Of late, the former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has thrown up some surprises for us. There was this talk of his that corruption was becoming a culture and becoming 'above the table'. He appears to believe that during his own time it was so, so secretive and all 'under the table'.

The next surprise was when he called for accountability and transparency in the awarding of those lucrative, tradeable APs (Approved Permits). This straight away put his once-trusted lady lieutenant in a spot.

Anyway, the Tun claimed that the AP system had been there even before he was prime minister, and when he came in, he had cut down the number of AP holders. He further said that the market is abuzz with rumours of a 'king of APs' and he pointed out that the best way to kill off this rumour was to name all the AP holders.

This, he said, would put the government in good light. Now why didn't he do this when he was in power and make his government look good? What seems to irk him is the fact that his son's name has been bandied around as an AP holder for Porsche cars and yet the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is refusing to mention the names of others awarded APs. Hence, maybe, his recent crusade for transparency and accountability regarding APs.

Another big surprise was that despite the fact that Proton has in the recent past been marketing Proton cars overseas at below cost, the Tun now wants the dumping of foreign cars to be stopped. This is in order for Proton to compete on a level-playing field. Imagine the Tun calling for such a thing!

Is Tun Mahathir a-changing after all these years. In his waning years, is he starting to think of the legacy he will be leaving behind? Will he want just to be remembered for the tallest towers, KLIA, Putrajaya, the longest satay, the biggest roti chanai or the biggest pau or other better stuff?

He must have realised at the tail end of his reign that there aren't many good things to remember him by. His divide and rule, his failure to have his brethren standing crutches, only little progress in national unity and integration, unemployable graduates and many others are not great stuff to remember one by.

In his last couple of years in power he also probably had regrets for not having the foresight to realise the importance of English and rushed to correct this by having Maths and Science taught in English once again. All these must be running through his mind as he busily writes his memoirs.

Thinking about his place in Malaysian history may also have accounted for his recent interest in fighting corruption and calling for transparency and accountability. Will the Tun surprise us more in the days to come? Better things may yet come out of our Tun Dr Mahathir!