“It is now described as a kleptocracy, a country ruled by thieves and robbers. But more than that it is a country where there is no rule of law, where the rulers do anything they please,” he charged in his latest blogpost.
The man who had been accused by critics of abusing the system when he was prime minister, charged the current ruling government with manipulating the democratic system and abusing instruments of government to ensure it remained in power.
For one, Dr Mahathir said, the Election Commission, which should be independent, was totally under government control.
“It begins with the delineation of the constituencies. The borders can be shifted, polling stations changed, and voter names can disappear and reappear somewhere else.
“Bribery of the voters is open. Reports to the authorities result in no action. Besides money, kitchen appliances and other goodies are openly distributed.”
Dr Mahathir said opposition parties were being harassed, faults found and registration of parties delayed or denied.
He added: “All sources of funds for the opposition are blocked, with potential donors being threatened, forced to pay extra taxes and accused of money laundering. Their money in the banks are frozen so that they cannot do business. Certainly not finance the opposition.
“Government meeting halls are closed to the opposition parties. Hotels may not let their halls be used by the opposition. Local authorities do not permit usage of open spaces for meetings of the opposition. In several cases erection of tents for public gatherings were not allowed.”
Another tactic being used by the government to stay in power, he said, was to spread rumours that it would know who voted for which party, although the vote was secret.
“There is an implied threat that those voting for the opposition would be punished. Government employees are engaged to man the polling stations and many are instructed to favour government party candidates in one way or another.
“Officers in government agencies and companies are told that they and their staff must ensure everyone supports the government party. They are threatened with dismissal if they fail to do so.”
He listed several other ways in which, he claimed, the government was abusing its powers to paralyse the opposition.
He said leaders of the opposition parties were being accused of all kinds of crimes. He said “an incident” which happened 30-plus years ago was resurrected and a Royal Commission of Inquiry set up. As expected, he said, the RCI found that the “opposition leaders had committed breaches and must be investigated by the police”. Dr Mahathir was alluding to the RCI on forex losses suffered when he was prime minister.
Yet, he noted, nothing was being done about the most recent 1MDB fiasco.
Also, he said, Bank Negara had reported the loss of US$39.6 billion (RM162.36 billion at current rate) between 2013-2015.
“How this huge loss was incurred is not explained. But the fact is that it is an enormous loss. It is four times the loss 30 years ago. Who made this decision which resulted in this huge loss? Who authorised the action which resulted in this loss?.”
He also spoke about how bad management of the economy had devalued the ringgit.
“But no investigations have been carried out. And no explanation is given to the suffering public. Certainly no Royal Commission of Inquiry has been set up. It would seem that the ruling party in a democracy can abuse and manipulate the powers of the government as it pleases.”
Saying democracy was a great system for the governance of a country, but that it could be abused, as was happening now, Dr Mahathir added: “Clearly the election will not be fair.”