FORMER prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has described a string of developments around the world as “strange”, saying many of them have brought little benefit to humanity.
Taking the matter on Facebook, Mahathir said there were now so many events unfolding that it was difficult to comment on each one, particularly with conflicts continuing to flare up in different parts of the world.
He said Malaysia was no exception, pointing to what he described as questionable outcomes in several court cases.
“There are many court cases. Strange decisions are made when people who commit minor offences are punished, while those who steal millions are freed and appointed to high positions,” he said.
Mahathir also criticised world leaders for decisions he described as equally puzzling.
He stressed wars that should never have taken place had instead claimed thousands of lives, destroyed property and left countries facing heavy losses.
Among the examples he raised were the arrest of a democratically elected leader by another country, as well as an attack that resulted in the death of a national leader and subsequently triggered a wider war.
He added the conflict was then intensified through bomb and rocket attacks, followed by retaliatory strikes against military bases in other countries.
On Gaza, Mahathir criticised Israel’s actions in territories outside its own borders and its claims that such actions were necessary to deal with terrorism.
He said the war and what he described as genocide in Gaza were continuing, with bomb and rocket attacks reported even during periods of ceasefire.
Mahathir put the death toll in Gaza at about 73,000 and said much of the territory had been reduced to rubble.
Despite the devastation, he said Palestinians were still trying to maintain some semblance of normal life.
He also pointed to the Russia-Ukraine war, calling it another conflict that had resulted in heavy casualties and the destruction of entire cities.
Mahathir questioned the purpose of continuing the fighting, arguing that Ukraine was not capable of defeating Russia while thousands of people continued to lose their lives.
“Events keep happening, but it seems no one cares,” he said. – August 24, 2026
