引用恐怖小说大师斯蒂芬‧金（Stephen King）的话：“骗我一次，是你不要脸。骗我两次，是我笨。骗我三次，我们俩都应感到羞耻。”我国的政治发展，自年初以来，一直动荡不安，最后在新冠疫情笼罩下，以组建一个未经民选的政府为终，这情节过程可比拟斯蒂芬‧金那令人不安的小说。
这令人不安的故事中，有一个人人都“向往”的“权威”，就像斯蒂芬‧金《它》（IT）故事里的下水道杀手小丑一样，用糖果引诱孩子，然后吞噬他们。
当然，敦马哈迪医生不是那个“它”，但令人惊叹的是，在95岁高龄，他仍然被许多人视为造“王”者（此处“王”字含有双关意思，而马哈迪心中，他就是王者）。同时也扮演著分化与统一角色。
安华终于吸取教训
对于行动党和诚信党内一些政治人物，仍以“马”首是瞻，依然寄望通过老马组建新联盟，来推翻丹斯里慕尤丁领导的国民联盟，这一些政治领导人的判断不禁令人质疑。
反之，公正党的拿督斯里安华此次看来更聪明一点，他领悟了斯蒂芬‧金的哲理，与马哈迪保持一定的距离。他缺席了5月18日马哈迪与其他希盟领袖召开的新闻发布会，并表明自己才是国会反对党领袖，对许多人而言，这表明安华终于吸取了教训。
毕竟，安华是遭到马哈迪“伤害”最多的人。
如果马哈迪坚守交棒协议，“喜来登行动”可能就不会发生，希盟政府就可以专注履行其竞选承诺，修复经济并与新冠病毒作战，当时的卫生部长拿督斯里祖基菲里已作出各项安排。
无论如何，随著传言222名国会议员中有114人支持马哈迪，显示许多政党和政治领导人正考虑拥戴马哈迪，让其第三次出任首相！
对于行动党和诚信党之流，他们希望“无三不成礼”。可惜的是，行动党应了解，马哈迪已展示，他更倾向以单一种族主导的政治领导，而不是结合多元社会里其他优秀领袖一起领导的路线，即使后者能更有效地解决马哈迪过去70年来念兹在兹要解决的马来人贫穷问题。
然而，那些试图与马哈迪结盟的人很容易忽视新联盟的前景和政治格局的转变。
例如，让民兴党领袖出任副首相的承诺，似乎非常有吸引力，这将让民兴党领袖拿督斯里沙菲宜出任副首相，且很可能由于马哈迪的年龄和健康状况，而在未来数年成为第一位来自东马的首相。
这确实很吸引人。但俗话说，当某事听起来好得令人难以置信时，其很大可能不是真的。
也许，被本身党内当权派赶下台的马哈迪，现在最好的角色，就是作为一名资深政治家，为这陷入分化的国家寻找团结方案。但对当下分化局面负有最大责任的马哈迪，这样的要求，是否太高。
走出马哈迪时代
因此，也许那些渴望通过拥护老马而取得政权的人，应先进行合理的分析；或至少停止利用这老人作为在政治上前进的支点。
马哈迪的政治生涯，对马来西亚而言是毁誉参半。在他的领导下，我国成为经济强国，我们从中受益。两年前，他重返政坛，在某种程度上实现了正义，并追回盗贼统治下，即一马公司的数十亿令吉。
但是，种族之间的经济悬殊，马来人的贫穷，对基本和民主权利与自由的压制，以及体制的腐败，也是马哈迪的政治遗产之一。现在寻求马哈迪回锅的那些领导人中，有几位在80年代和90年代就因处于马哈迪的对立面，而付出了代价。
现在应是这国家的新一代人走出马哈迪领导的时代，而政治人物也应记住，不要完全相信马哈迪所言的。
我们应从“向东学习”政策中学到，并应用收纳女王近藤麻理惠（Marie Kondo）提出的收纳法，感恩过去为我们带来“喜悦”，但如今却要丢弃的东西。她特别建议在收纳法中，最后才整理感性物品，因为它们是最难以丢弃。
为此，我们感谢马哈迪为这个国家所做的贡献，但也告诉他，他再也无法为我们带来“喜悦”，而这国家需学会在没有他的情况下继续前进，特别是他年事已高。
《是时候超越马哈迪》（Time to move on beyond Dr M）原文：
TO quote horror novelist Stephen King: ¨Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us.〃
The political goings on since the beginning of the year that culminated with the formation of an unelected government in the midst of a killer pandemic, could well be off the pages of one of Kingˇs disturbing novels.
At the center of this horror story is an oracle whom everyone gravitates to, like a killer clown in the sewers who lures children with candy and then devours them.
One is certainly not equating Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to ¨IT〃, but one must marvel that at 95, he is still regarded by many as a King maker (pun and reference unintended although in Dr. Mahathirˇs mind he is the King). A unifier and divider at the same time.
That the likes of DAP and Amanah are still looking at him to form a new coalition to oust the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin-lead Perikatan Nasional (PN) calls into question the judgment of some of these political leaders.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim however seems to be the wiser one who subscribes to Kingˇs philosophy and seems to distance himself from Dr. Mahathir.
His absence at Dr. Mahathirˇs May 18 press conference with other Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders and staking his claim as the Leader of the Opposition to many is an indication of Anwar finally having learnt his lesson.
Anwar after all was the one who got ¨burnt〃 the most by his former mentor.
If Dr Mahathir had stuck to the leadership handing-over agreement, the Sheraton Move may never had happened and the PH government could have just focused on fulfilling its election pledges, fixing the economy and battling Covid-19 which then Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad had already been putting measures in place.
In any case, with 114 of the 222 MPs in Parliament whose support Dr. Mahathir is now claimed to enjoy, many parties and political leaders are considering allegiance towards him, to make him Prime Minister for the third time!
For the likes of DAP and Amanah they hope third timeˇs a charm. Unfortunately for the DAP, Dr Mahathir has demonstrated that his preference for administering Malaysia is a single race dominated political leadership. Not a leadership that incorporates the best of our diversity even if this route will be more effective in alleviating the lot of poor Malays whom Dr Mahathir has been championing for 70 years.
However, the prospects of new powers and a shift of the political spectrum is too tempting to ignore by those seeking to realign with Dr. Mahathir.
A promise of deputy premiership to Warisan which seems to hold the decisive vote, for instance, could see Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal as Deputy Prime Minister and probably due to Dr Mahathirˇs age and health, becoming the first Prime Minister from East Malaysia in the next few years.
A mouth-watering scenario indeed. But as the saying goes. When something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Which is why it is probably best that Dr. Mahathir who has been ousted as chairman of his own party now play the role of elder statesman and look at ways to unite a polarised nation. But this may be too much to ask of a man who was largely responsible for this polarisation to begin with.
So perhaps those who aspire to lead should first exercise sound judgment; or the very least stop using this old man as a crutch to move forward politically.
Dr Mahathir has been the boon and bane of Malaysia throughout his checkered political life. We have benefited from his leadership which made us an economic powerhouse; his return to politics two years ago helped to some measure achieve justice and restitution to the billion-ringgit kleptocracy which was 1MDB.
But economic disparity among the races, poorer Malays, the suppression of basic and democratic rights and freedoms and institutional corruption also mark his legacy. Several of those leaders seeking his return now have been at the wrong end of his leadership in the 80s and 90s and have paid a personal price.
It is time for the nation with a new generation of Malaysians to move beyond Dr Mahathir and for politicians to learn that they cannot take him at his word.
We should take a leaf out of this ¨Look East〃 policy and apply the KonMari method introduced by the Queen of Declutter Marie Kondo. She advises us to ¨thank〃 the items that have served us which we now wish to put away as they do not spark joy anymore.
She specifically advises to tidy up sentimental items last as they will be the most difficult to discard.
With that we thank Dr Mahathir for his services to this nation but tell him he does not spark joy anymore and this country needs to learn to move on without him especially when proof of his mortality is looming.
