The book, A Doctor In The House, should be better regarded as

A Liar In The House. Dr M, like a lot of other politicians is

clearly keen to rewrite history, and rewrite it in a manner
most suitable for sanitising his 22-year reign as leader.
Many people would rather leave Dr M alone since he is an old
man despite his many past mistakes and bad actions and unfair
treatment of people. Civilised humans much prefer to let any
bygones be bygones and leave an elderly human being to enjoy a
peaceful retirement. But sanitising history is something else.
And blaming others in the process is pressing it even further.
It cannot be denied that Dr M's time as PM was (and still is)
the most corrupt period in the country's history.
The PM's cronies and henchmen benefitted the most under his
watch and they all got fat and rich until the 1997-8 financial
crisis struck. There were UMNO politicians who went around
with bulging suitcases full of cash and some, especially from
the very dirty state of Sabah, always spending a lot of time
travelling abroad and bedding plenty of ladies in the process.
When his deputy fell out with him after the financial crisis,
it was revealed that several of Dr M's cronies had brought in
foreign women into the country using their VIP authority.
Dr M was also responsible for the country losing a very huge
sum of money when he unwisely tried to corner the tin market
trading on the London metal exchange in the 1980s. The gnomes
controlling the tin trading unleashed their reserve stocks
and caused Dr M to lose his bet and the country was bloodied
in the nose. It was one of many reasons why Dr M decided to
pursue the Look East policy during his time as PM.
As PM and the top politician (or top dog) in a sea of ambitious
politicians, he was naturally always on the lookout for various
kinds of scapegoats. Despite his very heavy workload, many were
fated to fall victim to his very capable political machinations.
Those who were foolish or brazen enough to either oppose him,
or disagree with him, soon found out the hard way that not
nodding your head in front of the boss was a painful mistake.
Each time Dr M decided on something, everyone had to agree
and provide the necessary praises. Should he suspect that you
were reluctant to go along with him, your career or the good
things in life would all too soon come to an end.
Dr M was not above being petty as the top politician. When he
found out that his deputy was not really fond of the national
car project and the Penang bridge, he made certain that his
deputy was the first man to drive the national car across the
bridge when it was opened after being completed. Reports that
the South orean contractor for the bridge rushed the project
and resorted to using questionable shortcuts were suppressed.
Under Dr M, many religious or racial supremacy groups reared
their heads and Dr M was suspected of having encouraged at least
some of them. Unlike his predecessors, he was not hesitant to
take advantage of the sentiments brought up by these groups to
strengthen and consolidate his position within his party and
to tighten his control over the administration of the country.
Dr M's favourite target was the Chinese community in the country
and vernacular schools were looked upon as if they were leper
institutions. People like Dr M were always fond of overlooking
the fact that vernacular education critically provided jobs that
helped many minority people to survive and they also helped to
contribute a vital part to the country's development.
Today, there are still many Dr M cronies who like to attack the
vernacular education in the country despite the indisputable
fact that it is popular even among non-chinese communities. The
vernacular system suffered a lot under Dr M but still showed
enough resilience to enable its society to be largely independent
of the authorities and avoid adopting the welfare mentality.
The welfare mentality favoured by Dr M's party is a great burden
to the country even today.
Under Dr M, the country adopted a lot of anti-minority measures
supposedly to help the majority in the country and some are still
kept standing in place today. These measures are patently unfair
and unethical and could be regarded as illegal under other laws.
However, few dare speak out against such unfair treatment as the
law enforcers are always too ready to pounce at any given moment.
Dr M's general treatment of Singapore can be easily likened to a
neighbourhood bully pressing his weight against a small fella in
his area. Singapore was ejected mainly because L did not want
its population to dilute the majority's size and, potentially its
political power, in the country. Not because of other reasons put
forward by Dr M. His relationship with L Y can be likened to the
situation where two tigers find themselves residing on the same
mountain. Dr M is no saint compared to L Y. The two men can be
described as S E Asia's Mao versus Chiang. Or Eisenhower versus
MacArthur. Mao forced the PRC to stand up on its feet while Chiang
never failed to tire in his efforts to avenge his failure. MacArthur
was one who could never hesitate to compromise on his principles
if he ever sensed his goals were about to come within reach while
Eisenhower was a man of steely character. All four (or six) men were
great leaders but they were cast from very vastly different molds.
Dr M's time as PM also saw the start of the huge influx of labour
from outside which has greatly worsened now. He was the first man
to claim that the country was capable of supporting a population
of sixty million (to seventy million). Due to his stand, politicians
in the country encouraged the flow of illegal immigrants into their
constituencies to provide or boost their much needed power base. This
helped to spur lots of corrupt practices which have continued till
today. Even as recently as a few months back, Immigration officials
were found to be in the 'thick of the action'(corrupt practices).
Nowadays, foreign immigrants fill up or control some sectors of the
economy, especially the vegetable farms and the street markets, yet
minority citizens, born and brought up here are still referred to by
given euphemisms such as squatters or outsiders. It is therefore not
surprising why the 'pihak luar/lain', the 'pendatang', and even the
native communities are shrinking so fast these days.
Since his time, the mass media has been given much free licence to
air or regurgitate malicious claims or accusations made against the
minority (politicians) by powerful groups in the country, and this
practice has been allowed to carry on to the present day. In this
respect, the country very easily ranks alongside some of the worst
of Third World nations. Be in the know.
(In truth, other countries like the US, tread more or less on the
very same path, too. The current Homeland 'hearings' is one example.)
Many legacies have been left behind by Dr M, quite several of them
being bad or really bad ones. So, (reading) the book should be
taken with a pinch of salt. Not that Dr M did not do anything good
at all for the country. He should be regarded as a leader who was
of a very strong mind and a man of vision. Just that for him, like
other people such as MacArthur, the means were of lesser substance
when compared to the desired objectives.
Dr M still continues to keep a finger on the pulse of the nation
perhaps to ensure that his vision for the country is still alive
and that the present leaders do not forget him in a hurry. However,
young people would prefer not to pay him too much attention.
Today, many young people have left the country permanently for a
better future abroad, while others who remained here are heavily
involved in dealing with drugs, vice, piracy, counterfeiting, and
other illegal activites. Employers prefer to hire foreigners, and
most government jobs are closed to minority people. The vision is
stil there, but like the book, never believe too much in it.