GEORGE TOWN – The revelation by Tan Sri Tommy Thomas that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had prevented his then deputy Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail from taking over his post on an interim basis when he resigned is the strongest indication that he views PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as a threat.
PKR Senator Yusmadi Yusoff said this confirms suspicions long held among Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders that Dr Mahathir sees Anwar, who is Wan Azizah’s husband, as his ultimate adversary.
He said the move indicates that Dr Mahathir would resort to any means necessary to ensure that Anwar does not become the prime minister, despite the 95-year-old lawmaker apparently burying the hatchet with the latter, who was his deputy during his first tenure as prime minister.
“It is clear now. Dr Mahathir is anti-reform, whereas Anwar is a reformist,” said Yusmadi, a lawyer and former Balik Pulau MP.
In his book, My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, former attorney-general Thomas recounted that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong wanted to appoint Wan Azizah as interim prime minister when the Sheraton Move was at play early last year.
However, he revealed that Dr Mahathir, who had then just resigned as prime minister, put forward his own name for the interim position instead.
“This is probably without precedent in modern politics. A prime minister, who is comfortably in power, resigns of his own free will and volition.
“Consistent with that decision, he should leave the political scene after holding the most important position in the state,” Thomas wrote.
Offering his views to The Vibes, Yusmadi said he finds it confounding that a nonagenarian still wants to play politics of hate and deceit.
He said Dr Mahathir has also been consistently critical of his subordinates, who later became prime ministers in different periods, when they had acted against his interests.
“I think beneath the statesman-like exterior, Dr Mahathir is simply selfish.
“I listen to people blaming Anwar for the 22 months of lukewarm PH leadership before it caved to a backdoor government led by Dr Mahathir’s one-time ally, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“In all fairness, Anwar did not hold any cabinet position during the PH administration, so he should be blameless over the mess that the country has found itself in.”
He said Dr Mahathir’s move to resign as prime minister and dissolve the PH cabinet backfired, as it ushered in a new government that has since faltered in the face of the country’s triple crises of Covid-19 public health nightmare, economic downturn, and political stalemate.
Lawyer S. Raveentharan, who is former PKR deputy secretary-general, said the revelations in Thomas’ book show that it is time for Dr Mahathir to let go of politics and enjoy his retirement.
“Enough of Mahathirism for five decades. He first infected Umno, and then he went on to infect PH and our PKR. He may have meant well, but it ended up badly for the nation.”
Raveentharan said the country needs to move on, adding that logically, Anwar, who is Port Dickson MP and present opposition leader, should be given the benefit of the doubt to lead it, as he has made significant sacrifices. – The Vibes, February 1, 2021
