Sunday, February 13, 2011

Never overstay, a lesson from Cairo

The Star was in Egypt to capture that moment in history. Pixman AZHAR MAHFOF, who is in Cairo with AMY CHEW, took this picture of jubilation in the streets.

IT’S a disease that affects many ageing politicians. They refuse to let go and cling on to their powers, believing that they are indispensable, possibly even invincible, and that chaos would result if anyone else were to take over their jobs.

But a defiant Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has finally given up despite his stubborn stand barely 24 hours earlier, when he told the people that he would not allow himself to be forced out of office.

He repeatedly said over state TV that he would “not leave this soil until I am buried underneath it”, and reminded his listeners that “I never sought false power or popularity. I am certain that the majority of people are aware of who Hosni Mubarak is”.


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