'Dr M, you killed democracy in Malaysia'

'That is your legacy You silenced the voices of dissent in no uncertain terms. And in the end, the monsters your created devoured you in the process.'

Dr M on democracy and sore losers

Suhaimi Said: Dr Mahathir Mohamad, I remember you as a dictator. Hundreds of people were detained under ISA during your rule. So don't talk about democracy. I was a victim of your dictatorship.

Equaliser: Dr Mahathir, you killed democracy in Malaysia - that is your legacy. We don't need people like you anymore in this blessed country. You are a Malay nationalist, that's all. You didn't serve all of Malaysia's people, which include the Chinese, Indians, and other ethnic groups.
A statesman is one who has served his country's people well and promoted democratic values and principles within government institutions and society as whole. You silenced voices of dissent in no uncertain terms. And in the end, the monsters your created devoured you in the process.

Yes, you created monsters greedy for money and power, and who were willing to use any means necessary to acquire them. This country has failed to serve all its people and continues to do so. You began the trend of money politics and this is the result of your actions.

Just watch the news daily and you can see how lop-sided the coverage is in favour of the ruling party, and this right in front of our very own eyes. If only all Malaysians would open their eyes and ears to see and listen, they would know what to do come the 13th general election.

Kris: It has been estimated that during Mahathir's premiership, the amount of taxpayers' money allegedly misused by him and his cronies was in the region of hundreds of billions. To carry out this, he completely destroyed the judiciary and the enforcement agencies by replacing the honest top officials in these agencies with tainted officials who could be blackmailed into doing his bidding.

By having these people under his thumb and by controlling the media and the civil service, he ensured that he literally had dictatorial powers. To make sure that all the crooked deals that he made were not known to the public, he enacted laws like the Official Secrets Act.

In short, he was a premier who manipulated the democratic system to give himself dictatorial powers. That is why it is extremely disgusting to hear this man pontificating on democracy or corruption.

Playfair: It is sad but not surprising that Dr Mahathir continues to peddle half-truths to justify his opinions. He reduces democracy to a one-dimensional event - elections - and fails to refer to other equally important elements that constitute the package called democracy.

He speaks of "sore losers", but what about the 'tyranny of the majority' (which he should be all too familiar with)? A system cultivated and nourished through dubious means and made legal through a two-thirds majority and then used to subvert national institutions to do the bidding of the majority - sore losers are nothing compared to this tyranny.

Asian values were promoted as an ideology to restrict mass political participation, good governance, transparency and accountability. The sacking of Anwar Ibrahim could not have been more un-Asian, not to mention un-Islamic, un-Malay and un-Malaysian (if Umno will allow the use of such a term).

Please keep speaking, sir, so that we can find out how you worked your way to remain in power for so long.

TC88: Talk about sore losers. Mahathir is probably a hypocrite. When Umno was declared illegal and Mahathir's position as its leader and prime minister was sorely threatened, he sacked the then Lord President and the five Supreme Court (now called the Federal Court) judges when he knew the verdict was not going to be in his favour.

Dr Mahathir, you destroyed the very fabric of Malaysia's public institutions, its constitution, the judiciary, the enforcement agencies like the police, attorney-general, and the then ACA

This has been highlighted by Ku Li (Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah) in his speeches. Please do the honourable thing and retire, and just keep quiet like your anointed successor, Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), the Father of Malaysia's Conscience.