Tun Mahathir has been very vocal of late and as per habit, he has fallen back on an age-old trope of his - the Malay victimhood propaganda.
In a recent posting on his twitter, "Sebaliknya bertentangan perlembangaan ialah mempromosi negara berbilang bangsa. Apakah Kerajaan sekarang menolak the Rule of Law, termasuk Perlembagaan Malaysia yang tidak pernah sebut Malaysia sebagai negara berbilang kaum. Sebaliknya Perlembangan menekankan Ke-Melayuan Malaysia" he said. This a very confusing jibe at the current government that is seen as being less-Melayu than previous administrations.
This statement is an outright cancelling of decades of work in branding Malaysia as truly Asia in both diversity and culture and if such rhetoric were to be taken seriously; would clearly showcase Malaysia as the biggest hypocrite in Asia. And note that the “Malaysia Truly Asia” tagline was inspired during Tun M's tenure as Prime Minister.
To give context to this tweet, Tun M's statement was in response to UMNO Information Chief Huzaidi Hussin, who urged Tun M to stop using racial sentiments and just move on. And while Malaysian truly want to move on, it seems Tun M is still stuck on the idea that Malays are powerless and unable to be part of the government. This is strange, owing to the fact that Malays hold significant power to determine the future of Malaysia. It is guaranteed that as long as Malaysia exists, Malays will exist.
This notion that Malays are powerless and hold no significance in government is contradictory to facts and reality. In the last general election, according to Bridget Welsh from Nottingham University; data show that more Malays came out to vote at 79 percent. Compare this to the 78 percent for Indians, 69 percent Chinese and 59 percent for others, and we have a situation where more Malays came out to vote along with their other counterparts from various other communities.
And as a champion of democracy, one should honour the people's choice. Accept that this is what Malaysians voted on and move on with helping the nation grow and prosper.
Yet it is ironic that in 2023, the race card is still being actively used as mileage for politics.
The race card doesn't work and is downright divisive; running contrary to everything Malaysia has been promoting to the world. Statements like these are dangerous and fall flat when viewed in the light of history. Malaysia was NEVER formed by one community. It took the combination of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore to form the original federation. Though Singapore opted out, one cannot discount the people of Sabah and Sarawak as peoples of the federation even though the Federal Constitution practically guarantees the Melayu agenda.
Malaysia in its formation and visage is multi-racial. Malaysia is formed by Malaysians. Malaysians are diverse and multi-ethnic.
On the point of portraying DAP as the convenient boogey-man, that haunts Malaysian politics; this is both silly and stupid and getting old. It discounts the political parties from Sabah and Sarawak, who although having smaller representation than the forty (40) mentioned by Tun M; have greater sway in determining the outcome of whom should be Prime Minister. Again, another point that doesn't hold up against facts and reality.
Tun M may be highlighting the elephant in the room with regard to the Constitution, as he argues in his tweet posting; yet the most critical element is missing - resolution. In leaving his statements hanging without any form of resolution, solution or way forward, then they merely come across as the rantings of a bitter person.
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