WHILE August and September are special months, given that the 31st of August is Independence Day and the 16th of September is Malaysia Day, the whole of last week cannot but be accepted as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s (picture) week.

Though, much to the chagrin of supporters of the current Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led Government, Dr Mahathir did steal the thunder of the Independence Day celebrations in Putrajaya.

A short video clip which captured Dr Mahathir appearing simply near where members of the public congregated to watch the parade, went viral, shared and viewed millions of times, re-shared and re-viewed, hitting the millions as well.

This year’s celebration was supposed to be Anwar’s glory, to showcase his second Independence Day attendance when his position is more stable compared with the uncertainties the year before.

But it was not meant to be. Instead of a day glorifying his leadership, Dr Mahathir had, by chance or design, become the spoiler, a stark reminder that whatever the present Government and leaders enjoy, Dr Mahathir had a hand in it.

There were two issues which contributed to the phenomenon – the first was that Dr Mahathir was not invited to be among those sitting on the podium, and the second was that it was held in Putrajaya.

For not inviting Dr Mahathir, the Government leaders, Anwar included, were chastised by the public who did not mince their words in their criticisms.

To the public, regardless of the political differences between the Government leaders and Dr Mahathir, the latter’s contribution to the nation must be acknowledged and celebrated.

And to them, if there’s anyone who deserves to sit on the podium to witness the celebration it would have been Dr Mahathir, more than all of the others combined.

Actually, it stood to reason. As it had been pointed out before and worth repeating, Dr Mahathir, given his age, is the only living well-known personality who had been involved in the fight for independence.

He lived through the period of British rule, then the Japanese occupation, the Siamese domination (in his state, Kedah) and then the return of the British, the opposition to the Malayan Union and then the struggle for independence.

Furthermore, some of those sitting on the podium were not even born during independence let alone being thought of during the Malayan Union. And those born before independence would most likely be in their diapers or just getting out of the habit.

Dr Mahathir is a time traveller without a machine and a recorder of contemporary Malaysian history. Dr Mahathir is very alert, in full control of his faculties, sharp-witted, lucid and articulate, most times even more than those who are half his age.

Secondly, it doesn’t make any sense for anyone to conduct a national day celebration in Putrajaya without inviting Dr Mahathir, the architect of the administrative capital, unless, according to the critics, it was someone extremely dense.

There they were, preening like peacocks on the podium and refusing to invite Dr Mahathir because he did not share their political aspirations and that he shouldn’t be given any recognition.

Some of their supporters were dismissive of Dr Mahathir’s presence at the parade, a few even accusing Dr Mahathir of being an attention seeker.

Social media commenters did not take it kindly, describing the supporters as rude, ungrateful and misguided. 

Such opinions were summarily dismissed by others, pointing out that someone responsible for making Putrajaya a reality cannot be seeking attention at his own creation.

If anything, it was those on the podium who were shameless as they were so keen to enjoy and revel in Putrajaya and yet were petty not to acknowledge Dr Mahathir for his contributions and building Putrajaya.

It was pointed out that it is truly quite difficult for the Anwar administration to attempt to diminish Dr Mahathir’s contribution to the nation’s growth and development.

For one, he had helmed it for 22 years and 22 months, a lengthy period which allowed him to plan and develop his ideas and saw to their fruition.

Anwar, in trying to build his own legacy, took a contrary approach, for example, declaring that he was not for massive infrastructures, something always associated with Dr Mahathir, and instead was keen to house the ordinary folks.

Unfortunately, the infrastructures built during Dr Mahathir’s time were iconic, the Twin Towers in particular, and they were built not at the expense of the ordinary folks but rather as a calculated and strategic economic venture apart from creating a national identity.

And it couldn’t be ignored. Despite Anwar’s assertion of a more socialistic consideration in his economic programmes, the Twin Towers figures importantly in the nation’s psyche, so much so even under the Government’s National Day promotional material, it figures prominently.

Simply put, the Anwar administration can attempt to diminish Dr Mahathir but they just couldn’t wipe out his legacy.

The attention and affection given towards Dr Mahathir on Independence Day proved that Anwar and his administration could try erasing Dr Mahathir from the public sphere or even attempt to make him irrelevant, but they would not succeed.

The public just won’t allow it. Instead, it backfired and only made the current administration look petty, not magnanimous and vindictive.

It comes across as being devoid of class, blundering and crass.

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