Dr M says British advisers were rulers
SERDANG, Sept 12 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad conceded today that Malaysia was never colonised by the British but insisted that their advisers acted as if they were the rulers instead of the Malay Sultans.
The 85-year-old former prime minister said that the British “acted as if we were colonised” in response to the claim by the National Professors’ Council (MPN) that Malaya, the precursor to Malaysia, was never colonised by Britain and had merely been a protectorate.
“The Sultans decided to invite the British to come and advise them on how to administer the country. We were not conquered in that sense. But the fact remains that when the British were here, they operated as if we were colonised.
“In other words, the British did not advice, they gave orders. The English language is such that the adviser rules and the rulers advise,” he told reporters after the launch of the Perdana University here.
