Selangor MB's pol sec berates 'racist' Dr M in open letter

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "racist" remarks and recycled racial diatribes are against national unity and detrimental to BN’s own 1Malaysia slogan, said Faekah Husin, political secretary to the Selangor menteri besar.

In an open letter to Mahathir, she referred to hisreported remarksin Klang last Sunday, at the closing of the 'Save Selangor' convoy organised by the state chapter of Malay rights NGO Perkasa.

Mahathir had claimed that the future and special rights of Malays in Selangor, along with the sanctity of Islam, would be doomed if Pakatan Rakyat remains in power.

"His statement shows how far he lags behind national political developments,” Faekah responded in her letter written in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Mahathir still sings an old tune, a racist song used to scare the Malays and rekindle racial strife and the hatred for other races and adherents of other religions that he tried to instill in the rakyat during his 22-year tenure."

She criticised Mahathir's attack on Pakatan’s handling of Islamic affairs, calling this an insult to the sultan who has absolutely authority as protector of the faith and as head of all Islamic agencies, independent of the state government.

Faekah (right) argued that, under Pakatan rule, allocations for religious institutions and religious development has increased.

The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department, she said, has received the highest ever allocation with RM130 million annually, while RM405 million was spent on new mosques and religious schools and RM46 million on repairs.

When BN administered the state, religious schools were on the verge of closure and were starved of federal funding, she claimed, also saying that less money had been allocated for religious institutions and development.

‘Let him howl’

On his allegations that Malays would face depredations under Pakatan rule, Faekah stressed that it was Mahathir who had spearheaded the privatisation and National Economic Policy.

These programmes, she alleged, had only enriched his cronies and deprived most Malays of a share of economic development. 

Citing an example, state land and assets had been sold on the cheap to BN leaders.

Quoting an unnamed religious leader, Faekah said that the words of one who is a "former officeholder" means nothing and his views are no longer relevant and should not be heeded.

It was pointed out that Mahathir is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he no longer holds power.

"Maybe it’s better to just let him howl without attention," mused Faekah.