Blog by Lim Kit Siang in Tokyo on Thursday, 24^th December 2009: 

Quintessence of Mahathirism – pure Machiavellianism, perverse illogic and most cunning to distract attention from the core issue

It is the quintessence of Mahathirism – pure Machiavellianism, perverse illogic and most cunning to district attention from the core issue.

This was what Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad produced in his blog yesterday when claiming to welcome my proposal that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate into the allegation by Barry Wain’s new biography, “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times” that the former Prime Minister had wasted or burned up to RM100 billion on grandiose projects and corruption in his 22 years as PM.

He even sweetened his welcome by insisting that such a commission should not be made up of government nominees, but should instead have as members “impeccable people including foreigners and members of Transparency International.”

How many instances can Mahathir quote of the occasions when he had followed such precepts in his 22 years as Prime Minister to probe into financial scandals or serious allegations of abuses of power?

Why Mahathir’s sudden conversion to uphold “impeccable people including foreigners and members of Transparency International” instead depending on compliant government nominees who can command no credibility whatsoever as was his wont during his premiership?

However, Mahathir’s welcome came with a caveat which the former Prime Minister knows would not be fulfilled and therefore no inquiry commission would be held - that the commission should not confine to one Prime Minister only but also to his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mahathir reached the heights of Machiavellism when he suggested that I should get Najib’s agreement to set up such a Royal Commission of Inquiry into both the Mahathir and Abdullah premierships.

Why didn’t Mahathir ask that such a commission should also inquire into the corruption and abuses of power of Najib, the current Prime Minister as well?

Mahathir is only practicing the art of saying yes while saying no. This is too cheap a trick for the fourth and longest-serving Prime Minister to be indulgingin his “elder statesman” years.

As for Mahathir’s statement that he reserved the right to sue me for libel, I had tweeted:

“Why his suit conditional on outcome of RCI into Barry Wain’s allegation when M will do utmost 2block RCI though claiming support publicly?

“Why Mahathir don’t sue me now if I had libelled him calling for RCI into Barry Wain’s RM100 billion allegation in his book Maverick M?”

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor