NOVEMBER 24 ― Karma is really a b****.
Finally, after 40 years of joining Umno with an ambition to be Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim is there. His nemesis, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was Prime Minister for a collective 25 years, lost his bid to stay in power, humiliatingly rejected by voters.
Muhyiddin Yassin, whom I remember best for starting the movement to depose Tun Abdullah Badawi in 2008 after BN lost its two thirds majority in the 2008 polls, and for his key role in the Sheraton move in 2020, will now have to ponder on his actions as he watches all the people whom he once turned his back on come back into government. Pak Lah’s 140 out of 222 seats now looks like a dream doesn’t it? No one has achieved those numbers since 2008.
I still remember that Pak Lah, who liked Muhyiddin, spoke to me about this. He said: “I never expected Muhyiddin to do this. I am crushed.” Some months later, Muhyiddin asked to see me at his house. During that meeting, I told Muhyiddin what Pak Lah had said. And I told Muhyiddin “when you hurt my friend, you also hurt me.” AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes had arranged the meeting and was there in the room when this conversation took place.
But it’s not a time to gloat nor seek retribution. In 2018, there was so much exuberance and euphoria when Najib Tun Razak lost. There was so much witch hunting, chest thumping and vengeance. It did not do any good at all and within months, the euphoria wore off and disenchantment with the PH government started spreading.
Malaysia cannot afford another four years of uncertainty, instability, and dismal governance. We need to move on. May God bless Malaysia and its long-suffering people.
* Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan is a former journalist and a close friend of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Badawi.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
