Dr M: Malays being left behind in Johor’s modernisation
(The Rakyat Post) – Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed cautioned that local Malays would be left behind in the development of Johor Bahru.
Dr Mahathir wrote in his personal blog chedet.cc today that despite radical changes in the landscape of Johor Baru, with many skyscrapers in the planning, the Malays in Johor Baru and nearby villages were unlikely to be the ones to occupy the buildings.
It is not wrong for the city to reflect a new and modern Malaysia and achieve Vision 2020 at the same time as Kuala Lumpur, but the buildings were not cheap as they would probably be made with marble and granite, said Dr Mahathir.
“Lifts and escalators move visitors in and out of buildings, 30 to 40 storeys high.
“There will also be private lifts for the top floors with expensive rentals to the tune of tens of thousands of ringgit a month,” he wrote.
He also noted how Singapore was sold in 1819 to the British for only 60,000 Spanish dollars by the Temenggong (governor acting for the Sultan of Johor) when the island was only inhabited by a few fishermen.
“Foreigners came in and drowned out the original inhabitants to the extent that the island became a foreign country and never returned to Johor even after independence from the British.
“Who can say that Johor Bahru will not become another Singapore?” he wrote, adding that foreigners who stayed for more than 10 years in the last 12 years were entitled to citizenship and were rarely rejected.
Dr Mahathir added that the new developments resulted in additional electoral constituencies, with the foreigners forming the majority of voters even when combined with other constituencies.
“Nowadays, it is racist to mention the Malays. It is fine if there is not a single Malay citizen, as long the voters are Malaysians.”
Dr Mahathir said he welcomed the transformation in Johor Baru as in other places.
Citing a Malay proverb, he said it was important for Malaysia to become a developed country even if the locals were suffering on their own bountiful land due to influx of outsiders.
