LETTER | 'M' is for menace to Malaysia

LETTER | On Friday, Dr Mahathir Mohamad made his way to the Bersatu headquarters and challenged party officials to tell him to his face that he was getting sacked.

For all intents and purposes, it was a perfectly-choreographed media event. The press lapped it up. The optics of a nonagenarian, twice prime minister spoiling for a fight with those young enough to be his children was too much to resist for the press. This helps to sell copies, boost web traffic and raise viewerships.

But beyond the political theatrics, towards what end was Mahathir's public relations exercise? Do we need such distractions at a time of national health and economic crisis, with the PM himself being quarantined?

The fact of the matter is that Mahathir and four other renegade Bersatu MPs voluntarily chose to go against the party by opting to sit with the opposition during the May 18 Parliament sitting. That amounted to a breach in party discipline and protocols that resulted in the automatic revocation of their Bersatu membership.

In any organisation, there are rules and regulations to follow. In the UK for example, one who is found driving above permissible alcohol limits face a driving ban of at least one year. It doesn't matter if you are an ex-PM or not. Rules are there for a reason.

Perhaps the former dictator thinks there is one rule for himself and another for the rest of us. Perhaps he is angry that his son Mukhriz Mahathir was given the boot as Kedah menteri besar just before that.

And now, the ex-PM is trying to scheme his way back to Putrajaya for the third time by way of enticing Perikatan Nasional MPs to cross the floor and rob Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of sufficient support in the Dewan Rakyat.

Seriously, we don't need this now. By all means, test Muhyiddin's legitimacy in Parliament but not when we are facing a crisis of unprecedented scale and complexity. Not when we need a semblance of stability at a time of global health and economic crises.

There is a time to be spoiling for a fight, whether your match is "rogue" currency traders like George Soros, the Zionists who repress Palestinians, or a neighbouring country which shortchanges us in water deals. But now is definitely the time for Mahathir to hold his punches and not be a menace to Malaysia.

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