The former PM sees himself as a Malay nationalist, but the line separating nationalism and racism is thin.
UCANews
KOTA KINABALU: No one uses ethno-religious controversies better than Malaysia’s Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He starts by issuing a scathing remark about a particular group, sits back and watches as people either get riled up or come out in support of him, and then moves on to do more of the same.
Police reports are made against him, angry statements are issued by politicians and activists who vent their horror, and the public continues to follow his comments despite outwardly dismissing him as a senile, bitter, and bored 98-year-old.
For the man himself, all the controversies are like water off a duck’s back.
Last year, Mahathir generated several controversies by saying political parties led by non-Malays are parties of immigrants, schools that enable ethnic groups to receive education in their own languages needed to be shut down because they divided the country, and that only non-Malays benefitted from multiculturalism while Malays did not.
Recently, he told Thaanthi TV — based in the southern Indian city of Chennai — that non-Malays cannot claim that Malaysia belonged to them as they identified themselves with their countries of origin.
“They cannot be completely loyal to the country [Malaysia],” he said in the Jan 15 interview. “They [non-Malays] should assimilate and identify completely with Malays.”
“Call me racist, but Malays are now left behind after giving way to the foreigners”
This triggered a string of irate responses from those who regard racial hatred as an anathema. About 50 police reports have been made against him.
Even Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim responded, “I do not consider Tun Mahathir’s statement to be relevant. That is an irresponsible statement for a long-time former prime minister.”
Dr Mahathir has been questioned by police over his hate speech, but there have been no charges against him nor an arrest.
“Call me racist, but Malays are now left behind after giving way to the foreigners,” he said last year. By foreigners, he meant non-Malays.
His oft-repeated rhetoric is that Malays will be left behind if they continue to be lazy and allow the other races to dominate the economy.
Many resented these slurs and questioned his right to call himself a Malay or champion their rights with his ancestral roots in Kerala in southern India.
A news portal reported that Mahathir acknowledged his Indian ancestry but insisted he was Malay.
“When I was a child, we spoke Malay at home and we have always practiced Malay customs. According to Article 160 of the Federal Constitution, I am Malay and my struggle has been for my people. My parents were born in Tanah Melayu [Malaya] before Merdeka [Independence] and we are all Muslims,” he said.
“Since his early days in politics, he has been treated with anger and suspicion by non-Malays”
The constitution defines a Malay as a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, and conforms to Malay customs.
Mahathir sees himself as a Malay nationalist, but the line that separates nationalism from racism is thin and he has crossed it many times.
Since his early days in politics, he has been treated with anger and suspicion by non-Malays for his over-the-top nationalism.
When he was a young leader in the United Malay National Organisation (Umno) in 1969, he called for the resignation of then-party president and prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman in an open letter.
Dr Mahathir said Tunku did nothing for Malays and was “giving the Chinese what they demanded.” He also told him to take responsibility for the race riots that started on May 13 that year when Malay nationalists protested election results, triggering clashes all over Kuala Lumpur and hundreds were killed.
Dr Mahathir was expelled from the party. However, support for Mahathir within Umno started to swell as leaders were drawn to him, his ideals and his zeal. As support for him kept growing, Tunku had to resign the following year, in 1970.
That was also when Mahathir’s The Malay Dilemma was published. The book stressed the need for affirmative action policies for Malays to reduce the income disparity gap between Malays and other races, especially ethnic Chinese, and subsequently eliminate inter-race inequality.
The book was banned. Oddly enough, Tunku’s predecessor, Abdul Razak Hussein, had started the New Economic Policy, a decades-long affirmative action program that shared similarities with the proposals in Mahathir’s book. Razak then invited Mahathir back to the party, and he rose towards the leadership within the party and in government.
“If I provide the opportunity for success to someone who has never experienced success, there is a big chance they might fail”
His years as deputy prime minister in the mid-70s saw him emerging as an international spokesman for developing countries with his scathing attacks on the US and Jews. His fiery anti-West and anti-Semitic speeches made global headlines, and he became the darling of the Third World and a pest for the West.
After becoming the prime minister in 1981, he rolled out his industrialization and corporatization plans to get Malays out of rural areas and into cities with well-paying jobs and to create a crop of Malay industrialists.
The intention of these plans was noble, but the quota system to benefit Malays took precedence over meritocracy in public university intakes, housing, government jobs and contracts, hawker licenses, and so on. There were warnings that this strategy would be a disservice to the Malays.
After 54 years of these plans, which are still ongoing albeit under different names, Malays are still lagging. In 2022, ethnic Chinese had the highest median household income at US$1,731, followed by Indians at US$1,405, and Malays at US$1,228.
Last year, when Dr Mahathir was asked why Malays were still not successful, his response showed his ability to mask an issue.
“The Chinese have a culture spanning some 2,000 years to chase wealth and success. The Malays just entered the fray when we had the new policy introduced. If I provide the opportunity for success to someone who has never experienced success, there is a big chance they might fail,” he explained.
His children, however, are highly successful business people and their involvement in major projects has raised questions. There have been calls for a probe into their wealth accumulation but Mahathir maintains that his children’s wealth was gained through “their own efforts.”
Forbes listed one of his sons, Mokhzani, as Malaysia’s 45th richest man in 2020 with a net worth of US$305 million. In 2007, he was 28th with US$220 million.
On Jan 18, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission served Mahathir’s oldest son, Mirzan, a notice requiring him to declare his assets in their investigation into his business activities involving the sale and purchase of government-linked companies.
All eyes are on Mahathir to see how he responds now. – Talantang 21st January, 2024
This articles appeared in the Union of Catholic Asia News (UCA News) on January 19, 2024. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
