The flaming racism in Dr Mahathir and the duplicity of 1Malaysia

In remarks that Pakatan Rakyat leaders say only reveal the flaming racism in him, former premier Mahathir Mohamad called on the Malay community to reject the opposition at the ballot boxes, otherwise, the non-Malays would take control of the country including the prime minister’s job.

“Mahathir, Umno and the rest of BN are not able to transition into the new era of politics. They are unable to debunk racism and religious bigotry for the greater good of the country. They are unable to leave behind their personal interests for the sake of the advancement of the future generations of Malaysians,“ PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told Malaysia Chronicle.

“This shows the only way forward is to reject the BN. It also exposes Prime Minister Najib Razak and the hollowness of his 1Malaysia. To the non-Malays, he tries to create the impression he is for an equal racial playing field but to the Malays and Umno, he spouts the line dictated by Mahathir.”

Good guy-bad guy with an eye to early elections

Indeed, despite talk that Najib and Mahathir were at odds on how to take Malaysia forward, pundits pointed out that the choices both leaders have made were based on whether the results helped them to win at elections rather than for the overall good of the nation.

PAS strategist Dr Dzulkefly
Some see the latest remarks from Mahathir as a sign that the general election would be held within the next 6 months, but others were skeptical saying that to do so would only benefit the Pakatan.

“Najib and Mahathir may think they are making headway with this doublespeak. Najib plays good guy with the non-Malays while Mahathir helps him pull in the Malay vote. But it is not working because the non-Malays see through Najib as a hypocrite. As for the Malays, many of them dislike Mahathir for the corruption that was the hallmark of his administration,” PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

In a recent interview with MediaUMNO, Mahathir resorted to his favorite scare-mongering tactics. According to him, the Malay leaders in the Pakatan were puppets of the Chinese, implying that as such, they would not protect or do anything for the Malays.

“We see Nizar Jamaluddin in Perak, even though he was MB, but he followed orders from DAP until he fell. The Chinese blamed this as a BN effort to topple the Chinese government,” Mahathir told MediaUMNO.

“That’s why they call it a Chinese government. Is it impossible for us to also have a Prime Minister like Nizar, name is Malay, race is Malay, but he is in actual fact not independent. He is a tool for other people and this can happen.”

Non-Malay PM

He warned that if the Chinese and the Indians had the support of the majority, they could even take over the most powerful job in the country.

PKR strategist Tian Chua
“There is nothing in our laws or in our constitution that prevents Chinese or Indian from becoming Prime Minister, what is needed is support from the majority. If the majority agrees, we cannot do anything,” Mahathir said.

It was also evident that as far as Umno is concerned, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is still their biggest threat. In his interview, Mahathir took care to fire a few salvos at his former deputy, whom he had sacked and jailed in 1998.

“Unfortunately, Umno has dropped this person. In anger, he destroyed his own chances, formed another party. His struggle is not just for race, religion and country but to be Prime Minister.

“That trend is no longer the main focus but from what I gather more towards personal in that the formation of his party is for justice but justice in name only. The formation of Keadilan has not brought any justice to the nation.”

MC
25/09/10

No comments: