THE THIRD FORCE
Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak paid tribute to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday by extending his birthday greetings to the former premier. I’m sure you know that Abdullah, who was born in 1939 and turned 78, was Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009.
The last time we ever heard Najib extending greetings to Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in 2014. Things went to pot thereafter following the latter’s attempts to undermine the Prime Minister’s leadership with libel and slander. Mahathir was Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003.
Now, what does that tell you?
It tells you that Najib probably places more value on Pak Lah’s six-year legacy than he does Mahathir’s 22-year leadership. But who is to blame the Prime Minister for that? Nobody in his (or her) right mind would ever want to remember the legacy of a man who is willing to betray the nation for the sake of power and money.
Yes, not only did Mahathir conspire with foreign agents to sabotage Najib, he helped bankroll massive media campaigns against government to frighten investors and weaken the ringgit. Now I don’t need to tell you how all of this caused undue suffering to the people of Malaysia.
So here’s a question – if you could go back in time, would you prevent Mahathir from being born? There are Germans who will tell you that they would prevent Hitler’s parents from ever meeting. Others swear that they would even kill baby Hitler if they had the means to do so.
Yes, the question of killing baby Hitler has been posed a million times over and was even floated during last years US presidential race. But I’m not as extreme as the Americans are. All I want to know is if you would prevent a cruel dictator from being born assuming you had the means to do so.
And please, don’t call me silly for posing such a question. As much as you may disagree, such questions serve only to ignite the critical thinker in you. As a matter of fact, it may even direct you to paradigms of rationality you never before thought you could perceive.
P/S: Leave your answers in the comment section below and I promise to address each and every one of them.