Sabahans must be wary of Dr M – Mositun

PAPAR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad is most likely planning to return to power as the head of a new opposition coalition, said Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary general Datuk Johnny Mositun.

He said Mahathir's promises of change and avowed aim to dismantle divisive policies to end racial polarization sound hollow because he said the same things when he was Prime Minister but in reality it was Mahathir himself who entrenched racebased policies and promoted crony capitalism through his privatization agenda that led to money politics.

“Upon becoming Prime Minister, he pledged to put the fear of the devil in corrupt politicians but even a cursory glance at his legacy shows he did the opposite, causing huge damage and losses to the nation and making it difficult for his successors to put things right,” said Mositun in response to Mahathir saying that he would never rejoin Umno.

Mahathir has been in and out of Umno before. He resigned after he disagreed with his successor Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi. He engineered Badawi's ouster and rejoined Umno when Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister, he pointed out.

“Now he is angry with Datuk Seri Najib who is carrying out his pledge to transform Malaysia and take it to the next level, and left Umno. He sees Najib as an obstacle to his ambition to make his son Mukhriz a prime minister one day. Mahathir has now transformed from a retired ordinary citizen to leader of the opposition to destroy Dato Seri Najib, Umno and BN,” Mositun observed.

Pointing to Mahathir's long trail of vengeful acts throughout his rule, Mositun said all promising leaders like Tun Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh, Tun Ghafar Baba, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and a host of others had been used by Mahathir when they were needed but cast aside when he felt they were becoming a threat to his own iron-grip on the country.

“He is now trying to do the same to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” Mositun claimed.

Sabahans, he said, especially must be wary of a man like Mahathir.

“He never cared for Sabah except as a vote bank. If today Sabahans have grievances against the BN, Mahathir must bear the blame for most if not all this anger. Our Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman, who has done so much to stabilize the local politics and develop the state's infrastructure and economy in a peaceful environment still receives brickbats for problems created by Mahathir.

“The Prime Minister, who has provided huge allocations for the state to catch up with Peninsular Malaysia and is sympathetic to the restoration of our autonomy and state rights eroded under Mahathir's rule, also has to bear with criticisms and accusations over problems left behind by Mahathir. Does any Sabahan seriously want Mahathir back in power?” Mositun wanted to know.

He said it would come as no surprise that once Mahathir succeeded in regaining power, his allies in the opposition would feel the brunt of his dictatorial ways.

“Does Anwar Ibrahim or Muhyiddin think Mahathir will really consider them his equals? And Lim Kit Siang? And don't forget, Mahathir said if DAP cannot use its own symbol for GE14 he would still not allow it to use the PPBM symbol because PPBM is a Malay party. That's how sincere Mahathir is to the opposition front that he is using as a vehicle for his own ambitions,” Mositun said.