Musa's diagnosis: He's suffering from PMS

Musa's diagnosis: He's suffering from PMS
Jun 9, 06 7:37pm

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is suffering from PMS (Post-Prime Ministerial Syndrome), said his ex-deputy Musa Hitam today.

Musa told Bernama this when asked to respond to Mahathir’s scathing remarks against his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

According to him, the 82-year-old former premier’s criticisms were not only improper but detrimental for Umno and the country as well.

In jest, Musa said Mahathir was undergoing a post-prime ministerial syndrome, which caused him to think that “only he is right”.

According to the former deputy premier, he had also experienced a similar syndrome but he managed to check himself.

"I just told myself to shut up. I told myself... look give up, withdraw. You cannot go on doing this. Let the others take over. They can do. They may or may not be doing as well as I want to do but they are now in place.

"They have been given the full support, the full support of the party, of the rakyat. I suggest stop interfering with them," he said.

Musa stepped down as deputy prime minister in February 1986 following differences of opinion with Mahathir.

Enough is enough

In the 75-minute interview with the national news agency, Musa said he decided to speak up because he did not want the situation to get out of hand.

"All I can say now is that... Dr Mahathir just stop it. Enough is enough. Don't do anything. If he continues (with his remarks), no one will gain. Only Dr Mahathir will be satisfied, but those who are against us will benefit," he said.

Musa also said if there had been a promise between Mahathir and Abdullah before, it should not be binding but what was important was Abdullah's promise to the people who had been given the mandate to him as prime minister.

Responding to a question, he said Mahathir appeared to be reneging on his promise of non-interference by hurling criticisms against the current administration.

He also expressed regret that his former boss was resorting to using unkind words.

“... Dr Mahathir seems to be unabashed. He had cast aside the ethics or tradition which had long been known among Umno members in general, when he blatantly and openly criticised Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“(He) not only made criticisms on issues but also used very unkind words to the prime minister. The most unkind word was that he (Abdullah) was not his first choice as (deputy premier) Najib ( Abdul Razak) was the one who garnered the highest votes. But it was clear in Umno's history itself, that was a norm,” he said.

Causing a split

By bringing this up intentionally, Musa claimed that Mahathir “appeared to have directly wanted to split the two (Abdullah and Najib)”.

Elaborating on the negative impacts of such statements, Musa said Mahathir was implying that he favours Najib and sees him as a better candidate compared to Abdullah.

He said the fact is that Abdullah was given a huge mandate by the people in the last general elections and even Mahathir did not garner that many votes during his tenure.

“Abdullah is not Mahathir. Abdullah has given hope that under his administration there will be greater tolerance and transparency...” he added.

Nobody can dispute that change has transpired since Abdullah took over the reins from Mahathir in 2003, he pointed out.

He said Abdullah has his fair share of weaknesses and so does Mahathir. Musa claimed that he too is critical of Abdullah on certain issues but these are conveyed via the proper channels.

When Mahathir was heading the country and party, he always called on members to channel their grouses against the government through the right channels.

“Mahathir says that he is an ordinary person now which means he is an ordinary member (in Umno) so he should act like an ordinary member and keep to the (party) tradition,” he added.

Stab in the back

According to Musa, the former premier’s vocal criticism only serves to benefit the opposition and nobody else.

“During Mahathir’s era, there were allegations of corruption. Mahathir asked, 'where is the proof?' Now, Mahathir is alleging corruption but where is the proof?” he said.

Musa said it is the people who ultimately decide if a government headed by a particular leader is fit to continue ruling and this is the essence of democracy.

“In my view, Mahathir has great confidence in himself and his capabilities until he has not met anyone better than him. The reality is, he had four deputies (during his 22-year tenure) and he probably accused everyone of them of stabbing him from behind.

“After choosing someone, he won’t say ‘you have to do the right thing’. He will say, 'this is the way to do it'. He cannot understand after 22 years that different people interpret and do things differently,” he added.

“When I met him (Mahathir), he has told me directly ‘you stabbed me from the back’. I am not afraid to say this. He said ‘you stabbed me from the back’ several times. I took it well and with humour from a political standpoint. To me, I did not stab him from the back, I think he stabbed me from the back. This is politics.

“If to say that the prime minister (Abdullah) is now stabbing him from the back, what he (Mahathir) has done is to retaliate repeatedly. Stabbing the prime minister from the back. This is not appropriate. This helps nobody but those who want to see the party and country destroyed. Who is he helping? I am sure he will deny this arrogantly,” he said.