FORMER UMNO leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Sufian Hamdan have urged former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stop his attacks against multiracial Malaysia.
In a segment of the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast episode, Khairy said Dr Mahathir comes from a different era and defines him as a ‘creature of his time.’
“I believe Dr Mahathir doesn’t create things as he is a politician of conviction. This is him ever since he wrote the Malay Dilemma in the 1960s. He comes from a different time and is a creature of his time,” said the former health minister in an attempt to understand why the elderly statesman is stirring confusion.
But Shahril is of the opinion that Dr Mahathir should simply stop.
“For a former prime minister who has helmed the country twice, he needs to stop. It is time to stop rationalising for Dr Mahathir,” said Shahril.
Shahril also asked that after many generations, why is there a need to question a Malaysian’s race?
“This is 2023 and Dr Mahathir is still using race as narrative and rhetoric. I want to be complementary to a statesmanlike Dr Mahathir, but, sadly, he chooses to spend the tail-end of his life like this,” he added.
In recent weeks, after attacking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim whom he sees as unfit to rule the country, Dr Mahathir suddenly turned against the multiracial fabric of the country.
“The Malaysian Constitution does not claim that Malaysia is a multi-racial country,” insisted Dr Mahathir in a Facebook post.
“(But) with the national language, tradition, and with Malay royalty, the Constitution confirms that this country is a Malay country.”
In response, Khairy proposed that there is a fine line between Malay nationalism, ultra-Malay nationalism and just racism.
“Unfortunately, Dr Mahathir falls into the racist category,” said the former UMNO Youth chief. – July 8, 2023
