Mahathir video plays deja vu with Malay dilemma

[superadmin]

A recent video clip of Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaking after his party Pejuang was registered has caused much consternation. He said he was thankful that Pejuang was finally registered, but he went on to say:

“Our party is a Malay party. Unlike others, we openly admit that we are a Malay and Bumiputera party. We formed a Malay party because the country is originally a Malay nation.

“We shared the nation with others, but this sharing should not be until we (Malays) are the poorest, in the lowest strata and insulted in our own country. Today, we can see Malays split until we have lost power.

“Why? Because of greed. Each and everyone wants position and power, not to serve the race, religion and country but want lucrative returns. Malays form parties not to serve the nation but to seek high positions. There are those who want to be prime ministers, ministers and deputy ministers. That is their objective.”

I am not sure how convincing he was to the Malay crowd with this blatant appeal on racial grounds.


It is not true that the Malays have lost power. They never did.

Mahathir’s statement caused much hurt and anger among those who view him as being somewhat responsible for the current state of the country. It is indeed difficult to know what he wanted to convey or why he chose to make this statement at a time when the people are hurting from the impact of Covid-19 and struggling to keep afloat. It sounded a wee bit desperate to me.


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