It could be anyone, Mahathir has many enemies

This is something I never thought will happen in Malaysia – someone had the cheeks and guts to attack former premier Dr Mahathir with a pepper spray.

Okay, the closest before this was when he was attacked with bottles the night he dismissed Anwar at the Umno meeting in KL in 1998.

Mahathir has made many enemies – both during and after his tenure as the prime minister. More recently he had irked the government by constantly criticizing it. He had been very vocal in criticizing PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s policies and the manner in which the government has been influenced by outsiders (especially by Abdullah’s circle of advisors).

Whatever the assailant(s) wanted to achieve, Mahathir is not taking this sitting down. He immediately launched another attack on Abdullah. This is what he told Bernama:

“But today, the leadership is what is wrong. There are evidence in the newspapers (that the prime minister gave contracts to his family members)…for example Scomi (owned by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s son Kamaluddin) gets contracts. ECM-Libra (linked to Abdullah’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin). The finance minister (Abdullah) should not give things to his son-in-law. I was the prime minister for the country not for my family.”

It was to take this campaign of opposition that saw Mahathir flying to Kelantan today and as soon as he landed to a waiting crowd of about 2,000 people, he was attacked.

Who did it, no one knows. No one has claimed responsibility for now. The police say they know the identity of the assailant and is expecting an imminent arrest. Abdullah says he is very angry and promises stern action.

As I mentioned earlier, Mahathir has many enemies – old and new. In Kelantan itself, the possibilities are aplenty – PAS fanatics, supporters of Tengku Razaleigh, young and fiery Umno members, human rights activists, ISA detainees, and so on. The list is endless.

The irony of it all is that during Mahathir’s rule, the police had used this mace indiscriminately to disperse protesting crowds. Many had complained of being directly hit by the chemical-laced mace, complaining of itchy eyes, sore throats and burning skin.

Today, Mahathir felt the same pain these protesters had felt. He has been claiming that he wants answers from Abdullah’s government because the public must know how the government is being run.

After today, Mahathir has just made a step closer to be a member of the disfranchised public.