After being asked to resign, Maszlee now understands Hang Tuah's feelings

Former education minister Maszlee Malik said he finally understands the feelings of the legendary warrior Hang Tuah after being asked to step down from the position.

Maszlee (above) was heard saying so to several individuals at a dining table in a 57-second clip uploaded on Twitter by a user known as @azmyklanajaya.

'When I received a letter from Tun (Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad) asking me to resign, at that time, I told myself: now I know the feelings of Hang Tuah.

"It means, Hang Tuah did not see what was happening, he (only) saw the opportunity given by the king.

"If the king did not give him the opportunity, he wouldn't have the chance to defend Malacca, to fight the pirates, to offer his service, isn't it?"

According to the chronicles of Hang Tuah, Sultan Mansur Shah sentenced him to death for treason, but the Malacca bendahara had rescued and hid him in a remote region of Malacca.

Maszlee resigned on Jan 2 on the advice of the prime minister.

Commenting on a leaked letter penned by Mahathir himself which asked Maszlee to resign, the 94-year-old premier said his request was not because Maszlee had done a lot of mistakes, but because of other reasons.

“I’m not saying that he does everything wrong. There are some things which he does which are right, but because of these other reasons, I felt it is necessary for him to resign and he agreed, and so he resigned,” Mahathir said today.

In the clip, Maszlee also shared on how the king felt without the presence of Hang Tuah when the latter's companion Hang Jebat ran amok after purportedly learning that Hang Tuah was sentenced to death.

"During the time when Hang Jebat ran amok, the king said 'if only Hang Tuah was here'. (So) the bendahara went to look for Hang Tuah," he said.