Mahathir is only Proton's Ear, Not Mouth

Proton-Mitsubishi Talk, Mahathir Don't Know? "I am not aware of anything. They (the Proton board) do things without my knowledge so I cannot be aware if they are talking or not. I do not give advice anymore. I just listen. As long as they do not sack me, I will be the adviser." Dr Mahathir said.

Asked if the Proton board still sought his advice, Dr Mahathir said the board sometimes kept him informed but at other times he learned from the Press. "You know better than I do."

Mahathir said he had posed some questions to the Proton board but they had gone unanswered. "The board decides there is no need to answer the questions. I thought they were supposed to be transparent with everything." Dr Mahathir said that as Proton was a public-listed company and as an adviser, "I have the right to know why they did these things". Referring to Proton’s sale of MV Agusta Motors SpA for E1, Dr Mahathir said: "You buy something for E70 million (RM322 million) and sell it off for Euro$1 and say you don’t lose any money. "They won’t even say what discounts they are giving to sell Proton and how much it amounts to."

In another article from The Star, Review issues on Islam, says Mahathir Mahathir said there is a need to look at the issues involving Islam. However, he said, it was up to the Government to decide whether this could be done by amending Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution or by other means.

Dr Mahathir: ‘People can make calls (to amend the Constitution) as this is a free country’. Obviously, many people want this problem resolved and it is up to the Government to decide,” he said.

Dr Mahathir also said he was no less a Malay nationalist than most Malays simply because he had advocated the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English. “I just would like to see Malaysians catch up with the latest knowledge in Science and Mathematics. It is easier to access the knowledge if you understand English, rather than have somebody else translate it into Bahasa Malaysia.

On the future of Islam in a globalised world, he said the survival of Muslims would depend on how good they were at interpreting the religion. “If the Muslims want to do well and to be able to compete with others, they need to go back to the fundamental teaching of Islam as found in the Quran and the verified hadis,” he said.

“If they continue to believe in dubious translations of the Quran, then they will be in trouble.”

Mahathir also said that there was a need to review the education system in the country so that character-building and the acquiring of knowledge could be equally emphasised.

"Knowledge in the hands of people with no values would be destructive to the society," he said. “If our students are only taught how to acquire knowledge without having good values, then we are going to have a society of materialistic people who will not care how their wealth come about, and who are willing to cheat.”

During Mahathir's era as the head of government, there was no protest from the cabinet about the draconian laws. In Pak Lah's cabinet, they protested and sent memos. So, in Mahathir's opinion, the law may need change as there are request and a need. Acknowledging that the Article 121(1A) was last amended during his tenure, the former prime minister said: “Well, during my time there was no protest. I suppose I got away with it.”