Dr Mahathir Mohamad seems to be forgetting his history of how Malaysia came to be. He claims that since this country was once called Tanah Melayu it therefore belongs to the Malays.
If this contentious remark was not damaging enough, Dr Mahathir further spat insult to the Indians and Chinese saying the non-Malays must be thankful for being given citizenship status.
But history however has it in black and white that MCA leader Tan Cheng Lock who while favouring a policy of collaboration with Umno to win Malayan independence on the basis of equal citizenship, made enough concessions to Malay sensitivities to ease nationalist fears.
Twisting history
In spite of this 'joint-venture' towards obtaining the country's merdeka or independence from colonial masters, Dr Mahathir is insistent that Malays are the rightful owners of Malaysia. But just how did he really arrive at this notion?
Dr Mahathir made this unwarranted statement at a seminar entitled "Malay race and the future" held on Feb 1. This stand taken by Dr Mahathir sheds enough light on his stand on the issue of "ketuanan Melayu" or "Malay supremacy". Dr Mahathir, it appears is all for it.
To his detractors, the statement is not going to go down well with the non-Malays, more so at a time when prime minister Najib Razak is sparing no effort in promoting 1Malaysia among Malaysians.
In the wake of Mahathir's contentious remarks, these were some of the most common refrains among puzzled Malaysians:
"What is the point of Najib spending so much money trying to sell the 1Malaysia concept to the people when Dr Mahathir has ruthlessly said the country belongs to the Malays.
"But it is now called Malaysia, so does it still belong to the Malays? Why is Dr Mahathir regressing when he supposedly should be advanced in his thinking?".
The conclusion here is that Dr Mahathir is intentionally disturbing the racial harmony in the country. The detractors say Dr Mahathir never gave unity much thought, not even when he was the prime minister for 22 years.
"During his time, Dr Mahathir was more concerned with making a name for himself by building impressive infrastructure in Malaysia. He never gave any thought to people development, so maybe he is the reason why Malaysians ended up having a third class mentality.
"At a time now when the country's unity and harmony are at stake, he has made it worse with his uncalled for statement. It is hurting to see our former leader, one who gives much premium to development having no respect for the people," he said.
His own roots
Malaysians hurt by Dr Mahathir's words have expressed their disapointment with him and finally come to agree that he is after all a racist.
"Dr Mahathir forgets his own roots. His father was of Indian-Malay descent but maybe Dr Mahathir was ashamed to acknowledge this and so hid this fact throughout his political career," one retiree, Mr Maniam, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Maniam said it was unbecoming of someone of Dr Mahathir's stature to humiliate the non-Malays of this country.
"What did Dr Mahathir get by making this statement? Does he not realise how important unity is in determining the stability of a nation? Has he not learned from what is happening to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and in Tunisia?
"At age 85, the least Dr Mahathir can do is to help maintain the harmony that Malaysia so depends on for her survival. He must not be a stubborn man adamant that respecting the Malay rights is the reason why the Chinese and Indians were allowed to call Malaysia their home. History proves him wrong. The question is will Dr Mahathir be humble enough to accept it?"said Maniam.
1 comment:
Non malays don' have to worry so much about mamakthir bin pariah comments due to his self centred policy.
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