If You Seek Revenge You Re Not Ready To Lead

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When the Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted Yusoff Rawther, it did more than clear his name. It lifted the curtain on a deeply troubling reality. A political trap had been set.
A man was caught in a storm not of his own making. For months, he lived under the shadow of an accusation that, as the court has now ruled, was built not on truth but manipulation.
This verdict is not just a personal vindication. It is a warning to the entire political class.
Because when politics begins to dictate who gets investigated and who gets exonerated, when legal tools become instruments of vengeance, and when power is used to entrap rather than to serve, the rakyat suffer - not just the accused, not just the targeted, but all of us.
Let it be said clearly: The government cannot be blamed for this episode. The case was brought to court, and it proceeded through the justice system without interruption. No outside interference was seen. The ruling came down based purely on evidence and law. That is what democracy looks like when it functions properly.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his former aide Yusoff RawtherThat is the reason the rakyat still place their confidence in this government. Not because it is perfect, but because it has allowed justice to function without manipulation. The prime minister has consistently shown commitment to governing within the framework of the law.
He has resisted the temptation to interfere, even when political pressure was high. This sense of discipline of letting institutions act independently is precisely why many still believe this administration can fulfil the rakyat’s mandate with integrity.
But this moment of institutional clarity is now under threat not from within the government, but from voices in the opposition who appear increasingly eager to retaliate.
Recycled tyranny
Leaders like Ahmad Fadhli Shaari have issued what amounts to political threats: that once in power, they will target those in government today, that retribution is coming, and that opponents will pay.
PAS leader Ahmad Fadhli ShaariBut if that is their idea of leadership, then it is nothing more than recycled tyranny.
Such language should trouble every Malaysian. It shows not a desire for justice, but an appetite for revenge. It is not a promise to clean the system. It is a warning that the abuse may rotate hands.
This kind of rhetoric is not only irresponsible but also dangerous. It reflects a failure to understand the rakyat’s true hunger, not for drama but for dignity, not for revenge but for results.
If you believe you were wronged, prove it through facts, not fury. Let the institutions work, just as they have worked now in Yusoff’s case. Let the truth unfold in courtrooms, not in press conferences or political rallies.
Because the rakyat are watching. And they are not fools. They can tell the difference between genuine reform and opportunistic vengeance. They will not support a new regime that repeats the sins of the old.
The stakes
Today, justice has prevailed because the courts were allowed to do their job. Tomorrow, the stakes may be even higher. Will we allow justice to guide us again? Or will we return to the politics of punishment, where power becomes the only truth that matters?
To those in enforcement, the MACC, the police, and beyond, this is your moment of reckoning, too. Remain professional. Do not allow yourselves to be dragged into partisan warfare. The rakyat want institutions they can trust, not agencies that change their colours with every new government.
To politicians on both sides of the aisle, understand this. The people do not want chaos. They want consistency. They want stability. They want a nation where no one is above the law, and no one is beneath it.
Yusoff’s acquittal is a lesson. But it will be wasted if we do not take it seriously.
Because if we continue down this road of threats and retaliation, of selective justice and endless vendettas, then all we are doing is handing future generations a broken, bitter system.
And if you cannot rise above vengeance, you were never ready to lead. -Mkini
MAHATHIR MOHD RAIS is a former Federal Territories Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional secretary.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT

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