Maha fiery

The Perak skies were red and angry yesterday when, sitting centrestage, Mahathir challenged the rakyat to assess Pak Lah and act. Act fast. And if they were to take his hint - having been Prime Minister for 22 years - it's a big fat F.

In the Q&A session at Universiti Teknologi Petronas, a reporter had asked: "In your speech earlier, you mentioned that a Prime Minister be given a certain amount of time; should our present Prime Minister be given more time?"

Maha's response: "That's up to the rakyat... If we have a Prime Minister who's selling away the country, should we wait five years? We need to take action earlier.

"If he's made plans which we do not know whether they will succeed or not, such as the South Johor Economic Region - his very own idea... not influenced by anyone - but you'll have to wait for another five years."

(See AgendaDaily transcript: http://www.agendadaily.com/cmspreview/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_e905c840-3132372e-10a4a320-585d75d6 )

Reporter: "Then, should a Prime Minister who's alleged to have sold the country be replaced before five years?"

This time a more curt response: "I don't say... if he sold the country, no need to wait out five years."

Wah, so serious ah?

Mahathir's good at this, you know. The dry sarcasm, the mockery, all calculated to stir feelings of animosity and belligerence.

Except when you peer deeper beyond all that the emo-aggro stuff, and search for substance, you find precious little. You'd expect constructive points, not character assassinations. You'd expect bigger issues and ideas on how to solve them. But you find boiling bile, s'all you find.

When it all first started, I thought hey, we might have an ally. It may light a fire under this administration's butt and get it to work. But the questions became loopy, rehashed, closed circuited; the motives curiouser and curioser. I'm now convinced - it's not love of country, but DNA, the baser stuff of territory and alpha maleness. Plus a chip on the shoulder.

See, of all the frigging problems we face today, our ex-PM picks four: The AP issue, Tengku Mahaleel's removal as CEO of Proton, Proton's sale of MV Agusta for 1 Euro, and the cancelled crooked platform to the middle of the Tebrau Straits (it's not even a bridge; a bridge gathers, not separates, two entities).

These frigging four! Of all the pressing issues - racial polarisation, increased income gaps, rural-urban divide, citizenship scandals in Sabah, the mega-brain drain, mediocre education system, pathetic public transport, petty thefts that take lives, a multi-media super corridor that's forever stymied by its own kryptonite, GLCs poor performance, the judiciary, local councils, and basic integrity - the man who had guided us for 22 years picks these frigging four.

That's vision for you.

As we peer into the four questions, we find out more. Three are Proton-related, while the other is a show-off, middle finger gesture to Singapore, the country he loves to hate. Proton's one of Mahathir's pet projects. It's not been doing well, been on drips for ages. The management had been crowing about its huge profits and success, but please, face the facts. The cars it produces are what we'd hate to admit but what we've come to expect - a Third World product with Third World specs. And yet it's produced and sold at a price higher than a 1.5L Toyota Yaris or a Saturn in the US, after direct conversion. Go figure.

I have lots of issues with the Pak Lah Administration. I'm holding him to his Promise, and only his Promise. For me, I'll wait till the five years are up and go to the ballot box to give my verdict. Meanwhile, I'll voice my opinions on this blog, supply an idea or two if possible. After all, I'm but a commoner.

I'm not losing sleep over a stupid crooked platform, nor spoonfeed a carmaker that hasn't performed as it's meant. I mean, what's new; we survived 22 years of such policies. Sand or no sand, Pak Lah promised he'll change the cultural landscape around here. Onwards to World Class, he says. All I can say is he's running out of time, crossed the halfway mark, and it ain't looking pretty by my book.

If Mahathir genuinely wants to see a healthy Malaysia, it'd be best if he come onboard constructively. Lobby for legislative change. Speak up for the disenfranchised. Encourage a more consultative government. Give clear ideas on how transparancy can be achieved. Spearhead a national think-tank. Whatever, but not this.

In other words, stop being an 81-year-old crybaby.