Mahathir still insists Najib is a Bugis pirate

(NST) – Pakatan Harapan pro-tem chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied that he had insulted the Bugis community.

Instead, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman claimed that he was referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, whom he described as a ‘Bugis pirate’.

In his speech at a Pakatan Harapan rally here late last night, the former prime minister claimed that he was alluding solely to Najib and not the Bugis community at large. He said the reference was made after Najib had referred to himself as a ‘Bugis warrior’.

Mahathir said he was surprised when the remark was taken as insulting the Buginese community, to the extent that some quarters had gathered outside his office to voice their protest.

“Unfortunately they came on Deepavali day, so there was no one at the office,” he said.

Dr Mahathir allegedly made the controversial statement during the ‘Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrai’ rally organised by Pakatan Harapan in Petaling Jaya on Oct 14.

He allegedly said that Malaysia was led by a prime minister who descended from Bugis pirates.

He was quoted as saying: “History has shown that the Buginese are skilled sailors and traders. The Buginese were known as brave warriors who were feared by the Dutch and British colonialists.

“In fact, these colonial powers were the ones who first referred to the Buginese community as pirates because we were opposing them and stopping them from taking our resources back to their home countries.”