How cruel was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during this previous 22 years in office as the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the leader of Barisan Nasional?
Dr. Mahathir has been aggressive and ruthless in pursuing his nemesis to the point where he would put them out of action, even if it affects their livelihoods and the livelihoods of their families.
He was alleged to have played a part in putting Anwar Ibrahim behind bars at various points, totaling 123 months.
However, having said that, Mahathir would gladly put enmity and animosity aside and work with some of his competitors and even enemies if he personally benefits from aligning with them.
In the final analysis, his cruelty or degrees of cruelty depends on the motives, means, and ends behind the dealings with different parties.
For Mahathir, personal and political benefits take priority and they prevail over socioeconomic benefits for his country and its people.
He is driven by "I, Me, and Myself," including his family’s interests.
His primary consideration is, "What's in it for me?" before he thinks about Malaysia and Malaysians.
Mahathir's main motive is to solidify his political and social power and influence.
To achieve this, he needs to win more votes or support and have more activists and participants fighting for his interests and better future.
He requires politically motivated leaders and emotionally charged Malays who have been brainwashed to believe that he is the champion and defender of their culture, communities, interests, and destinies.
Mahathir is willing to do anything as long as he is not caught red-handed and with his pants down.
He aims to come out on top, gain more power, become wealthier, and escape any consequences for his actions, regardless of any wrongdoings he may have committed.
For instance, Mahathir would make promises during the election campaign that he knew he could not fulfill in order to gain support.
As part of his political playbook, he distracts people from his failures and wrongdoings by cleverly sweeping them under the carpet or engaging in a blame game and witch hunt.
Mahathir is not ashamed to divide the country and polarize the people, including the Malays, and create power struggles and infighting within his party and alliance to stand out and lead.
Moreover, he does not hesitate to further deepen cracks and rifts along the fault lines of race, language, or religion to influence key players and be in the driver's seat.
Mahathir's "Malay Dilemma" curse has reinforced the undue dominance of racial and religious politics.
It has caused an almost apartheid-like malaise and deeply divided the people of Malaysia.
Politicians from PAS and other Malay-dominated parties are learning from Mahathir’s playbook and improving his strategies and tactics.
As long as racial and religious politicking prevails, the Malays will generally have an entitlement mentality.
They will lack the strongest desire and drive to improve their capacity and capability to achieve success.
To make matters worse, there will be an elite and well-connected class of Malays that will enjoy the most benefits from government handouts.
The rich will become richer, and the poor will struggle harder to improve their lot.
There will always be a social divide in the Malay community, and income inequality will continue to exist or even widen.
Many non-Malays will feel like second-class citizens and be less committed to contributing to society.
Some of the best talents who are dissatisfied with religious and racial politics will leave the country, resulting in a brain drain that affects economic growth.
To appease his political colleagues and counterparts, Mahathir helped to entrench the culture of corruption, cronyism, nepotism, and kleptocracy in every sphere of society.
By sharing the economic pie among them and keeping it out of the public eye, he is in a better position to manipulate them.
Furthermore, he can dominate the political players, parties, and alliances by keeping a file on their wrongdoings so as to hold them hostage for his benefit.
As a result of these issues, the Malaysian economy did not grow optimally, and the value of the ringgit continues to weaken.
Mahathir understands better than any other national leader that these cancerous issues are gradually but surely destroying the country.
Instead of educating the people and addressing the negative aspects of religious and racial issues, he chose to do the opposite because it puts him in the spotlight and solidifies his power and interests in the long term.
It is not difficult to envision a future where Malaysia becomes a country that exports cheap labor and domestic helpers if current and future politicians continue the political gamesmanship that Mahathir has fine-tuned to both an art and a science.
In short, Mahathir can be cruel to a point that he’s willing to invoke the worst pain to his enemies as well as to an entire nation.
He uses cruelty and other inhuman initiatives to advance his political and social interests and shape his destiny.
History will remember Mahathir as a leader who had the potential to develop Malaysia, a nation with great people and tremendous potential, into an admired andrespected country.
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
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