Dr M not wrong, Malays have become political beggars, says Nazri

Culture and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz agrees with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malays have to 'beg' from other races for political support. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 22, 2014.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad received support from Umno minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz today for his claim that Malays have to "beg" from other races for political support.

Nazri, the Culture and Tourism minister and an Umno Supreme Council member, said his former boss was speaking the truth when he said that the Malays were now disunited and politically weak that they could no longer be in power unless they got support from other races to win in elections.

“He is not wrong. Mengemis la tu kalau dah bahagi tiga (You have to beg when you are divided into three)," Nazri said, alluding to the spread of Malay politics across Umno, which leads the ruling coalition, and PAS and PKR, which are in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat.

"If the voice of the Malays is united, we do not have to worry about these (Chinese) votes," he told reporters after a tourism event in Subang, Selangor, today.

"If a (constituency) has 70% Malays and 30% non-Malays, we have to bank on the 30% as Malay votes will not be enough," Nazri said.

"This is what Dr Mahathir was saying. The 30% is now the deciding factor. So whatever the Chinese want, we have to give."

Nazri said people should not be upset with Dr Mahathir's statement.

"He only wants Malays to wake up and realise that we cannot win if we are not united. But being united does not mean that we want to bash other races. That’s not it,” said Nazri.

Dr Mahathir in a speech at a youth leadership programme on December 20 said Malays had lost their grip on politics due to disunity, prompting them to beg from other races to stay in power.

Opposition politicians have rejected his statement as fear-mongering while political analysts said the former prime minister was positioning for Umno to cling on to power.

- TMI