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.
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.
