Sajakkini

Hishamuddin Rais

(It is good that Dr Mahathir has come out strongly against corruption but personally, I wish he could have done more during his over 20 years in office, such as carrying out anti-corruption campaigns to create awareness of the delibitating impact of corruption).

Dr Mahathir berkata:” Saya fikir ini satu cara nak tahan saya, nak tutup mulut saya. Apa yang saya cakap ini bukan kerana saya nak cakap tetapi kerana ada orang tanya tentang rasuah. Jadi kalau tanya, saya jawablah, kalau tidak mahu, tak usah tanya saya”.

Dr Mahathir berkata beliau sampai menangis secara terbuka dan membaca doa macam-macam, meminta (orang) supaya jangan terlibat dengan rasuah sebab ini soal nilai hidup yang mulia. (Bernama 30 Mei, 18:40 PM)

‘Saya buat macam-macam (ketika menjadi Perdana Menteri) tetapi saya tak nak ceritalah apa yang dibuat. Tidak adillah kalau nak kata saya tak buat apa-apa,” katanya pada sidang akhbar di kediamannya di Seri Kembangan semalam berhubung tulisan editor kanan The Star, Datuk Wong Chun Wai, yang disiarkan akhbar itu kelmarin. (Berita Harian 31 Mei 2005)
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Josh Hong

At a press conference held in Beijing in June 1999, a Hong Kong journalist sought the view of Zhu Rongji, then premier, in regard to the 10th anniversary of the June 4 massacre. Zhu, ever so cool and steady, uttered, ‘I have completely forgotten it.’

Needless to say, all those present were seasoned enough to not pursue the issue further.

Did the bloody incident that took place in the summer of 1989 in the heart of the Chinese capital truly escape Zhu? I think not. Most likely, he did what other leaders of the Party Central would do, that was to forcibly pluck the people from the bloody memory of the Chinese nation in the most recent past, all under the canonical principle of ‘stability above all else’.

Maurice Halbwachs, a French sociologist, stresses strongly that social processes influence not only people’s personal memories of their own lifetimes, but also a community’s shared memories of the past. To say that social processes have contributed tremendously to fostering the shared memories is hence an understatement. For a society, nation or state to continue in existence, a cautious and conscious selection of memory reins supreme. (more…)