Are you too old to fight?

By Bob Yong
1st June 2008

Yes for many, but not for Tun Dr Mahathir. I perceive him as a fighting cock of the century. Tun Dr Mahathir was the first to join UMNO Baru, having a membership number 0001.Tun Dr Mahathir announced his resignation from UMNO on 19th May 2008 amidst many controversies strived in the power struggles of UMNO.

Tun Dr Mahathir is 15 years my senior. At my younger age, I admired him for his intelligence and considered him the capable leader we ever had then. He has the guts to stand up to the bullies by telling them to get lost, especially the powerful nations like USA and UK. That was back then in the 90’s.

At the beginning of his political career, Tun Dr Mahathir was sacked from UMNO in 1969 by the 1st Prime Minister. When he was in power, he curbed the privileges of the sultans; the sacking and trail of Anwar Ibrahim, the then deputy prime minister and the dismissal of the Chief Justice together with a few other high court judges. The current VK Ligam video clip debacle has added feather to his colorful character.

It was rumored that he sacked all his deputies because they were too close to him for comfort, politically speaking.

The shock announcement of his resignation was the last straw in the camel’s back, attempting to force the present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Badawi to step down. Badawi was then Mahathir’s deputy and he was hand picked by Mahathir to succeed him when he relinquished his premiership. Look as if another Mahthir’s past deputy will fall to the axe! Only this time, he does not have the axe in his hand.

To my mind, the responsibility of fighting for social justice, humane equality and for that matter the well being of a political party that one belongs does not rest on the shoulder of one person or any body or any group of bodies. It is the collective effort of many that will prevail. In the political arena, ages of the fighters are irrelevant. What is important is the fighting spirit of the veteran soldiers, for they fight for what they believe in. Our country is not short of sophisticated political personal. But choosing to fight it alone is another story.

A captain shall not abandon his ship during stormy weather. He should be the last to leave. But now, Tun Dr. Mahathir is not a captain anymore.