In response to Mahathir the Great
Mahathir: 1. Ancient China considered itself the centre of the world and called itself the Middle Kingdom. And well it should. It was far more advanced in every way than Europe of the Dark Ages. Maybe China is thinking of making a comeback.
Answer: The definition of the “world” where ancient China thrived included neither India nor Pakistan? Those are (still) parts of the Indian subcontinent world at which Mahathir’s ancestors kowtowed to the Arabs then joined with them to convert the Malays. China is not “thinking” of a comeback. It has come back, so that never again will it be ruled by some smelly barbarians from the North or the West, and it comes back not because Mahathir said it.
Mahathir: 2. But we already have a new Middle Kingdom now. During Lee Kuan Yew’s triumphant visit to Malaysia he made it known to the Malaysian supplicants that Singapore regards the lands within 6000 miles radius of Singapore as its hinterland. This includes Beijing and Tokyo and of course Malaysia.
Answer: If Singapore’s hinterland runs 6,000 miles, then that would include India and Pakistan. Why? Singapore must not have either? Mahathir is dreaming of keeping Pakistan for his in-laws? They can have it, by all means please. And if this is so, is Mahathir worried more for the Malay or his ancestral homeland?
Mahathir: 3. Of course this self-deluding perception places Singapore at the centre of a vast region. It is therefore the latter day Middle Kingdom. The rest are peripheral and are there to serve the interest of this somewhat tiny Middle Kingdom.
Answer: Self is what it perceives, so perception is never delusional to the self; it can only be erroneous against reality. Peripheral by definition does not serve the center; it is served by the centre. (The “rest”, in the periphery, is collective grammar form and must be followed by a singular “is”, not plural.) Or, to put the same thing in terms of physical laws, the centre holds the periphery from spinning off into oblivion.
One could go on … and on. But that’s enough. That was largely to demonstrate how an intellectual midget in Mahathir the Great could have once ruled 20 million inhabitants, and he can’t even make sense. And what has he to show for the rule? Empty, unusable tower buildings that twinkle only in the sun, and failed and corrupted institutions, and a crumbling political party named Umno. And he knows it, especially when Lee Kuan Yew comes around and flashes off at him like a mirror. This is the reason he hates Lee Kuan Yew. Side-by-side Mahathir’s failings immediately show up, and Mahathir the Great is revealed as Mahathir the Great Goofer.
Note the two themes running through the Mahathir ranting.
One. Hollowness. Nothing substantive; no intellectual content; lots of puff. And yet he says he has “a lot more to say”. Well thank you very much for your future report. We’d be happy to see you take your “lot” with you, into the next life.
Two. Racism. Mahathir just cannot get away from pitting the Malays and Chinese against each other. Why? What have the Chinese stolen from Mahathir for him to pit the two groups together? Mahathir had to invent grievances (Malay Dilemma) 30, 40 years ago to get to power. After he has got that power, what has he delivered to the Malays? Horse riding clubs? Nothing, other than regress the Malays from their sanity, stoic tranquility (reminds of the good Kelantanese Nik Aziz, excepting the moments that Nasha fellow came along to vomit on his lap), and self-reliance. Think of it: more than 30 wasted years, a whole generation ruined and more. Further proof of his misdeeds? Today, two million Malay voters don’t want him to rule them.
There is a third theme in Mahathir’s posting, but this says only of his individual personality. This personality is a reflection of his generation as well as age: English educated, yet bigoted, yet illiterate, yet undiscerning. The English-educated social class likes to think they have a generous multicultural worldview and because they went to St John’s and some elitist Kuala Kangsar College they are therefore liberal and indulgent. Yet Mahathir is evidence of the opposite: racist, authoritarian, intolerant, and – dare we say? – stupid. He is, in spite of their mutual animosities, identical to the Malaysia Today horde, a motley of St Xavier types, drifting, selfish, quarrelsome middle-aged and old men, endless days on the Net, illiterate in maths, science and history, jobless, absent of identity roots, confused personalities, Chinese who can’t read Chinese, not even their mother’s name, Tamils who cannot read Tamil, and all write in bad English.
The contrast between Mahathir and Kuan Yew is all the more glaring if you consider that both were former premiers and today over 80. Kuan Yew, exploiting his influence from the past, spends the remaining days of life working for his country. But what is it that Mahathir does? Alone at his desk, his mouth froths bitterness, he fights old ghosts and is today useless in the service not only to himself but especially to “his” country because, in the past, he made enemies out of everybody.
There is also another difference between the two.
Kuan Yew neither despises nor envies the Malays, but he is concerned about preserving the Chinese identity while he is astute enough to know that it does the Chinese a world of good if the Malay neighbour improves his lot. Mahathir’s racial hatred is visceral so his policy actions, especially those during his time as premier, stem not out of any respect for the Malay existence, but if those policies undermine Malay economic welfare because they would put down the Chinese, then he wouldn’t mind. Such an attitude, his, explains why the Singapore-Malaysia issues over bridges, sand, water and railway are so intractable. The misfortune of the last 20, 30 years is the general Malay population didn’t see through Mahathir, drowned as they were into deadness by the bellicose shouting, name calling, quarreling and insults all of which he now delivers through his blog site. Added to this dint obstructing clarity is the drum beating from the sidelines of Mahathir, the Malaysia Today illiterate horde.
