Racial rhetoric the acknowledgment of dismal failure of Tun M
Dr Mahathir might have jumped political parties, but the theme of Malay deprivation is the same one – repeated again and again.
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy, Focus Malaysia
TWICE former prime minister (PM) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammed abandoned Pejuang – the party he formed alongside 12 other members – to join Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) in his quest to spearhead the struggle for Malay political and economic rights.
He went on to say that before he dies, his only priority to rectify the economic and political imbalance of the Malays.
It was in this regard that he was concerned that the new electoral delimitation exercise might not work in the favour of the Malays.
To date, DR Mahathir had abandoned political parties such UMNO, Bersatu and Pejuang. One wonders when he is going to abandon Putra with the president Datuk Ibrahim Ali by his side.
Chances are that Dr Mahathir might have outclassed Ibrahim insofar as jumping parties is concerned. Ibrahim might relish the thought that he is not the only infamous “frog” in the country.
Dr Mahathir who incessantly talks about Malay rights was the same man who lost his election deposit in the parliamentary constituency of Langkawi, the island that he ironically developed.
He cannot understand why the Malays in the constituency rejected him and many others of his earlier political coalition in other parliamentary constituencies in the country.
As long as Dr Mahathir is around, there will be talkS of how Malays have lost their rights gradually to the non-Malays whom he refers to as “foreigners”.
Insult on non-Malays
As far as Dr Mahathir is concerned, there is hardly any difference between the non-Malays and other foreigners in Malaysia, both documented and undocumented.
Maybe the infamous Muslim preacher from a foreign country might have been inspired in calling the non-Muslims or non-Malays as “guests” in the country.
It is strange but downright insulting to call fourth and fifth generations of non-Malays as “foreigners” or even “guests”.
Given this, it is a wonder that race relations in the country never got off on a proper footing in the decades after political independence.
Dr Mahathir was in power twice on the basis of Malay and non-Malay support. In the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, he would not have made the PM without the support of the non-Malays, particularly from the DAP.
But now he terms them as “foreigners”. It was alright for him to get the support of the “foreigners” when it suited him.
Dr Mahathir might have forgotten that his descendants were foreigners from the Indian state of Kerala. Yet he wants to take legal action against UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for merely pointing out his Indian ancestry.
