KUALA LUMPUR – Action must be taken against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for making divisive statements that are potentially harmful to the country’s multiracial society, says former Klang MP Charles Santiago.
This was in response to the former’s interview with South Indian satellite TV channel Thanthi TV recently.
In the video interview, Dr Mahathir not only referred to Malaysian Indians and Chinese as immigrants, but also stated that they should not call themselves Malaysians unless they identify as Malays.
He went on to say that Malaysian Indians do not speak Malay as their mother tongue, do not practice Malay culture, customs, or traditions, and thus should not refer to Malaysia as their home country.
He further mentioned that his “problem” is when “immigrants” (Indians and Chinese) claim the country as their own while professing their own cultures and customs.
Disputing this, Santiago said Indians and Chinese have contributed to the socioeconomic and political development of Malaysia.
“Dr Mahathir should be ashamed of himself for such venom. Action must be taken against him for such divisive statements that are potentially harmful in this multiracial society.
“He knows this is incitement. He is also encouraging bigotry and hate. But he doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. Is this because he is ashamed of his Indian ancestry?
“Is he trying desperately to stay relevant? Especially in his twilight years? Then he must know we are fed up with his hate-filled rants. Malaysia doesn’t belong to a select few but to all Malaysians.,” he said in a statement.
Dr Mahathir has undone whatever little good he did for this country, Santiago added.
Echoing a similar sentiment, former Kuala Langat MP Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar said Dr Mahathir’s statement should be condemned in the highest manner possible.
“It is not right for someone of his stature to continue issuing such divisive and racist statements, even worse, to a foreign media channel.
“He should remember that independence was achieved due to cooperation and good will among all races in the country.
“Our forefathers set us on the path to become Malaysians and despite speaking in our mother tongue, we also speak Malay and recognise it as our national language.
“We are Malaysians; our parents have integrated themselves and so have we,” he told Scoop when contracted today.
In the 30-minute bold interview, Dr Mahathir also denied his Indian roots.
“No, I’m not an Indian. I’m a Malay because I don’t know the Indian language, and that was a long, long time ago.
“I’m now 100% Malay; I speak Malay and practice Malay customs and traditions,” he insisted.
The host, in turn, asked whether he expects all Malaysians to follow in his footsteps and relinquish their identity to become Malays. Dr. Mahathir replied, “Yes, if they want to claim the country as their own, they must identify themselves completely with the country.”
Asked about the contribution of the non-Malays to nation-building, Dr Mahathir said, “For that, they have been ‘fairly compensated’.”
“They have become millionaires and billionaires in Malaysia,” he added.
“Malaysia is ‘liberal’ enough to allow people who do not fully identify with the Malay identity to become ministers,” he said, referring to the MCA and MIC in the Barisan Nasional coalition.
When asked if he expects non-Malays to “totally assimilate” to become Malays, Dr Mahathir responded, “Yes, they should. In the past, we had people of Indian, Pakistani, Arab, and African origin who are now Malays.
“In the sense that they speak the Malay language at home and totally accept that their culture is Malay,” he said.
In response, the host asked Dr Mahathir if he expected people in the country to identify as Malays rather than Malaysians, to which he replied, “It should be so.”
Dr Mahathir asserted that in any country, individuals who want to say they belong to a certain country should identify as the indigenous community. – January 13, 2024