Mahathir and the opposition keeps insisting that Najib is dictator and an oppressor.
But let us look at what happened in the period between 1999 to 2004 when Mahathir was in charge and was handing power to Pak Lah.
During this 5 years period alone, Mahathir used the ISA, other coercive laws and the courts to curb the opposition.
Ezam Mohamed Nor, Tian Chua, Saari Sungib, Lokman Noor Adam, Dr Badrulamin Bahron, Hishamuddin Rais (and for a while Raja Petra and Gobalakrishnan too) were detained under the ISA on trumped up charges of threatening national security.
Azmin Ali was taken to court and finally sentenced to 18 months jail for perjury in 2001.
PKR Deputy Wanita chief Irene Fernandez was also taken to court and sentenced to 12 months jail for publishing allegedly false news.
Ezam, the Youth leader, already detained under the ISA, was taken to court on an OSA charge and subsequently sentenced to two years jail. Ezam,
Guan Eng was already in jail as at 25 Aug 1998 - 3 months before GE12. So is Anwar.
Azmin and Fernandez, Guan Eng and Anwar, were all ruled ineligible to contest the 2004 election on the grounds of their conviction.
Looks like Mahathir (and now Kit Siang) tak tahu or already mudah lupa.
Forget about Mahathir who has no sense of shame or hypocrisy but for Kit Siang, Azmin, Guan Eng, Anwar and the rest to forget all these shows what lying unprincipled lalangs they are.
LSS.
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https://aliran.com/archives/monthly/2004a/3g.html
