KUALA LUMPUR - Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is regarded by many Malays as a proponent of the “Ketuanan Melayu” mindset, claims he never actually believed in the concept.
Instead, the former prime minister said he often credited the country’s success to the willingness of its multiracial communities’ to “share” and work with one another.
Walking down memory lane, Mahathir told a crowd of almost 1,000 people at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night, that right before Malaysia achieved independence, the British had predicted the country “would go to the dogs”.
This, according to Mahathir, was because the British didn’t believe the country could remain peaceful when its population comprised “three different races who follow three different religions, and speak three different languages”.
“But today the balance is just nice. The Chinese basically control the economy, and the Malays are able to do better in politics. They (the Malays) are not the ‘Tuan’.
“I don’t believe in Ketuanan Melayu. I used to tell Ibrahim Ali that if you are the driver, it is the guy behind you who is the Tuan,” he said in reference to the president of Malay rights group Perkasa, which Mahathir was previously the patron of.
“If anyone tries to take 100% for themselves, this country will never grow. The success of our country comes from our willingness to share.”
Mahathir, who is chairman of PPBM and Pakatan Harapan, gave an example of how all Malaysians had a role to play in making the country successful.
He said that if only the Chinese community were allowed to own businesses, the country would not have been developed the way it did.
“The Chinese community’s contributions to the development of this country cannot be denied.
“But at the same time, the willingness of the Malays to accept, and to share the country with other people are contributions on their part.
“The Indians also made their own contributions. Many of the professionals in our country are Indians.
“Of course a lot of them are also labourers. They look after our country, and they have to be given some kind of help so they can rise up with other communities,” he said.
Mahathir was well-known as a champion of Malay rights during his tenure as Malaysia’s fourth prime minister, from 1981 to 2003. His predecessors, including Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, had even labelled him an “ultra Malay”.
A 2009 article published in The New Yorker described Mahathir as being “obsessed with race, and the modern era of Malaysian politics can be traced to his book ‘The Malay Dilemma’, published in 1970, a decade before he came to power”.
However, Mahathir’s public stance has changed since he left Umno last year to form PPBM with other former Umno leaders, namely former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Kedah menteri besar, Mukhriz Mahathir.
While the new party caters specifically for the Bumiputeras, being part of the opposition has seen the 92-year-old working closely with DAP, a party he had once demonised as being made up of Chinese chauvinists.
By Nawar Firdaws
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