Tun Dr Mahathir's Post Election Press Conference Transcript

You can read the transcript of Tun Mahathir's post election press conference taken from MalaysiaKini here.

I just want to highlight few of his comments that I find interesting:

Are you surprised by the results?
I think it’s shocking. Although I expected BN to lose but I did not think that they lost five states.I'm sorry that I made the wrong choice in Pak Lah. (You are forgiven...but the damage is done. Can't turn back time.)
I never expected a PM to reverse all the policies of the government. So I think the people on the whole must have been very angry. All the three communities, the Chinese, the Malays and the Indians, have reacted.

When you say ‘step down’, do you mean (from) Umno or PM?
I think he should (step down). The Japanese would have performed ‘hara-kiri’. I think that Najib (Razak) has done very well. He has scored an amazing victory, more than the 2004 elections. (Pak Lah will never leave his throne Che Det even if he is being pressured by everyone around him. And we are not ready for Najib to be our PM.)

Umno has retained more seats compared to the other component parties like MIC and MCA. Will they pressure Pak Lah to step down?
That depends on them to whether to apply pressure or not but the Barisan Nasional concept is still relevant. If there is no (MIC chief S) Samy Vellu, then find another Vellu.

What were the issues which led to the loss of the states?
Many issues led to the pent-up feelings of the citizens of which despite the economic growth, the people aren't feeling anything. They feel the rise in the cost of living a big factor. (We fed up of rising price issues in petrol and consumer products. The 6% economy growth is worthless when the inflation almost reached 2.5%)
They also see that this government is run by one family. When family takes precedence over cabinet, over government, then people will be against it.
(Yep the KJ issue...so tired of all this chronicle theory which sounded so believable and I actually bought it coz they seem to fit perfectly well)

Can you comment on Zam (Zainuddin Maidin)?
He won or lost? Oh, he lost. Well, the way he was campaigning was really funny, telling people to look at his face and how it doesn't change. But I think that a face that doesn't change can be very boring. Sometimes you must laugh, sometimes you must cry.He was telling everybody "Ini muka tak bertukar, tak bertukar". Who is interested in his ‘wajar’? If he was Britney Spears, then... (hehehe...good one Che Det! Serve him right for being kacang lupakan kulit.)

Will you return to active politics?
I won't return to active politics but if they want advice, I can give them. How can I return when once I stepped down they treated me like a pariah? (I agree with your decision. Don't jump into the fire of today's politic. You already leave an unmatched service record and I wanted it to remain a great legacy. However I do feel very sorry for what they did to you. You've done your best...tho you could do better actually. Let us see what happen next)