Mahathir: Wealth should be distributed equally among races

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stressed the importance of equal wealth distribution among all races in the country.

Speaking at the Prime Minister's Department monthly assembly in Putrajaya today, he said countries with obvious gap between the poor and the rich had ended up in riots.

"That's why we need to focus on tackling social poverty of all races," he said.

"It has become our duty to determine that we distribute the wealth equally or at least to a level accepted by all the communities in the country," he said.

"It's no use if equal right is restricted to only voting for a government. If we cannot achieve equality in status, comfort, and peaceful life and prosperity for all races, then we cannot be seen as successful in building the nation," he said.

This is where the people should learn from history where the ancestors decided to share power when the country had attained independence, he said.

Mahathir noted how the people had forgotten the country's history where people of all races joined forces in nation-building.

Malaysia was a blessed nation as it attained its independence peacefully unlike African countries which had to fight their way through wars, he said.

"In some countries, the people there see themselves as aborigines and they are not comfortable with others calling them pendatang (migrants)," he said.

"But this did not happen in Malaysia. We not only agreed to provide citizenship for other races, but efforts were also made by political parties to ensure the country is governed together by all races," he added.

"This is the history that we need to know because this was the outcome of the wisdom (of our ancestors) when we achieved independence," he said.

"When we attained independence, we wished that we are one single nation with a common language and culture and (able to) live harmoniously.

"But they (other races) wanted to maintain (their ties) with their countries (of origin) and we accepted the fact that we cannot be a nation where the people perceived them (the other races) as one single race," he said.

Despite the multiracial background, he said the country rarely had any riot except for the one that broke out in 1969.

He said the riot that happened five decades ago had served as a lesson to the people that such an incident was not good to all.

"The fact is that there is still a split among the races and this is not good and not safe for us," he said.

"All the races need to come together... We find that the three races in Sabah and Sarawak live and play together. If we can achieve that, I am confident that the country will be more progressive," he added. - Mkini