Old divisive politics must stop, Syed Saddiq tells Dr M

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PETALING JAYA: It is time to do away with old politics that divide Malaysians over their race or religion, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has told Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

This comes after Malaysiakini quoted the former prime minister as claiming certain non-Malays wanted to change Malaysia’s “name and ownership”.

In a Twitter thread, Syed Saddiq said Malaysians of all races and religions loved their home country equally and wanted the nation to become developed and governed well.

“I know absolutely no non-Malays today who wants to change our country’s name. I know many who call Malaysia their one and only home.

“Dear Tun (Mahathir), the old politics of division must stop,” said Syed Saddiq, who was youth and sports minister under the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan government.

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Stop trying to divide Malaysians, Umno man tells Dr M

PETALING JAYA: An Umno Youth leader has urged former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stop inciting the Malay community with “outdated” and “divisive” narratives on disparities between the different races.

Wan Agyl Wan Hassan, the Umno Youth permanent chairman, said as the country’s only two-time prime minister, Mahathir cannot be oblivious to the fact that disparities exist even within both communities.

“You can’t paint a picture as if all Chinese are rich and all Malays are poor. Everyone knows this is not true.

“Yes, there are many poor Malays (and) they form the bulk of the B40, but we also have many wealthy Malays, from entrepreneurs to corporate giants.

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Dr M’s latest non-Malay claim is hate speech, says Santiago

PETALING JAYA: Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has accused former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of “spewing hate speech” which could “potentially be explosive”.

Santiago, of DAP, was commenting on Mahathir’s reported allegation at a press conference yesterday that there were non-Malays who wanted to “change the name and ownership” of Malaysia.

Mahathir also claimed that these people refused to recognise the Malays as the “founders, locals and builders of the country”, Malaysiakini reported.

In a statement today, Santiago accused Mahathir of spinning stories to shore up support for the former Umno president’s “new mates” – Perikatan Nasional – ahead of the state elections.

He also claimed Mahathir was trying hard to remain relevant, but maintained that his accusations were dangerous.

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“DAP never abuses 3R issues as it only wants to unite Malaysians regardless of race or religion”

A PAS leader has called on the government to take stern action against DAP for allegedly touching on 3R (religion, race and royalty) issues ahead of the upcoming state elections.

This is an example of the lies, falsehood, fake news and hate speech which PAS under the leadership of its president Tan Sri Hadi Awang is spreading as state polls loom across the six states of Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

DAP has never abused 3R issues as the party accepts the original nation-building principles for a plural Malaysia as set out in the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara (National Principles), and that it wants to unite all Malaysians regardless of race or religion.

In fact, right from the start of the first general election in 1969 which DAP contested, the party has been fielding candidates representing all races and all religions.

Two Malay Muslims candidates were elected state assemblymen and one of them, Ibrahim Singgeh, who had won the Tapah Road State Assembly seat in Perak during the 1974 General Election with 3,319 votes compared to the Alliance’s 2,986 votes and PAS’ 753 voters was announced as the DAP Perak menteri besar-designate.

In 1999, now DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng sacrificed his Kota Melaka parliamentary seat and went to jail in defence of the honour and dignity of an underage Malay girl.

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That’s enough, stop spinning stories, Dr M told

PETALING JAYA: A trio of DAP MPs have hit out at Dr Mahathir Mohamad for claiming that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is “adhering to DAP’s manifesto” due to the party’s influence over the government.

Claiming that promoting a multi-ethnic country goes against Malaysia’s Federal Constitution, Mahathir said DAP’s 40 MPs could cause the government to collapse by withdrawing their support for Anwar’s administration.

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Dr M’s constitutional claim a travesty, say legal experts

PETALING JAYA: Legal experts say former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has misunderstood the Federal Constitution by claiming that promoting a multi-ethnic country goes against the constitution.

Constitutional lawyer Bastian Pius Vendargon said Mahathir’s claim was incorrect as Article 8 of the constitution states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection.

He also said the constitution does not seek to impose “Malayness” on others or exclude people of different ethnic backgrounds, although it recognised Malay rights and Islam’s special position.

“Just because it doesn’t say anywhere in the Federal Constitution that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society doesn’t mean it is not,” said Vendargon.

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“Hussein Onn has regretted making Tun M deputy UMNO president in 1976”

MALAYSIA’S third prime minister (PM) Tun Hussein Onn told me after his retirement in the 1980s that his biggest mistake in life was making Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad the UMNO deputy president in 1976 for this allowed the latter to twice become the country’s PM which spans close to a quarter of a century.

That choosing Dr Mahathir as UMNO deputy president in 1976 after six weeks of indecision – by-passing Tun Ghafar Baba, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tun Ghazali Shafie – was Hussein Onn’s biggest mistake was again highlighted yesterday (July 3) when Dr Mahathir alleged that promoting a multi-racial Malaysia runs afoul of the Federal Constitution and that DAP was a danger to the Malays and Islam.

Dr Mahathir alleged that it is against the Federal constitution to promote a multi-racial nation and that DAP is holding Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to ransom by wanting to replace Islam as the official religion with a secular state or country with no official religion.

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Attacking non-Malays like attacking all Malaysians, says Muda

PETALING JAYA: Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has slammed former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for claiming that promoting a multi-ethnic country goes against the constitution.

Syed Saddiq, who was youth and sports minister during Mahathir’s second tenure as prime minister, told his former boss to focus on uniting Malaysians instead of dividing them.

“We should not be looking back on past historical differences. Instead, we should be looking forward to what unites us as one people in one country.

“Because we believe that an attack on the non-Malays and non-Bumiputeras is equivalent to an attack against all Malaysians,” he said at a press conference.

Syed Saddiq added that the lives and future of all Malaysians were intertwined with one another.

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Election battle shaping up over a Malay or Malaysian Malaysia

I had a chance meeting recently with a group of Malay friends who have been fairly successful in their careers and family lives. As with most meetings, the subject of discussion turned to politics and where the nation is heading.

There were contrasting views even among them on the dramatic push by PAS, Bersatu and Dr Mahathir Mohamad for a near-absolute Malay-Islam rule in Malaysia.

Honestly, some of the views, coming from those who have lived through the transformation of the country since the 1960s, appear to support the PAS theme that sharing political power according to the population ratio is a recipe for disaster.

This made me realise that some urban Malaysians, with sound education and successful careers, need not necessarily hold liberal thoughts about who should lead the nation. They seem to believe that a multiracial leadership in all areas controlled by the government is not healthy for the nation.

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Our own Nero playing the fiddle (Part 1)

TWO-TIME former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has turned into the modern day Nero who plays the fiddle with the country burns.

While the people are going through tough times trying to revive their businesses, all that the world’s longest serving elected leader when he retired at the age of 94 following the Sheraton Move conspiracy in March 2020 cares for now is for his own family.

He continues to harp on the 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues as if his nonagenarian status would protect him from being arrested.

If he continues to play on these three issues, it would only embolden others – especially his present bedfellow PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang – to do the same.

In claiming that promoting the Bangsa Malaysia is against the Federal constitution, Dr Mahathir has proven himself to be a man of contradiction. This is the reason why his Vision 2020 had failed miserably: he himself failed to walk the talk. This is why people were always sceptical of his leadership until Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over in 2004.

When rolling out his grand Wawasan 2020 in 1991, Dr Mahathir spelt out all nine key messages that needed to be promoted in order to achieve his Malaysian ideal:

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