YOURSAY | Ramkarpal excoriating Dr M: No more mincing words

YOURSAY | ‘We need politicians with backbones and ability to stand up for what they feel is right.’

You're the last person who can save M'sia - Ramkarpal excoriates Dr M

Capo: DAP leader Ramkarpal Singh, I salute you for this scathing piece on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The trust for Mahathir was never there in the first place, not before the 14th general election (GE14), not now, not ever.

The Pakatan Harapan coalition won overwhelmingly in GE14 because the electorate trusted the words of its leaders promising change and reforms, and securing PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim's freedom being the top agenda and his subsequent pre-agreed ascension to the premiership in two years.

We looked forward to this positive change, but sad to say it never materialised because Mahathir did not keep his word and betrayed us all. All our hard work, and standing in long queues under the hot sun waiting to vote, went down the drain.

You cannot even begin to imagine the rage and wrath that is simmering in us seeing our hard-fought mandate stolen by the very man who stood on countless podiums telling us to vote for Harapan.

Middle Path: Indeed, no more mincing our words when truths need to be told. Black is black, white is white. What Mahathir had done was he was only thinking purely of himself when he resigned as prime minister without even a discussion with his cabinet ministers.

He betrayed all, including the voters who elected Harapan to clean out the mess done by the previous government. At the time, he got too big-headed and thought that the country could not survive without him.

He resigned, hoping to test his popularity. He failed miserably and put the country on a trajectory it is in today.

ThePhoenix: Well, Ramkarpal, nobody could have called a spade, a spade better then you have. There is an obvious difference between what reality demands and what the delusional mind desires.

Your statements have stayed true to reality. Let’s hope when the time calls for action, a greater cross-section of Malaysians will not give in to the desires of the delusional mind.

DragonKing: I admire a politician who stays true to his words and doesn’t bend to the wind of favour. Rightly said, like his late father, Karpal Singh.

We need many more politicians who have backbones and ability to stand up for what they feel is right. Rather than hiding behind the sarong of an old man, who doesn’t think good for the nation and citizens except for himself and only himself.

It is perplexing that there are so many who still believe in this revengeful, cunning and selfish politician.

What a pity state the country is because we still depend on the old guards to run the country, and the young ones only fight for power and wealth, with no idea of how to serve the people.

Superfly: Ramkarpal, thank you for reversing my thought. After reading what you have said, you are right, we were all conned by Mahathir.

Once bitten twice shy no more. Harapan should move forward without him and his party, Pejuang, and whether Anwar can become PM or not.

What's important is to show the people that Harapan is still determined with its reform agenda, has matured and emerged stronger than before.

Let Umno, PAS, Pejuang and Bersatu fight among themselves. GE14 has proven that people can and will bring down a government.

God willing, in the next general election, people will give their mandate to Harapan again and this time without the old man.

Evin K: More leaders should speak up like Ramkarpal did here, particularly leaders from Harapan. Make a stand and a clear once and for all, for goodness sake.

The DAP, in particular, needs to take heed and disassociate themselves from the likes of Mahathir. Warisan leader Shafie Apdal clearly learnt this lesson the hard way, albeit too late.

It was disgusting enough when DAP leader Lim Guan Eng proposed Mahathir and then later, Shafie, as PM candidate instead of Anwar. That was when the DAP lost the plot, and they're still reeling from that horrible decision they made. People are fed up.

Whether or not Anwar ends up PM is immaterial, but it is the clearly diminishing integrity of these, once so-called crusaders of the people that have been silenced through positions that were awarded to them during the Harapan reign, that matters - power have changed all of them as we're now witnessing first hand, and the silence from all of them now is deafening.

FairMalaysian: Whenever I pass the Dayabumi Complex, Mahathir will come to my mind. It now looks more like a white elephant, appearing "soulless".

Mahathir identified it then as a pride of the Malays. Wrong priorities marked by grandiose projects and a hell-bent policy of "Malay superiority" seemed to have drained the man by the time he left office after 22 long years.

His greatest regret - he could not change the mindset of Malays - a job that seems to have even eluded him during his second tenure in office.

Somehow, every leader after Tunku Abdul Rahman paid little regard and focus of what should and would have been the best investment during their tenures - the human capital, or more appropriately, the unity among the diverse races and cultures.

Unfortunately, it appears that these leaders may have believed that their strength lies in keeping the races diametrically opposed to each other. Mahathir was obsessed to the point of being possessed with that idea that, as we can see today, brought about ruinous results.

It is funny though that indeed there are political parties that strongly believe that race and religion could fetch them votes and this tragedy has robbed us of any little hope of building a cohesive and unified workforce that can be economically relevant and strategic for reaping the gains that may follow.

Alienating the DAP means alienating a large majority of the Chinese and that has become amply evident in the last few elections. When some of the party leaders swear not to work with the DAP, they are essentially telling everyone that they do not want to work with a large section of the Chinese.

The incessant and sometimes "irritant" call by some of them for all politicians to work together for the benefit of the people in a time of a pandemic and economic crisis makes one wonder how they will be able to do it by alienating a large section of Malaysians.

Two critical issues have put us in the crossroads. The unstable government that drags on with a thin majority and the pandemic that has struck with dire economic consequences. Talking of a unity government, or at least coming together for a common good, cannot hold water the way the Perikatan Nasional was formed.

It cannot go on with the charade of getting one or two representatives of MCA and MIC as representing the minority communities. These two parties have been largely irrelevant. Whereas the DAP ranks as the second-largest party in the opposition, sidelining that party in a chase to get something solid going would sound so insincere and may not produce the desired results.

Pokokelapa: So much has been said. We have to let all this pass and move on. In hindsight, we all speak in foresight we all hope, but the truth is in the now.

All are tired of the now. What do we do? This is why we have an opposition. Can we come out of this stronger or are we going to remain bystanders?

Sadly, the opposition is unsure of what to do because some are aligned to both sides, and vice versa. That is the big unhealthy problem.

The issue now is at the hands of the majority, who can make the change happen. That majority cannot afford to sit back and let matters be. That majority must speak. If it is not now, then it will never be, and we will continue to be in dire straits.

YOURSAY | Harapan-Mahathir formula tried and failed, time to move on

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