Mahathir 'out of sync' with young, says MCA Youth

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is out of touch with the younger generation, as shown by his remarks on the government’s recognition of Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) certificates, said MCA Youth.

TARC diplomas were being recognised for their quality, and hence Mahathir’s claim that the move was meant to win votes is untrue, criticised MCA Youth education bureau chairperson Chong Sin Woon in a press release today.

“(Mahathir’s) claiming that the government recognised TARC diplomas in order to win votes is unwarranted. That statement cannot possibly be accurate because the standards of TARC are very high.

“After his (Mahathir’s) retirement, his statements suggest he is out of sync with the younger generation,” he said.

Chong’s response comes four days after Mahathir criticised the move announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak last month.

However, Chong was silent on Mahathir’s claim that the Malays had fragmented and should have exploited their majority to ensure such government decisions do not occur.

Mahathir was lamenting Malay “kebodohan (stupidity)”, claiming the government now has to appeal to other ethnic groups for votes as the Malays had split into “more than three groups”.

“This is all because of votes. All these have occurred because of the stupidity of the Malays.

“We had agree during Independence that the Malays would be the majority, so that they would continue to be in power.

“But now they doing the exact opposite, destroying their own majority by dividing into more than three groups. Hence (under such conditions), they need votes from the other ethnic groups,” he toldMingguan Malaysia last Sunday.

Mahathir’s disdain for the recognition of TARC certificates was likely another backhanded swipe at Najib, who announced the move on June 27 with much fanfare.

The move was lauded as a major achievement by MCA, which founded TARC back in 1969.