From Adnan D
Leaders come and go. No one is immortal. But of late, some former leaders have behaved as if they would live forever.
After the Johor state elections, where some candidates lost their deposits and some parties didn’t win even one seat, I would hope they got the hint. Time to move on, retire, for good. Go watch Netflix, they have some excellent shows.
In most countries, even in underdeveloped ones, former leaders do not publicly criticise the current leadership. They don’t call each other names in public. That’s maturity for you. They will make private comments, have private conversations. There will be messages passed among party members in private, more so if they are from the same political party.
That’s what happens in a mature democracy and where people have respect for the office. It’s a different scenario in Malaysia: we have a free-for-all, and it’s such an embarrassing affair. I will not name the individuals, the facts speak for themselves.
There are four living ex-PMs in Malaysia. Mr Nice Guy, I understand is not very well; health wise, I wish him a happy and healthy life. He has been ideal, quiet, doesn’t interfere, lets the new leader run the show according to the wishes of the people. If the people are not happy, they will speak out, through the opposition or on social media.
The other three ex-PMs are a different case. The worst part is they all elected or chose each other, and came from the same political party at one point. The elder one brought them into power, and appointed them into positions.
They now call each other names and continue to criticise each other openly. It has reached such a stage that it’s like children fighting in kindergartens. They continue to publish open criticisms of each other, in social media, at public rallies.
Is the name-calling and fighting in public really necessary? They blame each other, raising allegations of fraud, cronyism, cheating, stealing, which might be true – but then again, let’s behave and set an example for school-going children and young adults reading this.
All three ex-PMs are Malays, a people known to be gentle and respectful, kind and compassionate, at least, when I was growing up.
All of them are well-to-do and enjoy taxpayer-funded pensions and privileges, while still remaining as serving MPs. One goes around as if nothing happened, surprisingly still popular despite his court cases. The other elder one goes in and out of hospital and makes all kinds of accusations. He needs to look in the mirror. Another keeps condemning his ex-colleagues.
The opposition is no better, they have lost the plot. Another senior politician is waiting to be PM, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. P Ramlee would be shocked to see the same politicians still around.
Why can’t these former leaders sit down and talk to each other, for the sake of the country? Why do they keep stabbing each other in the back?
Why has Malaysia descended to this state? Don’t we have anything else better to do?
I feel sorry for the current PM: he’s stuck between the power-hungry duelling ex-PMs. He cannot make decisions as he needs to consider the players in the other parties. A toothless tiger, as the saying goes.
Whilst all this is happening, the 1MDB case is being heard in front of a jury in the United States; the Russia-Ukraine war is going on, affecting the world economy and Malaysia too, as we trade with both countries; Covid-19 and the Omicron variant are spreading like wildfire; inflation and food prices have shot up, while race relations are at their lowest ever.
And the three former PMs are still fighting like children.
Adnan D is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.