Dari hari-hari pertama dalam Kabinet sehingga hari-hari terakhir sebagai perdana menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad hari ini menujukan sindiran demi sindiran bagi menjawab pengkritik yang menggelarnya seorang diktator.
“Dipendekkan cerita, kerana saya seorang diktator sejati, saya ambil keputusan untuk letak jawatan. Semua diktator letak jawatan.
“Tetapi saya bertuah. Saya sempat letak jawatan sebelum saya mati. Ini mengesahkan saya seorang diktator sejati. Saya juga arahkan beberapa orang menteri untuk menerpa dan menangis apabila saya mengumumkan peletakan jawatan.
“Jadi teruskanlah menggelar saya seorang diktator autokratik, seorang Mahazalim dan Mahafiraun, seorang yang tidak demokratik, dan kaya raya kerana rasuah. Itulah kebenaran yang sebenar-benarnya benar,”Beliau merujuk kepada pengumuman yang dibuat di Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2002, di mana beliau mengejutkan para perwakilan dengan mengumumkan peletakan jawatan dari parti dan kerajaan. Drama seterusnya menyaksikan menteri perdagangan ketika itu Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, ketua Pemuda Umno Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein dan setiausaha agung Tun Khalil Yaakob naik ke pentas memujuk Dr Mahathir supaya bertahan.
Dr Mahathir meletakkan jawatan setahun kemudian, menyerahkan kerajaan di tangan Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan timbalannya, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Tangkapan ISA dan pemecatan Salleh Abas
Dr Mahathir menyentuh peristiwa-peristiwa penting dalam perjalanan kerjayanya, termasuk tangkapan besar-besaran para aktivis dan penentang dalam Ops Lalang 1987, dan pemecatan ketua hakim negara ketika itu, Tun Salleh Abas.
Kedua-dua episod itu antara hujah yang biasa kedengaran terhadap beliau selama ini, yang mana beliau dituduh melemahkan badan kehakiman dan polis.
Namun beliau melawan pengkritiknya kali ini dengan sindiran tajam, gaya beliau menjawab pengkritik di Malaysia dan luar negara.
Mengenai dakwaan beliau memainkan peranan menyingkirkan Salleh sebagai ketua hakim negara, Dr Mahathir berkata peguam negara ketika itu, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman sudah membersihkan namanya.
“Tetapi tidak boleh dipercayai langsung, Semua orang nampak saya cekak tengkuk Salleh Abas dan usir dia keluar dari mahkamah. Saya tak tahu mengapa Abu Talib nak nafikan kepercayaan popular itu. Mungkin saya ada bagi dia dedak. Saya tak ingat.”Mengenai Ops Lalang, Dr Mahathir berkata ketua polis negara ketika itu, Tun Hanif Omar berkata polis yang mengarahkan tangkapan besar-besaran di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).
Itu juga “tidak boleh dipercayai”, kata Dr Mahathir.
“Saya langkaui dia dan arahkan seberapa ramai orang ditahan dan didera. Kalau dia nafi mesti sebab dia makan dedak. Tapi dia tak nampak macam orang yang suka dedak,”
Isteri mewah
Dr Mahathir berkata isterinya, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Ali menunjuk-nunjuk kemewahan sebagai isteri perdana menteri.
“Sebagai isteri perdana menteri, Hasmah juga dikenali sebagai FLOMH (Wanita Utama di rumah saya). Dia suka berlian merah jambu dan beg tangan Hermes.”Beliau kemudian menjawab tuduhan lain, iaitu beliau mengumpulkan wang yang banyak semasa berkhidmat.
“Wang itu disimpan dalam akaun rahsia di banyak bank. Akaun itu sangat rahsia sampaikan saya sendiri tak tahu bank mana. Jangan bimbang. Polis akan temuinya nanti. Bolehlah tubuh lagi satu RCI.
“Setakat ini mereka belum dapat kesan. Jangan dukacita, Najib temui Bank Negara mengalami kerugian RM30 bilion 30 tahun lalu,” katanya, merujuk kepada Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja ke atas kerugian yang dialami bank pusat itu kerana urus niaga tukaran mata wang asing. RCI menyimpulkan Dr Mahathir dan timbalannya, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bertanggungjawab ke atas kerugian itu.Dr Mahathir kemudian memberikan contoh bagaimana kelakuan seorang diktator dan pembawaan dirinya sepanjang kerjaya politiknya.
Antaranya, beliau tidak diiringi kawalan keselamatan yang ketat di tempat awam dan tidak ada bangunan dinamakan sempena beliau, tidak sepertimana pemimpin-pemimpin lain sebelumnya.
Beliau melarang sekolah dinamakan sempena beliau kerana tidak mahu mencipta kultus personaliti sekitar dirinya.
“Jadi bila saya jadi perdana menteri saya tidak benarkan nama saya diletakkan pada mana-mana bangunan, jalan raya atau tandas awam. Sekarang kerajaan Najib hanya memenuhi hasrat saya. Rujukan terhadap saya dalam buku-buku teks dipadam. Terima kasih Najib kerana menjadi seorang demokrat,”
Sumber :FMT
Dari Catatan Chedet :
1. People and the media never fail to point out that I was a dictator. I presided over an authoritarian Government of Malaysia for 22 years. Any mention of my name must be preceded or followed with the qualification “dictator”.
2. Looking back now, I realise why, as Prime Minister of Malaysia I was described as a dictator. There were many things I did which were typically dictatorial.
3. Actually I showed this tendency very early. Upon being appointed as Minister of Education, the first command I made was for the “Menteri” plate above the number plate of my official car to be ripped off. Maybe I feared assassination. I don’t know. But, unlike other democratic ministers I did not have the “Menteri” plate on my car.
4. I also demanded for a six men police escort. But they told me that a minister gets only one plain-clothed policeman. I warned them to wait until I became Prime Minister.
5. When I became Prime Minister I demanded for UTK (Special Forces) plainclothes escorts as well as ten outriders. They gave me only four. It was really not enough. I felt very unsafe. I had to look right and left and also behind to identify assailants early. Now that I am not the Prime Minister, you will not see my numerous bodyguards. This is because they are invisible.
6. In America I was surrounded by six burly secret service men. If anyone shot at me they would take the bullet. President Kennedy was almost saved by them. President Reagan was more lucky. I wanted the same body-guards at home. But there were no six-footers in Malaysia to absorb the bullets. I have to make-do with smallish Malay policeman.
7. Now I dare not get into a crowd. I don’t shake hands and selfies are not allowed. My invisible bodyguards check all cameras and hand phones of those who get within 10 feet from me.
8. As Education Minister I demanded that schools must not be named after me. All my democratic predecessors had schools named after them. One even had a school named after his wife.
9. I did not want schools to be named after me because dictators normally do not like personality cults. So when I became Prime Minister I did not allow my name to be attached to any building, road or public toilets. Now the Najib Government is doing me a favour. Reference to me in text books have been erased. Thank you Najib for being such a democrat.
10. To continue the narration about my dictatorship, upon being appointed Prime Minister I ordered the release of 21 political detainees, detained under ISA by my predecessors. This release was of course the tradition with dictators. Previous democratic PMs did not release any detainees. They in fact added more because that was the democratic thing to do.
11. But what about Ops Lalang. Well, Tun Hanif is on video to say that it was his decision. He was my security adviser and he said I could not countermand him. He says that as my security adviser, he decides.
12. It is not true of course. I went over his head and ordered as many people as possible to be detained and tortured. If he denies it must be because of bran. Still he does not seem to like bran.
13. Then there is Tan Sri Abu Talib, the AG in my time. He recently declared that I was not responsible for Tun Salleh Abas’ dismissal. This just cannot be true. Everyone saw how I caught hold of Salleh Abas by the scruff of his neck and threw him out of his court. I don’t know why Abu Talib should deny popular belief. Maybe I gave him bran. I don’t remember.
14. As wife of Prime Minister, Hasmah was also known as FLOMH (First Lady of my house). She was fond of pink diamonds and Hermes handbags.
15. She bought many of them in the flea markets in London and Hong Kong. She wore them around her neck, arms and fingers every day. There are lots of pictures of her, loaded with expensive jewels. No one can fail to notice that she was the wife of a dictator. She also has a food taster.
16. My children held high posts in the Government and UMNO. They naturally got Government contracts which they sold at good prices. That is why they are among the super rich. Unknown to anyone, Mukhriz has been appointed PH’s Deputy Prime Minister in waiting.
17. I set up five heavy industries and pocketed a good percentage of the capital. The money is kept in secret accounts in numerous banks. The accounts are so secret that I myself don’t know which bank. Not to worry. The police will find out. Another RCI can be set up.
18. Tun Abdullah and Tun-to-be Najib conducted a search for the money I had stolen. So far they have not been able to trace any. But not to be disappointed, Najib discovered that 30 billion Ringgit was lost by Bank Negara 30 years ago. Since I was the Prime Minister at that time, it must have been me who had stolen the money. So he set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry and sure enough I was found guilty.
19. I inherited from Tun Hussein a Boeing 737 business jet. It was big and expensive. So I decided to sell it and buy a smaller aircraft. I believe the savings went into my secret account. I don’t know where. There should be a police investigation.
20. As a dictator I made sure the Prime Minister’s residence in Putrajaya had a tunnel connecting it to KLIA. If anything happened I could escape through this tunnel to a waiting plane. Until now the tunnel cannot be found.
21. With the money I had stolen, I built two private palaces in Country Heights and the Mines. They are surrounded by high walls and guarded 24 hours a day by security forces. I also have fierce dogs. Anyone visiting me is frisked for weapons.
22. When I was about to retire, some people suggested that they build a memorial library for me. All American Presidents have memorial libraries.
23. I commanded as a true dictator that the memorial be dedicated to previous Prime Ministers also. I instructed that it be called the Perdana Leadership Foundation. The great achievements of all previous Prime Ministers must be kept there. Of course my record as a dictator is preserved for eternity there. All the valuable gifts given to me as PM, including 26 cars, are kept in the Galleria in Langkawi. Unfortunately the Government refuse to return them to me.
24. There are many other authoritarian acts perpetrated by me. But, to cut a long story short, as a true dictator I decided to resign. All dictators do this. Hitler and Mussolini unfortunately died before they could resign. Franco of Spain and Salazar of Portugal were about to resign when they died.
25. But I was lucky. I was able to resign before I die. This confirms that I was a true dictator. I ordered some ministers to rush up to me and cry when I made the announcement.
26. No one should know about all my authoritarian acts. It is sufficient just to state that I was a dictator. If asked why you say I was a dictator, just say everyone said so before. Therefore it must be true.
27. So carry on calling me an authoritarian dictator, a Mahazalim and Mahafiraun, who was undemocratic, and has become super rich through corruption. It is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
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