Dr M's Sting (Ep. 11 - Don't be a chicken!)

That dialogue which lasted more than 2 hours at the Kelab Century Paradise organised by Malaysia-Today was all Dr M needed to renew his attack on the current administration.

I must say, at more than 80 years old, Dr M has not lost any of his caustic wit which had his 600-odd listeners standing in rapt attention, at times drowning the man in thunderous roar of approval. If you don't believe me, you can download the video at Malaysia-Today's website and hear for yourself. He was truly in his element.

Not surprisingly, none of the mainstream media wanted to have anything to do with it. It was THAT embarrassing.

But, you can read a report filed in The Straits Times here, headlined "Mahathir strikes again." In another article filed by the same reporter, she claimed that "Opposition now instant fans of former prime minister" and another one with the title "Swipe at Premier's advisers."

I think from the extensive coverage given by the Singapore's Straits Times, they were equally concerned about Dr M's very public criticisms especially when the ex-PM accused the tiny island state of being selfish and that "with Singapore, you cannot negotiate or smile."

I kind of got the impression that Dr M just could not stomach the fact that under Pak Lah's administration, the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore has warmed somewhat and that both sides have taken a softer & more diplomatic approach in negotating contentious issues involving the sovereignty of both countries.

It's not much different with Australia either. And probably with a whole bunch of Dr M's self-proclaimed enemies.

He sure is spoiling for a fight. What else did you expect him to do? He just could not stand it anymore.

And Kalimullah Hassan, in his last Sunday Column article for the NST "Sometimes you've got to fight when you're a man" is not much better. It appears to the reader that he's egging Pak Lah to take on Dr M and give him what he wants - a black eye, perhaps?

But wait a minute - what's the point of it?

What's the whole point of just answering one man's questions and justifying your administration to ONE man?

What about US? Why not try to shake off that lethargy and get moving now? Try to do one thing at a time - among some IMPORTANT things which all of us have been holding our breathe for you to take action.

Like, for a start, implement the IPCMC first. This should get the whole country (and quite a few opposition leaders) rallying behind you with a thunderous roaring support to drown out one man's rant.

Then, before the euphoria has died down, take the bull by the horns and reshuffle that montrous size cabinet and get rid of some loud-mouthed deadwoods as well as some notoriously unrepentant recalcitrants.

Clap, clap, clap. Another round of applause and "Pak Lah BOLEH!".

And later, look at what can be done to weed out incompetent and corrupt officers who have been getting away with running local government offices like their very own mini-empires.

And you'll have the voters eating out of your hands in the next General Election.

You see, this is what most people on the ground want to see you do.

Because they elected you to make their lives a whole lot better than it was in the previous administration. Those very people who slog for a living and who didn't benefit from APs and government contracts and handouts which made a select and privileged few bumiputras into super rich and famous "entrepreneurs".

The bottom line is, and this is sad - nothing much has changed for the ordinary folks - most would even claim that things have gotten worse in the past 2 and a half years. They have gotten poorer because their real income has shrunk with higher costs of living.

And some people continue to use public funds for the sole pleasurable benefit of a select few.

Can you blame them for getting restless and angry?