MAHATHIR'S STUNNING SELF-DESTRUCTION: BUT DON'T CELEBRATE YET, NAJIB - YOU'RE NEXT TO GO

The last few months have been a nightmare for former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

During this year of discontent, he has tried to unseat Najib Razak. Both men have revealed deep divisions in Umno Baru, but most important of all, they have exposed, to everyone, the true colours of the past and present members of the party. The humiliation of one man, could so easily happen to every politician.

1 In touch with the people: Who would have imagined Mahathir attending the Bersih rally in 2015? Sadly, Malaysian leaders only appreciate how the people feel, when they are no longer in power. As leaders, they ignored public opinion, brushed aside concerns about economic hardship and projected an image of élitism.

2 Confidence in leadership: Go to any coffee shop, and find out what people really think about the country's leaders. Ask what the people think of Najib, and you might be shocked by the answer, "He had a good teacher. Mahathir." Ironically, Mukhriz will not be the one to continue Mahathir's legacy.

3 Criticism: Some people have rallied behind Mahathir because he has engineered the exposure of the truth behind the 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion donation to Najib. The other half criticise him, and say that his policies allowed future leaders to abuse their power. Mahathir is ridiculed, not praised.

4 Riddled with corruption: Sometimes, Mahathir talks as if he were an angel, with hardly a blemish during his rule. There were many scandals during his tenure, like Perwaja steel, Pergau Dam, Maminco, BMF. If the internet has existed, then, we would have known that Mahathir's pillage of the country makes Najib seem like a child going scrumping.

5 Father disowns child: Umno Baru was Mahathir's creation, after the public spat with Tengku Razaleigh, during the internal Umno elections of 1987. The High court declared Umno an illegal party and Mahathir simply transferred the assets and formed Umno Baru. Today, Umno-Baru treats its founder with contempt. The Tunku and Hussein Onn, left Umno, because they were disgusted with Mahathir's leadership of the party. Will Mahathir disown his baby, too?

6 Mahathir's mistake: Mahathir told the rakyat that he wanted to see better governance in Malaysia. We believed him, but when he said that he wanted Najib to step down, so that another Umno Baru man could replace him, the rakyat turned their backs on him. Mahathir still does not realise that Umno Baru is the problem. Not just Najib.

7 Mahathir's meddling: When he was in power, Mahathir used the ISA to lock away many people, from artists to activists, from playwrights to politicians. He took away the independence of the judiciary, the civil service and the police. His successor relies on the leaders of these institutions, to do his dirty work.

8 Malaysian greatness: The Tunku left behind a great and wealthy country, which was the envy of many nations, but successive leaders used race and religion, to turn the nation into their personal fiefdom.

Secularism has been replaced with calls for an Islamic state, moderation has been replaced by extremism and tolerance taken over by intolerance.

Mahathir encouraged racial and religious divisions. Ironically, having spent years in the political wilderness, Mahathir was invited back into Umno by Najib's father, Abdul Razak Hussein.

Mahathir spoilt the Malays. Today, they are not the envy of other Malaysians, but are viewed with contempt, even by some of the other Malays. - http://theantdaily.com/