Mahathir is now back with a vengeance. Having lost the Tanjong Pagar railway station and a long stretch of railway land to Singapore through the incompetence of his predecessor, he is now given a second chance to make things right.
Mahathir have also opened another 2 fronts in his vengeance trail. He has revived the call for Singapore to review the price of water that Singapore is paying for the water from Johor, calling the 3 sen pricing ridiculous, which I must agree. But the greedy PAP ministers are not going to give up a sen (Malaysia currency term for cent).
And now we have a totally new front, the sea between Singapore and Johore on the western side of the Straits is now a hotly contested area. This is purely political, as there is no oil, gas or mineral in this stretch of sea. Perhaps a few fishermen.
Only old timer like Mahathir would know the history and evidence behind this latest claim, and he seemed confident of winning court case in this dispute. As usual, don't expect this cunning old man to reveal the evidence to us instead of the judge.
He has also ordered at least 3 Malaysian government-owned boats to enter this area, and remain there until negotiation or court case is over. Be prepared for a long and drawn out saga. It will likely be a permanent stalemate and likely lead to more conflicts later on, as the young leaders from Singapore are just not used to handling such bilateral dispute.
In preparation for future conflict, Mahathir had ordered an unprecedented closure of the custom complex for 2 hours on the 13th of December. They are having a drill on how to handle evacuation in times of emergency. War between these 2 neighbouring countries is looking like a distinct possibility, something we all took for granted for far too long.
Mahathir had also taken potshot at the high salaries of Singapore Ministers. He claimed that Prime Minister's pay of $20,000 is more than enough for himself. Lee Hsien Loong pay of $2,200,000 is widely publicised and he made no apologies for it, and arrogantly claimed that his pay is lower than an average CEO. We haven't talk about the bonuses and other benefits yet.
In fact, his supporters claimed that that is too low, even though it is already 5 times more than the next highest paid leader in the world, the President of USA. Being diplomatic and friendly to everyone, yes, but be humble, no. Not when they can loathe over anyone in the world with their stratospheric remuneration.
This, of course, is causing resentment among leaders of neighbouring countries and far beyond, whom they think is a form of corruption hidden in the paycheck. Karma has it, that Mahathir is now back to haunt the Lee family, just as PM Lee is about to retire as PM and enjoy his loot, while still collecting millions from taxpayers as a non-functional Minister Mentor or Emeritus Minister or whatever title he decides to give himself.
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