THE speech of twice former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his ceramah (talk) for the Simpang Jeram state by-election in Johor on Sept 3 is very disturbing and disappointing to all peace-loving Malaysians especially the non-Malays whom he regarded as pendatang (immigrant).
Frequently and shamelessly, you have been branding my ancestors as pendatang, which is unforgivable. Even though I was born and bred here, my children and grandchildren are still pendatang by your definition because they do not adopt Malay names or culture.
You went on to claim that the non-Malays or pendatang don’t wish to be united with the Malays and that it is not the Malays who are distancing themselves from the pendatang.
Citing Indonesia and Thailand as examples, you wondered why the Chinese and other races are able to adopt the Indonesian or Thai names as well as the local culture which is predominantly practiced by the majority of the population but it is so difficult to see that happening in Malaysia.
But are you aware that in so doing, you are setting a dangerous precedent that contradicts the Federal Constitution and the constitutional rights of every Malaysian citizen? The constitutions of Indonesia or Thailand are obviously not the same as those of Malaysia. Indonesia was colonised by the Dutch while Thailand never came under any imperial power.
Demographically, Malaysia in a way shares an identical growth, development and challenge trajectory with Indonesia while Thailand has a unique trajectory of its own. How can you compare these countries with Malaysia by making a generalised provocative statement for the sake of political expediency?
As an elderly statesman, you should be a unifying force as opposed to a disruptive force whose ultimate aim is to ruin racial harmony in the Malaysian multi-cultural and multi-religious context.
It is really shameful for an elderly statesman of 98 years old to label the immigrant population as pendatang while at the same time stirring up racial discord by humiliating and disrespecting the contribution of their forefathers towards nation-building.
Why are you still pursuing the path of spewing hatred against other races when the whole world is today interconnected and moving towards the formation of a global village? As an elderly statesman, you can easily poison the minds of innocent or naive Malays into believing that what you say is gospel.
Please allow the future generation of Malaysians to live in peace and unity. We believed in your Vision 2020 but sadly, it did not materialise. We are still a third-world country today even though Singapore which left us in 1963 is today a first-world country.
Please stop spewing your evil political venom. Give the younger generation a chance to turn this country around by acknowledging, appreciating and supporting inclusiveness and diversity. – Sept 6, 2023
Tamil Maran (K.T. Maran)
Seremban
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main photo credit: PAS Johor Facebook
