GE13: Secret push for 'Mahathirism' in BN agenda?

Is former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad trying to secretly force 'Mahathirism' into the BN agenda ahead of the general election?

Veteran opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang posed this question in view of Mahathir's criticism of Najib Abdul Razak's administration.

In particular, he referred to Mahathir's recent interview with AFP, during which he had hinted that Najib’s attempts at liberalisation have led to rising ethnic tensions and that the 1Malaysia policy was "not clearly defined".

However, Lim claimed that Mahathir himself had failed to point out that he had a hand in Najib's predicament.

"Mahathir failed to tell the full story - that although he had coined the Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 in 1991, he had rubbished Najib's 1Malaysia concept with its objective to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian would regard themselves as Malaysian first and race second, right from the beginning," said Lim.

In addition, Mahathir had also endorsed Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's declaration that he is "Malay first, Malaysian second".

Mahathir has also endorsed mono-ethnic causes such as that of Malay rights pressure group Perkasa, of which he is patron, and this has heightened racial polarisation, argued Lim.

"The question Malaysians must ponder over is whether Mahathir is trying to make the revival of Mahathirism the secret BN agenda in the next general election,” he added.