Tun Dr Mahathir Says There Are Too Many Foreigners In Malaysia

Dr Mahathir believes while Malaysia is multiracial, too much is not a good thing.

this country is multiracial country. We like it that way
but not too many races should be making Malaysia their home

"We are getting a lot of people from Bangl, Pakistan, India, Middle East, Iran, Central Asia and the like.

"We have now become very confused, people don't know who is Malaysian and who is not," he told 

My comments : I will keep it short. In the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries or earlier the immigrants (Chinese, Indians) came here to trade and then to stay. The Peranakan Chinese (Babas and Nyonyas in Penang, Melaka, Singapore) and the Chitties are evidence enough that Chinese and Indians respectively came and settled in Malaya since the Melaka Sultanate or earlier.  And they assimilated into a relaxed and contemporary Malay culture.  There was no Arabisation then. Only Melayu.

So in our past the gentle and polite Malay culture was attractive to the Indians and the Chinese. 

Nyonya women in today's Singapore proudly wear their baju kebaya

They set down roots here and have lost touch or lost the psychological link with their ancestral lands. The umbilical chord has been cut a long time ago.

What is the difference today? What is bugging Dr Mahathir when he says there are too many foreigners here? 

Well there are Skype calls,  WhatsApp video calls, Instagram, Twitter etc.  Rafiqul (not his real name) can watch his cousin's wedding in Bangladesh live through WhatsApp. He can talk to his family via video call anytime.

And there are Budget Airlines like our own Air Asia which flies to Kathmandu, Bangladesh, India etc for a few hundred Ringgit.  Rafiqul can be home in Bangladesh over the weekend.  

What this means is that there is little laying down of 'psychological roots'  in Malaysia.  They will not be wearing baju kebayas anytime soon.  

Also there is no more baju kebaya. It is haram. Now they have the Arabisation. Black is in. In arabic fashion design,  Omar the Tentmaker has become de rigueur.  So there is no more Malay culture which can 'absorb' the foreigners.

So herein lies a threat. If we are not careful, new problems will crop up. The foreigners will have their own presence and their own push - pull factors that will have to be 'managed'.

Maybe it will be good for Malaysia - to have even more foreigners. Maybe it will not. 

There are many ways of saying this :

Optimistic - It adds to the equation.
Pessimistic - It upsets the equation.
Neutral - It changes the equation.

Any views?

What we do not want are foreigners bringing their troubles here.

People have forgotten Myanmar murder gangs operating in the country. This was the Myanmar - Rohingya thing. There were also Myanmars who were targeting Malaysian Indians - racist hatred from the old Myanmar - Indian past.

The Pakistan - India conflict will be around for a long time.  We really do not need those folks bringing their hatreds and their politics into the country.

Same with the Salafi versus Sunni, Salafi versus Shia, Sunni versus Shia conflicts that are now now burning down the Middle East. We really do not need those insanities here.

Tun Dr Mahathir has wisely shut down that satanic King Salman Centre for Peace or something. They must be joking. A Saudi center for peace?

In the same light I hope the Police and the Home Ministry will shut down that Al Sharqia office that has been opened here by the Muslim Brotherhood.  We really do not need all these foreign fights and hatreds that have nothing to do with us.

Kita tidak ada sebarang kena-mengena dengan pergaduhan antarq mereka, benci-membenci antara mereka, bunuh-membunuh antara mereka.

Even the Palestine issue has now changed completely. It is all about money, power, survival of interest groups and Middle East geo politics.

Jangan pula kita terbawa-bawa dan terhanyut-hanyut. JUst because you have eaten Mehndi Rice at the Arab Restaurant it does not make you an Arab. Jauh ya. Sangat jauh.