We are planning to forward this letter to our Dear Tun Dr. Mahathir, please feel free to comment, we will put the comment along with the letter.

 

Dear Tun,

 

Before I start, let me introduce myself. I am a regular Malaysian, working as an engineer in a MNC in Penang. I was born in the year 1977, and frankly for all my regular Malaysian life the only Prime Minister I have ever known is Tun. I have the upmost respect and admiration for you. For what you have done for Malaysia as a whole, your leadership in Malaysia and the world. To me you are God’s gift to Malaysia. Other people can argue it differently but to me you have brought Malaysia to the next level with your vision and plan.

 

However during your course of leadership, you have done a few things that you deem right at the time, like the sacking of CJ Tun Salleh Abbas, changes in the judiciary, constitution amendment, sacking of Anwar and many more which regular Malaysian like me might not know or understand. From my observation, I believe you are a very STRONG leader, a very strong opinionated person, do and implement what you think is right and get rid of what you believe is wrong. Other leader’s that oppose your idea or even coming to a whisker of having a different idea than yours were rid off.

 

Personally I think there is a good and bad side with this kind administration. If I look at it from the good perspective, things get implemented easily, with very little or no opposition to your ideas. However if you look at it from the negative side, no check and balance, very prone to corruption. This kind of administration need a very strong leader, with vision, ideas and plans. He needs to be clean and only think for the better of the country. He also need a good team of implementer or good execution team that are able to execute his ideas flawlessly.

 

I believe you have left Malaysian with this legacy of, do what I tell you to, I am not answerable to anyone’ and no check and balance from either within or out of the government. You have shape the whole administration to suit your style. And again this kind of administration need a very strong leader, with vision, ideas and plans. Unfortunately this kind of style does not work for everyone, and again very prone to corruption and mismanagement.

 

Leaders like you are hard to come by. And I am not to sure if the legacy that you left behind is suitable for subsequent leader. I believe you have also learnt it the hard way too, when the current administration or your hand picked successor begin to dismantle your ideas you had implemented before you left, and there is nothing you can do!!

 

Your time have passed, your legacy is already in the past. Malaysia is already out of your grip. I know you are writing a memoir about yourself, I would think the memoir is to remind future Malaysian about your legacy and the great things you have done to move Malaysia forward. I would like to suggest something different, instead of writing something that is already in the past, why don’t you write something for the future, how you vision Malaysia or Malaysian to be, how you want the government or judiciary is to be administered, either when we have a strong leader, weak leader, visionary leader, implementer leader, people’s leader or sleeping leader. You have already known the style of administration you left behind for your successor does not work. It may work very well for you but not for others, and there is nothing we or even you can do if we think what is being done is wrong. Instead of writing your legacy which is already in the past, why don’t you write something for the future of Malaysian.

 

Trust me, a lot of Malaysian still have the upmost respect for you. You have already left your 20+ years of legacy of Prime Ministership to us, now is the time to leave your legacy for the future!!

 

Yours truly

Steven