Latest news with #Dr.Mahathir
Rakyat Post
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Rakyat Post
100-Year-Old Dr. Mahathir Tells Anwar: 'Stop Protecting Me, I Want To Fight!'
Subscribe to our FREE The country's centenarian former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has done something that would make most politicians break into a cold sweat: he's actively asking to be prosecuted. The backstory is pure geopolitical heartbreak. Back in 2008, Malaysia lost a chunk of its territory when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Pulau Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca) belonged to Singapore. Think of it as Malaysia's equivalent of losing a beloved family heirloom in a messy divorce. The island, sitting strategically at the entrance to the Singapore Strait, had been contested for decades. Fast-forward to 2018, when Dr. Mahathir, in his second stint as PM, made what a recent Royal Commission called a catastrophic decision: he withdrew Malaysia's application to review the ICJ ruling. It was like folding a winning poker hand because you got tired of playing. The Courtroom That Never Was Last week, current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stood in Parliament and delivered what amounted to a judicial verdict without the judge's robes. 'Is he not at fault? He is at fault,' Anwar declared about his predecessor, channelling his inner prosecutor. But then came the plot twist: 'We agreed not to take action' because Dr. Mahathir is 100 years old. It was a political mic drop that landed with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The Defiant Response Dr. Mahathir's response was swift and characteristically sharp. In a Facebook post that went viral faster than a TikTok dance, the former PM essentially told the government: 'Hold my walking stick and watch this.' 'I don't want immunity,' he wrote, with the defiance of someone who's survived decades of political storms. If you accuse me of being guilty, bring me to court and prove I'm guilty. I know I'm not guilty and I want to prove it. The post was pure Dr. Mahathir – part legal challenge, part political theatre, and entirely unapologetic. He accused Anwar of playing a triple role as Prime Minister, judge, and prosecutor, noting dryly that 'the Constitution doesn't say the Prime Minister can be a prosecutor or judge.' The People's Court of Public Opinion The Facebook comments section exploded like a Malaysian political version of reality TV. Supporters praised the 'legendary' former PM for his courage, while others questioned the entire legal framework. One commenter captured the surreal nature of the situation: 'It's better if the Prime Minister just appoints himself as Chief Justice.' The irony wasn't lost on anyone: here was a 100-year-old man essentially begging to be prosecuted, while the government was trying to protect him from prosecution he didn't want. The Real Issue: When Politics Decides Who Gets Justice This isn't just about one island or one old politician's pride. It's about the fundamental question of how justice works when politics gets in the way. Dr. Mahathir's refusal of age-based immunity raises uncomfortable questions about equal treatment under the law. The Royal Commission had recommended criminal investigation under fraud-related sections of the Penal Code, but stopped short of suggesting civil action due to time limitations. It's like having a smoking gun but being told What Happens Next? As Malaysia watches this unprecedented standoff between a centenarian demanding prosecution and a government offering protection he doesn't want, the real question becomes: what does justice look like when the accused is begging for his day in court? Dr. Mahathir's final line in his Facebook post cuts to the heart of it: 'Immunity is for people who are afraid to go to court because they know they're guilty.' In a political landscape where most politicians would kill for immunity, Malaysia's oldest former PM is doing the opposite – fighting for his right to fight. Whether you love him or hate him, you've got to admit: 'Lao Ma', or Old Horse (based on the Chinese transliteration of his name), still has teeth. READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's .
BusinessToday
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BusinessToday
Tun Mahathir's Japan Trip Sponsored By Govt He Regularly Attacks
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he approved a government sponsorship totaling RM486,000 for former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's trip to Japan for the Nikkei Forum. The cost covers Dr. Mahathir and seven accompanying delegates. Speaking to reporters today, Anwar confirmed the sponsorship, explaining that while certain provisions exist for former leaders to make such requests, the final decision rests with the sitting Prime Minister, which he ultimately granted. The approval comes amidst ongoing public criticism from Dr. Mahathir towards the current MADANI administration since Anwar took office. The veteran statesman has frequently been vocal on various government policies. In response to these criticisms, Anwar had also directed the anti-corruption agency to investigate Dr. Mahathir and his family over allegations of corruption. However, to date, no proof of Dr. Mahathir's alleged corruption has been presented, nor have any cases been filed against his family. Related
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a Calming Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dies at 85
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a low-key career politician who, in serving as Malaysia's fifth prime minister, from 2003 to 2009, extended the country's political freedoms and promoted a moderate form of Islam in his majority-Muslim Southeast Asian nation, died on Monday in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. He was 85. Khairy Jamaluddin, a former health minister and Mr. Abdullah's son-in-law, confirmed the death, at the National Heart Institute. He said Mr. Abdullah had been treated for 'breathing issues.' In 2022, he disclosed that Mr. Abdullah had dementia. Following the 22-year rule of the strongman Mahathir Mohamad, Mr. Abdullah's quiet style lowered the temperature of public discourse in Malaysia, a former British colony where politics revolves around the relations between moderate and hard-line strains of Islam and between the Muslim majority and the country's Chinese and Indian populations. Mr. Abdullah notably allowed greater political freedoms and lifted restrictions on the press. 'Abdullah's strength was allowing dialogue and discussions of Malaysia's problems,' Bridget Welsh, a specialist in Malaysian politics at the University of Nottingham Asia Research Center in Malaysia, wrote in a commentary after he resigned in 2009. 'Inevitably, greater political space led to criticisms, as expectations were high.' But that languid style, in contrast to the vigor of Dr. Mahathir, drew criticism. Suffering from sleep apnea, Mr. Abdullah sometimes drifted off in public, earning him the derisive epithet 'the sleeping prime minister.' His tenure began on a high note, with a resounding triumph for his party in national parliamentary elections. 'He will always be remembered for the fantastic victory of Barisan Nasional ,' Dr. Mahathir wrote in a remembrance, adding, 'BN won 90% of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat.' But in 2008, Barisan Nasional lost its two-thirds supermajority for the first time, in its worst performance since 1969. Mr. Abdullah faced mounting criticism and calls for his resignation, and Dr. Mahathir, who had become one of his harsh critics, quit the governing coalition to protest Mr. Abdullah's continued leadership. Bowing to pressure, Mr. Abdullah stepped down the next year and was succeeded by his deputy, Najib Razak. The current prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, spoke warmly of Mr. Abdullah on social media, praising his calming and courteous style and his 'big heart.' Using his common nickname, Mr. Anwar said, 'Pak Lah taught us the meaning of humanity in leadership.' He added: 'Under his leadership, we experienced reform in the judiciary, transparency in administration, and institutional empowerment.' In televised remarks, Akhbar Satar, who once led Transparency International Malaysia, a nongovernmental group that fights corruption, and who now heads the Malaysian Integrity and Governance Society, said of Mr. Abdullah: 'He was the first prime minister to prioritize issues of integrity. To him, corruption was the mother of all problems.' Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi was born into a prominent Muslim family on Nov. 26, 1939, in Kampung Perlis, on Penang Island, in what was then British Malaya. (The colony gained independence in 1957.) His father, Ahmad Badawai, was a religious teacher and politician; his mother, Kailan Haji Hassan, oversaw the household. Mr. Abdullah graduated from the University of Malaya with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Islamic studies and spent 14 years in the civil service before being elected to Parliament in 1978, filling a seat that had been held by his father. He headed several ministries under Dr. Mahathir before being appointed deputy prime minister in 1999. He succeeded Dr. Mahathir as prime minister in 2003. As prime minister, Mr. Abdullah waged a broad anti-corruption campaign, with mixed results, and promoted a form of Islam known as Islam Hadhari, which strives to make Islam compatible with technological development. Malaysia, by then, had grown from a producer of raw materials to a nation of more than 30 million people with a diversified economy that included manufacturing and trade. Writing in 'Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia,' published in 2013, Ms. Welsh, the Malaysia scholar, said: 'Abdullah left Malaysia transformed for the better; he facilitated conditions that empowered Malaysians and decentralized power. It was a necessary and welcomed change after 22 years of strongman leadership of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.' In his later years, Mr. Abdullah withdrew from public life and focused on writing poetry. A book of his poems, 'I Seek Eternal Peace,' was an international success. He is survived by his second wife, Jeanne Abdullah; two children, Nori Abdullah and Kamaluddin Abdullah; and two stepchildren, Nadiah Kimie Othman and Nadene Kimie Othman, from his wife's previous marriage.
