It is time for you to retreat entirely from the political scene, Tun Dr. Mahathir!

Dear Tun Dr. Mahathir,

I can understand how you feel now. It is really difficult for you who used to be the most powerful man in Malaysia for such a long period of 22 years to come up with a decision in order to lead a happy but quiet retirement life. This is because the fond memory of those great days in the Prime Minister's office would always haunt you and would make you miss those glorious days of the past and then would make you feel lonely and dull when you were no longer be surrounded by a mass of fancy supporters.

No matter how great and how respectable you were when you held the premiership of Malaysia, there is still something about life which you are yet to learn from the ordinary people! Immediately after you declared the decision to step down from the premiership in 2003, many men-on-the-street already discussed about how you were going to take the situation after stepping down when you would no longer be receiving from your passionate followers and admirers such great honour and high respect, which you already got used to receive in the past. Many people thought that you had made a mistake by declaring in 2003 that you would choose to entirely retreat from the power necleus of Malaysian Government and would never accept any job offer in the Cabinet such as the post of Senior Minister like that held by Lee Kuan Yew in Singaporean Government Cabinet.

I think even a primary school student in Malaysia will be able to know that most Malaysian people pay high respect to the Prime Minister simply because of the utmost political power the prime minister holds in the political protocol as the top politician who sits at the peak of the power pyramid. In Malaysia, any Prime Minister will simply receive the warmest welcome whereever he goes. People will give him all kinds of highest regards because he holds the power to change the fate of any ordinary man. At least this logic sounded true in the past when you were the Prime Minister. Many people would want to get close to you during the time of your premiership. It appeared to be so because of one simple reason: those people had their own agenda and attempted to get something beneficial from you, be it a government financial grant, land grant (tanah kurnia), Felda membership, timber lumbering license, infrastructure project award, Government office supplies award, scholarship, or simply a faster job promotion in the government department.

I remembered in 2003, an UMNO member who was a long time acquaintance of mine told me straight-forward that he would never again give Dr. Mahathir a damn if Dr. Mahathir no longer held the political power in the political mainstream. Who wants to waste time on a senile old man again if the purpose of UMNO members are just to accumulate some grassroot political power in order to get a good bargain of some candies or goodies from the government? The New Economic Policy (NEP) had taught the Malay people to be conscious about the economic gains. And I find no reason for Tun to put blame on the Malays for being forgetful (mudah lupa) since the Malays are just trying to be pragmatic in making a rational economic choice out of resources scarcity. If UMNO members have already made up their mind to give the continued support to the incumbent Prime Minister, then they are making a wise decision to follow the power-that-be. Tun may just be an opportunity cost which most UMNO members can afford to give up in the callous situation of political reality which they face now!

I don't mean to offend Tun by saying that UMNO members will not follow Tun and will give up on Tun. I just try to explain that it is simply a human nature for UMNO members to uphold their existing interests if all their personal interests have already been tied to the political dominance of UMNO and have been pegged to the fate of incumbent UMNO leaders. Let me ask Tun one harsh question: what good things can Tun offer to UMNO members now if they give their support to TUN?

Perhaps the time has fallen due for Tun to entirely retreat from the Malaysian political scene! May the Almighty be always with Tun and allow Tun to continue drawing strength from Him in order to live a fruitful spiritual life that may glorify Him and bring atonement to the human's sins.

Onlooker