Mahathir Mohamad, the prime minister of Malaysia for the 2nd time, is known to speak his mind against other countries since his 1st time as prime minister of Malaysia (1981 -2003). He continues to do so todate. He recently angered a large number of the population in India by saying the below:
His choice of words of "invaded and occupied" really left a bad taste. It was really unnecessary for a conflict that has been going on more than seven decades.
Prior to that he raised dissatisfaction from the people of China and the leadership in Hong Kong by saying the below:
The reality is that Mahathir is a leader of the 80's and 90's. His style and thoughts are at times unsuitable for 2019 approaching 2020's. He does not realise that his ways are outdated today. India and China were much weaker economies in the 80's and 90's. They could not do much when criticism was thrown at them. They are however both the largest economic powers of Asia and the world today.
Being Asians, they are more sensitive to what people say about them. They care for face more than the Western countries. Mahathir used to criticise the USA and the UK, but those country did not give a hoot about what Mahathir said. Malaysia is a small country hardly noticeable in the global front. On the other hand, India and China pay sufficient attention to Malaysia. They bother to be upset with its leader's unnecessary comments. While Mahathir is happy that he is getting attention, the ordinary Malaysians are suffering the consequences of his comments. 2 million people in the oil palm industry has suffered as India shunned supplies from Malaysia.
It is time for Malaysia to move on and progress without the baggages of this 94 year old prime minister. He is simply dated and unable to cope with the current times. We cannot blame him knowing his age but Malaysia can do without him.
