KUALA LUMPUR – Former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad does not discount contesting in another election if he is forced to do so by his followers.
In a video interview with VICE News, the Langkawi MP said he simply could not ignore the request of his party supporters, especially if it gives them a better opportunity to win the polls.
“A lot of my followers or supporters want me to stand…I don’t want to run for election but if they feel that my participation would enhance the possibility of the party winning, then I cannot just ignore their request.”
When pressed if he would still consider it despite his age, the 96-year-old lawmaker said: “Well, as a last resort, yes.”
In his political career, the controversial Dr Mahathir has made multiple notches in the nation’s history through his canny strategies and Machiavellian endeavours.
Among his chief exploits include taking down Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, pushed the country into an Asian Tiger during his first tenure as prime minister from 1981 to 2003 as Umno president under the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, and made history when he helped take down BN in the 2018 General Election in which he became the second-time prime minister from 2018 to 2020 until he was finally outfoxed when his Pakatan Harapan-led government collapsed.
The interview also touched on same sex marriages and how Dr Mahathir is supposed to represent the LGBTQ community, seeing that he has been known to be vehemently against them and refused to recognise their rights.
Instead of addressing the question directly, he said that Malaysian society is different when compared to the West.
“They have to realise that our society is different. For example, in the West now, there is no respect for marriage or family. Young girls, even teenagers, sleep around. And they are actually tolerated by their parents.
"Parents used to give contraceptive pills to their daughters. Knowing full well that their daughters will be doing all kinds of things that in the older generation would not be tolerated.”
When confronted with statistics that one out of five youths across the globe, including Malaysia, identifies as non-heterosexual and traditional forms of gender, the Pejuang founder gave a placating answer, saying that there he does have common grounds with the LGBTQ community.
“We will not be able to represent them completely, but there are things that they care about which we can accommodate. For example, the environment, climate change, temperature rising all over the world – all these things are of interest to the youth and we have the same views.”
Near the end of his first round as prime minister during the 1981-2003 period, Dr Mahathir had charged his then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy, which led to him spending several years in prison. – The Vibes, November 5, 2021
