOODY HAND

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 16, 2009 9:22 AM

1. The Daily Mail of London (Saturday, October 10, 2009 - read here) carried the following headline;

"I am not shaking your hand Mr Blair. You have got blood on it".

2. This was said by a bereaved father after the ex-Prime Minister was criticised by the Archbishop of Canterbury at an Iraq remembrance ceremony.

3. It is clear that many in England have a low regard for Tony Blair. Yet in Malaysia he was welcomed and given the honour to give a talk on social issues to Malaysians.

4. When he was Prime Minister, Blair got the British Parliament to support war against Iraq by telling lies about the so-called weapons of mass destruction. Very soon after it was revealed that he had cooked up the intelligence report so that he could support his co-liar, George Bush, President of the United States.

5. The war that they unleashed on Iraq has caused the death of more than 100,000 Iraqis, wounded many more and devastated that highly developed Arab country.

6. The leader of the Iraqis was described as a dictator who was alleged to have killed many of his people. But it is obvious that the number of Iraqis killed and maimed by the British and American soldiers is far far greater than what Saddam was alleged to have killed.

7. Saddam was arrested for his alleged crimes and hanged by the neck until he died. So were his colleagues. Yet if one compares his alleged oppression of his people with the oppression of Iraq and its people, the killings and the destruction resulting from the orders made by Blair and Bush, it must be obvious that what the two leaders had done to the Iraqi people and Iraq is far far worse and heinous. Yet Bush and Blair have escaped any kind of retribution and punishment.

8. Surely there is no justice in the difference between the treatment meted out to Saddam and company and the treatment of Bush and Blair.

9. If people like Bush and Blair are allowed to escape any form of punishment for the brutal crimes they have committed, then others who may lead powerful countries will continue to war and to kill and destroy even when there is no justification.

10. After World War II, a court was set up by the victors to try the vanquished leaders. Such a court cannot be just as it was made up of nominees of the victors. If there was going to be justice, then the court must be made up of neutral judges. In any case the people responsible for the mass killings in war, no matter which side they may be, must be tried and punished. But only the vanquished leaders were tried and we know they were the ones who killed 100,000 in Dresden, Germany and 200,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

11. In the absence of courts sanctioned by the international community the Perdana Global Peace Organisation, a Non-Governmental Organisation devoted to criminalising war had decided to set up a tribunal to try war criminals.

12. The court may not be able to get the attendance of the accused persons or to carry out the proper punishment, but this is not going to stop the tibunal from holding a hearing. It will not be the first time that a court hears a case in absentia. But the trial must be held so that the crimes committed by war criminals will be exposed so that the world may punish in whatever way possible.

13. From October 28-29, 2009, a conference on war in its modern version will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

14. Present at this conference will be people like Hans von Sponeck, Dennis Halliday, Michel Chossudovsky, Cynthia Mckinney, the victims of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the people who had been tortured and many others. They will tell of the laws which prohibit torture, the tortures carried out in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, the detentions without rial and without laws by the very people who talk about human rights, about the rule of law and a lot more.

15. There will be an exhibition of the tortures and the sufferings of the victims.

16. Following the conference, the Commissioners and the Tribunals will sit to listen to the evidence of the brutality perpetrated in the Iraq War.

17. All Malaysians and others are welcome to the conference and to the hearings by the Commission and the Tribunal.

18. We Malaysians have not suffered as the Iraqis, Afghans, Bosnians and Palestinians have suffered from the wars launched against them.

19. We have not even suffered from the earthquakes, the volcanoes, the floods and the storms. Even when the tsunami hit us in 2004, we suffered less because Aceh took the brunt of it.

20. We have to be grateful that we have been saved from all these horrors.

21. But we must feel and sympathise with people who have been less fortunate than us. We must therefore try to appreciate the sufferings of others, be sympathetic towards them. That is the least we can do.

22. So Malaysians, please come to the Conference on War, on Criminalising War, and the upholding of justice.

23. No fees will be charged. Give us your moral support so that we can continue our effort to criminalise war so we may all be able to live in peace and security.

** For more information go to;

http://www.perdana4peace.org/

http://www.criminalisewar.org/

SOUND BITES - THE U.S DOLLAR

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 15, 2009 4:04 PM

1. When I wrote on the need to change trading currency from the US Dollar to some other currency I was accused of being anti-West.

2. Since then there have been many articles on the need to use other currencies for trading and even for other purposes e.g. reserve currency.

3. Today the headline in the Star's foreign news reads, "US Dollar reaches breaking point - central banks flushed with record reserves are increasingly favouring the Euro and Yen" (read article here).

4. If I had been critical of the West, it was always for good reasons. They invented a lot of ways of making money for their rich investors without producing any goods or services or creating any jobs. Because of their subprime loans, hedge funds and derivatives, currency trading, etc. etc. they had undermined the real economy. Their bubble has now burst, spilling over the rest of the world. And Malaysia has been affected by their crisis for no good reason.

5. When in 1997 we asked the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to stop currency trading, they laughed at us. Now they know that people whose knowledge of finance can be written on the back of a postage stamp are not so ignorant after all.

6. And when so many people urge that other currencies than the US Dollar be used for trade and reserves, they cannot all be anti-West. In fact these views are coming from the West.

7. Labelling ideas as anti-this and anti-that will get us nowhere. Call a spade a spade. Only then can you find solutions to problems.

SOUND BITES - WAJAH PEMIMPIN

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 14, 2009 4:51 PM

1. Di zaman pemerintahan Tun Abdullah Badawi seluruh negara disalut dengan sepanduk dan papan tanda besar yang menunjuk wajah Perdana Menteri bersama Menteri-Menteri tertentu, Menteri-Menteri Besar dan Ketua Menteri.

2. Seorang Menteri pelancongan mempamerkan sepanduk dan papan tanda yang mempunyai gambarnya bersama Perdana Menteri diseluruh negara seolah-olah pelancong akan tertarik melawat Malaysia untuk melihat sepanduk berkenaan.

3. Setelah Dato Seri Najib menjadi Perdana Menteri semua sepanduk dan iklan yang lama telah diturunkan.

4. Saya harap amalan seperti ini tidak diadakan lagi. Jauh daripada mereka yang menaikkan gambar mereka menjadi popular, rakyat sebenarnya jelak dan bosan melihat sepanduk-sepanduk ini mencemarkan kecantikan alam.

5. Saya akan ditegur bahawa di masa saya dulu ada juga sepanduk seperti ini yang dinaikkan oleh Menteri Besar tetapi tidak oleh Menteri Kabinet. Saya akui saya tidak ambil tindakan yang tegas menghentikan amalan ini. Tetapi tidak semua Menteri Besar yang mencuba tunjuk betapa dekatnya mereka dengan Perdana Menteri melalui cara ini.

6. Saya harap Barisan Nasional tidak memulakan semula amalan ini. Ia hanya akan menimbul kebencian kepada mereka.

SOUND BITES - BAGAN PINANG

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 13, 2009 2:31 PM

1. Saya gembira kerana saya salah dalam masalah calon bagi pilihanraya kecil Dewan Undangan Negeri Bagan Pinang. Saya percaya Barisan Nasional akan menang walau siapa pun jadi calon, tetapi mungkin kemenangan yang tidak sebaik 2008. Tetapi kemenangan yang diperolehi oleh Isa (bukan ISA) amatlah mengkagumkan.

2. Tetapi saya berpendapat ada baiknya jika kajian yang mendalam dibuat berkenaan dengan sebab-sebab kemenangan yang luar biasa ini tercapai.

3. Jangan pula ada yang mendakwa walaupun mereka jelas terlibat dengan rasuah, tidak salah jika dicalonkan, bahkan jika mereka dilantik menjadi Menteri Kewangan.

MALAYSIAN INDUSTRIES

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 6, 2009 2:11 PM

1. I feel sorry for Malaysian manufacturers. They find it difficult and sometimes impossible to market their products in the country because somehow Malaysians, including the Government and its agencies cannot believe that Malaysian products are as good, if not better than imported goods.

2. When Malaysian products cannot be sold at home, it becomes almost impossible to convince foreign buyers to buy them. The question that foreigners often ask is whether Malaysians especially the Government have bought them.

3. Despite this failure to market Malaysian products locally, some have still managed to be marketed abroad. And some have been very successful.

4. These Malaysians are not asking for protection or even favours. All they want is to be properly evaluated against foreign competitors when they make bids. But somehow they seem to fail always.

5. There are excuses of course. The foreign suppliers have been supplying for years and years. They just cannot be dropped.

6. Even when the products have been well accepted abroad, the Government and its agencies cannot be convinced.

7. The Government wants to be transparent. Perhaps if awards of contracts are published just as offers of contracts are, then the public and the local businessmen would know who gets what, how many times and for how long. The contract process should also be made known. If contracts are to be for five years then we should know why contracts are given for longer periods.

8. Then Malaysians would know why they have been failing all these while. They would then be able to take necessary steps to become competitive. In fact other foreign suppliers too can take corrective action.

9. At the moment we can read the advertisements on new projects up for tender. But who wins the tender is not publicised.

10. An open Government keen to be transparent should do this. That it was never done before is no reason it cannot be done now. Previously no one promised to be transparent. But now we all hear about transparency.

11. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is not coming in as much as before. We cannot compete with China or Vietnam, not even with Thailand and Indonesia. While we should continue to promote FDI, we should also help the local investors. We should remember that their earnings stay in the country, much more than the earnings of foreign owned industries.

12. If we help them our industries can become world players. At the moment we do not have our Sony or Hitachi or Samsung or Hyundai. We have the technical capacities for truly Malaysian products and companies to be as well-known as those of Japan and Korea.

13. We merely need a little boost from Malaysians, particularly from the Government and its numerous agencies and companies.

14. I hesitate to write this article because I fear that those in charge would make life even more difficult for Malaysian companies, presuming that they had complained to me.

15. But what I say here is public knowledge. We should really be helping ourselves.

HUKUM ALLAH

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on October 2, 2009 12:12 PM

1. Apabila sesuatu dilakukan dengan nama Islam, ramai yang cepat berkata ia adalah hukum Allah yang perlu kita lakukan. Kita jarang bertanya samada sesuatu itu benar-benar hukum Allah.

2. Saya tertarik dengan rencana bekas mufti Perlis (baca disini) berkenaan dengan kononnya Islam melarang gosok gigi di bulan puasa. Kononnya mulut yang bau busuk kerana berpuasa sebenarnya harum seperti bau kasturi. Ini diulangi berkali-kali dalam televisyen.

3. Benarkah pendapat ini adalah hukum Allah?

4. Sebenarnya hukum ini tidak terdapat dalam Al-Quran. Mungkin ada hadith yang menyarankan bahawa ini adalah ajaran Islam (yang diwajibkan). Tetapi kita tahu banyak hadith yang diterima oleh sesetengah daripada orang Islam adalah lemah atau bukan hadith yang sebenarnya.

5. Sebab itu kita dapati banyak perbezaan daripada segi kepercayaan dan amalan oleh orang Islam di negara-negara Islam. Ada negara Islam di mana purdah atau hijab diwajibkan walaupun oleh perempuan yang sudah tua. Al-Quran tidak mewajibkan wanita tutup muka dan tangan. Bolehkah kita kata amalan pakaian purdah ini adalah hukum Allah?

6. Larangan bagi wanita bersekolah untuk menuntut ilmu juga tidak terdapat dalam Al-Quran atau hadith sahih.

7. Membunuh wanita kerana memalukan keluarga juga tidak ada. Tetapi di beberapa buah negara Islam dilapor berkenaan dengan wanita dibunuh oleh bapa atau abangnya kerana perbuatan tertentu. Islamkah ini? Hukum Allah kah ini?

8. Dalam melaksanakan hukum Islam, Al-Quran menyebut tentang hukuman yang setimpal. Demikian mata dibalas dengan mata, telinga dengan telinga dan seterusnya jiwa dengan jiwa. Dalam pada itu Al-Quran menyebut sesiapa yang melepaskan hak membalasnya, maka itu menjadi penebus dosanya.

9. Sesungguhnya Allah s.w.t. menyukai orang yang bertimbangrasa dalam mengena atau melaksana hukum. Yang diutamakan dalam Al-Quran ialah apabila menghukum, hukumlah dengan adil. Terdapat 43 ayat yang menyebut tentang pentingnya hukuman yang adil. Beberapa ayat lagi menegah perbuatan yang zalim.

10. Seperti yang kita semua maklum, alim ulama memahami dan membuat tafsiran berpandu kepada isi kandungan Al-Quran dan hadith dan kitab tulisan ulama silam. Oleh kerana alim ulama bukan rasul kefahaman dan tafsiran mereka tidaklah selalunya sama antara satu dengan yang lain. Demikianlah kelainan antara pendapat dan kefahaman mereka sehingga berlaku perpecahan dan permusuhan dikalangan orang Islam dan rusuhan serta bunuh-membunuh antara mereka.

11. Soalnya apakah mungkin semua alim ulama benar-benar berpegang kepada hukum Allah apabila memberi pendapat atau membuat fatwa? Jika ya, kenapakah ajaran mereka tidak sama dan begitu bertentangan antara sesama mereka?

12. Atau apakah ada diantara mereka yang secara sengaja atau tidak sengaja, telah membuat tafsiran yang salah berkenaan apa yang dikatakan hukum-hukum Allah. Kerap ternampak mereka seolah-olah tidak puas hati dengan kesederhanaan dan kelonggaran yang terdapat dalam Islam.

13. Oleh kerana ada kemungkinan salah tafsiran berlaku janganlah kita terlalu cepat berkata bahawa hukum yang ditentukan oleh alim ulama adalah hukum Allah dan dengan itu kita tidak boleh mempersoalkannya dan kita akan berdosa jika kita abaikannya.

14. Oleh itu sebelum menghukum atau menjalankan hukuman tidak bolehkah kita bertanya dahulu adilkah hukuman yang dikenakan? Dan benarkah hukuman yang dikenakan adalah hukum Allah?

15. Kita juga harus diberitahu dari mana puncanya hukuman yang dijatuhkan, sebelum kita terima hukuman berkenaan adalah hukum Allah.

16. Dan janganlah kita lupa bahawa Allah suka kepada mereka yang bertimbangrasa dan tidak keterlaluan dalam melaksanakan hukum.

17. Juga harus kita jaga kebaikan nama Islam dan tidak melakukan sesuatu yang akan mencemarkannya.

18. Kita disuruh berdakwah dan mengembangkan agama Islam. Kita sendiri berbahagia kerana menganut agama Islam disebabkan pedagang Islam dari negara Arab dan India telah menunjuk kebaikan dan keadilan dalam Islam. Jika kita melakukan sesuatu yang sebenarnya bukan dari ajaran Islam dan ini menyebabkan orang lain menjauhkan diri dari Islam, apakah kita mematuhi tugas berdakwah yang diwajibkan keatas kita semua?

Wallahua'alam.

OPEN HOUSES

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 29, 2009 5:15 PM

1. I don't know whether we should copyright open houses but they are certainly a Malaysian invention.

2. I was gratified to see everyone, Malays, Chinese and Indians congregating at open houses during Hari Raya. They all seem to get along fine with each other. The Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians all seem to behave like true Malaysians, greeting the Malays with "Selamat Hari Raya" and being thanked by the Malays. Even little Chinese and Indian children were taught by their parents to shake hands and try to say Selamat Hari Raya.

3. It makes we wonder whether the country would not be better off if we don't have politicians. Of course I am one. But it does seem that it is the politicians who keep on stoking the fires of racism. Left to themselves the people would accept the way of life that has kept Malaysia almost conflict free all these years.

4. Malaysia has different schools for different races. They also live in racial ghettoes, speaking their own languages and promoting their own cultures. Few have friends not from their language groups. They really never get a chance to truly mix with each other. We are truly different from Thailand or Indonesia or the Philippines or indeed any other country in the world.

5. But the religious or racial festivals are celebrated together. We had four days to be together for the Raya. And the open houses would continue for at least one month, giving us a chance to forget racial politics and be just Malaysians. Even leaders of the opposition parties went to the Prime Minister's residence.

6. Maybe we should have continuous festivals throughout the year. Then we would come together the whole year long to celebrate and get to know each other. Maybe then we would be able to create a bangsa Malaysia.

7. Selamat hari Raya, Kong Hee Fatt Choy, Happy Deepavali and Merry Christmas to everyone.

ISA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 28, 2009 5:41 PM

1. There is much talk today regarding the Internal Security Act. Having released people and having detained people under the ISA, I think I know something about this act and its application.

2. Firstly one must remember that it is a preventive law, that is it is to be applied before a crime is committed. The law cannot be applied after the crime is committed. For this there are other laws.

3. Secondly it can be applied only in certain specific cases, as for example when there is a threat to the security of the country.

4. A possible armed uprising or possibility of civil violence would constitute a threat to the security of the country.

5. However it had been used in the past to incarcerate political opponents, as when Aziz Ishak was detained.

6. At this point visitors to this blog are likely to say I did the same. I admit I did detain people under the ISA in the 1987 Ops Lalang. But it was not because they were members of the opposition. The police had informed me that there was likely to be racial clashes over the issue of Chinese education and the intention of some UMNO members to hold a million strong demonstration in K.L.

7. The people detained were not only members of the opposition but included UMNO members. As soon as the threat passed the detainees were all released. The issue was not political opposition to the Government but the threat to national security.

8. I don't expect this explanation would be accepted by my detractors. But that is normal. Detractors would never admit to being wrong.

9. On the ISA, it seems odd that some who were detained under the ISA supports this preventive laws. I am sure they don't support abuses of the law though.

9. When the so-called war on terror was launched by Bush and Blair, they did not hesistate to detain so-called suspects without even being sanctioned by any law. They were so critical about our ISA before but not only did they detain thousands of the so-called suspects, they actually tortured the detainees when they felt threats to their security. I will not talk about their invading Iraq and Afghanistan and the killings of thousands of innocent people.

10. The so-called protagonists of human rights were clearly critical when others resort to preventive detention. When they felt threatened they not only detain people but they did this without any law which provides for such act.

11. Just because our critics are hypocrites does not mean that we should retain the ISA. But there is a need for preventive detention in Malaysia simply because without this threat racist extremists would undermine the stability of this country. That extreme racialism can lead to violence is not something we can take lightly. We must value our stability because it has made it possible for this country to develop much faster than other countries.

12. Can the ISA be replaced by a court hearing. In Malaysia courts take a long time to pass judgement; months or even years. By then the violence would have taken place, i.e. the court action would have failed to achieve the prevention that the law is meant for.

13. Still there is need to review the ISA. I don't think it should be done away with but there must be a clear cut provision as to when it could be used. We cannot have people being detained for three days and then released because the detention was for the detainee's safety.

14. Perhaps the period should be shortened to one year and the six monthly review be carried out by properly qualified individuals who have the country's interest heart besides a desire to maintain human rights.

THE EAST ASIA ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 27, 2009 12:46 PM

1. I am glad to read the report that the new Prime Minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama intends to pursue the proposal for an East Asian Economic Community.

2. I had always felt that the countries of East Asia should speak with one voice when negotiating with the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). If we don't then the Europeans and the Americans would dominate such negotiations. Obviously they would want to favour themselves to our detriment.

3. This is not about hating the West as someone suggested when I drew attention to a UN Agency proposal to have a special currency to replace the US Dollar for the purpose of trade settlements and reserves. It is simply because unlike other countries the US Dollar is not backed by anything.

4. They used to hold huge quantities of gold in Fort Knox to support their dollar. Today they have neither gold nor foreign exchange reserve to back their dollar. As a result the dollar value has been fluctuating. The only thing that is holding it up is the demand for it for trade payments. Other than that the dollar is nothing but just printed paper.

5. The US has twin deficits and no savings . Where then did the United States get the three trillion dollars to bail out the banks, industrial corporations and insurance companies? The obvious answer is that it got it from thin air. Just print the money.

6. Why is it that the US can print money to bail out companies while others may not do so? Malaysia did not print money when we bailed out our companies. The money came from revenues collected by the Government and loans raised by it.

7. It is not about hating people. It is about not condoning abuses of the monetary system that the proposal is made not to use the US Dollar.

8. Now the Chinese have come out with the same idea about a special currency to replace the dollar. If we think of the huge sums of dollars held by the Chinese, this suggestion would cause them to lose a lot of money. But they must have realised that the money they are holding is pretty useless.

CALON PILIHANRAYA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 24, 2009 3:32 PM

1. Saya akui calon yang bersih pun boleh kalah dan calon yang kotor pun boleh menang. Di Bagan Pinang, saya percaya siapa juga yang dilantik sebagai calon, besar kemungkinan dia akan menang.

2. Sudah lupakah kita akan pilihanraya kecil di Permatang Pasir di mana calon Barisan Nasional terdiri daripada seorang peguam yang dikatakan terlibat dengan melesapkan duit pelanggannya dan berbohong berkenaan dengan jumlah isterinya? Kempen BN mudah dipatah oleh parti lawan. Apabila ia kalah ramai yang berkata BN harus selidik dahulu latarbelakang calon. BN tidak harus letak calon yang mempunyai latar belakang yang mudah dijadikan isu oleh parti lawan.

3. Imej UMNO sekarang sudah banyak tercemar dengan politik wang semasa pemilihan Majlis Tertinggi. Boleh dikatakan hampir semua yang dipilih terlibat dengan rasuah.

4. Sesungguhnya orang ramai tidak lagi hormati UMNO. Dan besar kemungkinan mereka tidak akan undi calon UMNO dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

5. Imej ini boleh diubah jika UMNO secara serius cuba bertindak membersihkan dirinya. Yang rakyat lihat ialah janji akan terus bertindak terhadap yang terlibat dengan penggunaan wang dalam pemilihan Majlis Tertinggi tidak dikotakan. Sebaliknya banyak tanda-tanda yang menunjuk yang kotor diterima juga. Jika yang dipilih sebagai calon di Bagan Pinang tidak bersih maka persepsi rakyat terhadap UMNO sebagai parti rasuah tidak akan berubah. Ia akan mempunyai kesan buruk dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

6. Memang benar saya disingkir daripada UMNO dan kemudian diterima balik dan dicalonkan dalam Pilihanraya Umum 1974. Tetapi saya tidak disingkir kerana jenayah rasuah. Saya disingkir kerana saya telah suarakan pendapat ramai ahli parti yang tidak senang dengan dasar Presiden ketika itu.

7. Demikian juga beberapa orang ahli Semangat 46 telah diterima balik, dicalon dan ada yang dipilih menjadi menteri. Mereka bukan diambil tindakan disiplin kerana rasuah atau politik wang. Kesalahan mereka bukan satu jenayah. Sebaliknya tindakan mereka disebabkan perbezaan pendapat politik dengan kepimpinan parti.

8. Tidak ada persamaan di antara kes saya dengan kes tindakan tatatertib keatas seorang yang menggunakan wang untuk mendapat jawatan dalam parti.

9. Jika ahli UMNO utamakan orang tertentu lebih daripada parti dan penerimaannya oleh masyarakat, janganlah hairan jika UMNO sekali lagi ditolak dalam pilihanraya umum.

10. Sebenarnya penolakan UMNO dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-12 disebabkan kebanyakan ahli UMNO terus menyokong pemimpin yang tidak disukai oleh rakyat. Oleh kerana ahli UMNO tidak bertindak menukar pemimpin yang tercemar dengan rasuah dan nepotisme, maka rakyat sebagai pengundi terpaksa bertindak mengalahkan BN dan UMNO di banyak kawasan.

11. Kalau sayang pada parti, janganlah begitu utamakan individu tertentu sehingga imej parti tercemar lagi. Korbankanlah sedikit supaya akhirnya parti dapat dipulih semula.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 20, 2009 12:22 AM

Saya dan isteri saya mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Fitri kepada semua pembaca blog ini khasnya dan kepada semua umat Islam di Malaysia.

Saya harap kita dapat menyambutnya dengan meriah tetapi sederhana dan dengan penuh kesyukuran disamping menyedari bahawa ramai dikalangan kita yang tidak berkemampuan.

Kepada yang pulang beraya di kampung, berhati-hatilah di jalanraya dan pandu dengan cermat.

Selamat Hari Raya.

Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Mahathir dan Hasmah

THE GARLAND OF SLIPPERS

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 18, 2009 4:18 PM

1. I have been asked again and again by the Press about what I felt regarding the garland of slippers suggested by an MIC member.

2. My reply is that it really is nothing new. As a politician one has to accept this kind of insult.

3. For example after I stepped down Umno leaders vilified me because I criticised Abdullah's decision on the bridge and other things. I did not complain then and no one openly condemned the Umno leaders for insulting me. They feared that it might displease the Prime Minister. In other words condemning me was acceptable; it was not a sign of disrespect for a so-called elder statesman. Why should it be any different now.

4. Before the 2008 elections I had told a foreign TV station that the MIC would perform badly because of Samy Vellu. And he did. I think I am justified in saying that Samy should retire.

5. In Malaysia a politician can be a total failure but he would never think of resigning. In other countries Ministers would commit suicide if some tragedy happens in their Ministry. But not in Malaysia. Here you can destroy the whole country and you'll get honorary doctorates for doing so.

6. The MIC should remember that there is not a single constituency with a predominantly Indian population. The MIC, a race-based party cannot contest in any constituency in Malaysia.

7. But to ensure the Indians get a say in the Government the BN had to allocate predominantly Malay constituencies to the MIC and then persuade the Malay voters to support the MIC candidate. The Malay voters did not like it but the Umno leaders had to persuade them.

8. When the MIC does things which would make it difficult for Malay voters to support its candidates, I think it is fair for a Malay to criticise. This could be done quietly by the leaders of BN. Others, including ex-leaders do not have that closed door access. They have to shout out aloud. So I shouted.

9. For almost 50 years the coalition of parties had done well in elections. That was due to their helping each other. But even so each must be generally acceptable. If their leaders forget this, the key success factors would be lost. They would lose.

KUOTA HAPUS

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 17, 2009 8:22 AM

1. Tidaklah penting kita tahu asal-usul kuota dalam pemilihan pemimpin UMNO. Namun demikian izinkan saya cerita sedikit berkenaan latar belakangnya.

2. Pada tahun 1986 Dato (Tun) Musa Hitam, musuh ketat Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah telah berjaya pujuk Tengku bertanding jawatan Presiden UMNO. Beliau sendiri sanggup jadi timbalannya.

3. Seperti biasa bahagian-bahagian (UMNO), dalam mesyuarat telah namakan calon mereka. Hanya 20 peratus menamakan Tengku Razaleigh.

4. Tetapi dalam Mesyuarat Agong Tengku Razaleigh mendapat hampir 50 peratus daripada undi wakil-wakil yang hadir.

5. Tentang bagaimana terdapat kelainan ketara antara bahagian-bahagian dengan wakil-wakil mereka, wallahua'alam.

6. Selepas itu mahkamah telah putuskan bahawa UMNO adalah parti haram. Walaupun UMNO dapat dipulih, sebilangan ahli dan pemimpin UMNO telah berpisah daripada parti untuk menubuh parti serpihan. Ternampak jelas pertandingan untuk jawatan tertinggi boleh memecah dan melemahkan parti.

7. Majlis Tertinggi UMNO, telah bincang kemungkinan perkara ini berlaku lagi dan memutuskan bagi mengelak perwakilan menidakkan keputusan Bahagian, sesiapa yang dicalon oleh Bahagian akan dapat 10 undi bonus.

8. Malangnya apabila Dato Seri Anwar mencabar Tun Ghaffar, entah bagaimana jumlah bahagian yang mencalonkan Anwar begitu tinggi sehingga undi bonus shaja pun boleh kalahkan Ghaffar. Tun Ghaffar terpaksa tarik diri dan Anwar pun naik jadi Timbalan Presiden dan Timbalan Perdana Menteri.

9. Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena yang telah berlaku kerana undi bonus. Nampaknya ada cara untuk menguasai bahagian sehingga perwakilan kehilangan hak mengundi sama sekali. Jelas sistem bonus boleh disalahgunakan.

10. Untuk meringkaskan cerita Majlis Tertinggi UMNO memutuskan untuk mengganti bonus dengan kuota. Jika seseorang calon betul-betul layak maka dia tentu mampu mendapat pencalonan secukupnya dari Bahagian. Bagi jawatan presiden tokoh yang layak perlu mendapat 60 pencalonan oleh Bahagian. Dengan cara ini hanya calon yang buruk, termasuk Presiden yang tidak akan dapat pencalonan yang mencukupi.

11. Malangnya penguasaan parti oleh Presiden yang juga Perdana Menteri amatlah kuat. Dengan cara-cara tertentu Presiden boleh memaksa supaya hanya dia sahaja yang dicalon. Pencabarnya bukan sahaja tidak akan dapat 60 bahagian tetapi dilihat hanya bahagiannya sendiri sahaja yang mencalonnya.

12. Sekali lagi sistem ini gagal untuk membebaskan bahagian dan ahli untuk bertindak mengikut kehendak mereka yang sebenar. Justeru itu memanglah baik sistem kuota ini dihapuskan.

13. Saya berdoa selepas ini penyalahgunaan kuasa oleh Presiden akan dihapuskan dan pencabarnya akan dapat bertanding. Tetapi setakat ini belum ada keputusan tentang cara mana seseorang dapat dicalonkan.

14. Sebenarnya tidak ada sistem yang tidak cacat. Samada sesuatu sistem berkesan atau tidak bergantung kepada pengamalnya. Apabila pengamal dipelbagai peringkat mudah di suap, sistem apa pun tidak akan menghasilkan yang terbaik.

MAKAN SUAP

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on September 14, 2009 2:42 PM

1. Ada orang politik yang berpendapat jika dapat jadi Presiden parti maka kemenangan mereka dalam pilihanraya terjamin.

2. Justeru itu mereka ini berusaha untuk menentukan kemenangan mereka melalui penyingkiran ahli yang tidak menyokong mereka, mengguna wang untuk membeli sokongan atau mengguna apa-apa kuasa yang ada pada mereka untuk menyogok, menjanji sesuatu kepada yang akan menyokong atau mengugut.

3. Hasilnya mereka menang dalam parti. Tetapi rakyat memerhati segala tindak-tanduk pemimpin dan ahli seperti ini. Apabila rakyat lihat perjuangan parti bukan lagi untuk rakyat; apabila mereka lihat rasuah dan ugutan yang menentukan kepimpinan, maka kepercayaan kepada parti dan pemimpinnya akan terhakis dan mungkin hilang lenyap.

4. Rakyat tidak dapat membuat apa-apa, terutama apabila mulut rakyat tertutup. Demikian juga ahli parti. Tetapi apabila Pilihanraya Umum diadakan maka rakyat sebagai pengundi akan nyatakan kekecewaan mereka.

5. Inilah yang telah berlaku pada Pilihanraya Umum ke 12, 2008.

6. Apakah kekecewaan rakyat disedari oleh pemimpin dan parti-parti politik. Hingga kini tidak ternampak yang parti dan pemimpin sudah betul-betul sedar.

7. Yang merebut jawatan masih merebut dengan penggunaan cara-cara lama. Pembersihan parti tidak juga dilakukan. Pengamal politik wang masih diterima dan diberi tempat.

8. Ahli-ahli biasa parti tidak memprotes sikap lama diteruskan. Bahkan ramai juga ahli yang berpendapat apa salahnya menabur wang. Mereka juga akan dapat sedikit habuan.

9. Apabila ramai rakyat sebagai pengundi sudah benci kepada parti kerana amalan rasuah dan bodoh-sombong, janji pembangunan dan menabur wang tidak akan berkesan lagi. Ingatlah apabila kelebihan undi sedikit sahaja, kehilangan sokongan daripada sebilangan yang kecil rakyat pun boleh sebabkan kekalahan.