GEORGE TOWN: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said there would be disaster if the wealth gap between the rich and the poor is not addressed in the long run.
He said that is why the federal government was working very hard to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth among all races to ensure economic growth and success.
Mahathir said closing the income gap would also prevent labelling a certain race as being more prosperous than others, a situation which he said was “dangerous”.
Giving his keynote address at the Premier Unity Gathering here today, he was happy Malaysia had enjoyed peace and harmony among its many races since Merdeka.
Mahathir recalled how the leaders from each race had worked together to engineer the country’s independence from the British in 1957.
He said the situation in Malaysia was different from that in African and Pacific Ocean nations which are often plagued with riots and clashes between races.
He said closer to home, the ethnic Rohingyas were chased out from Myanmar “in a cruel way”.
He said he was glad that Malaysia has bucked the trend in accepting people of different ethnic groups when countries like the US were not too happy letting people of different races emigrating to the country.
“We see in the US, Trump is planning to build a wall to prevent people from (southern) America from entering. In Europe, we see many refugees escaping strife in their countries being turned away,” Mahathir said.
He said on the home front, Malaysians must continue to be united as the country gears to be a developed nation by 2025. During his past premiership, he had set 2020 as the year Malaysia would become a developed nation.
He called on all to learn more about other races by focusing on the Malay adage, “tak kenal maka tak cinta”. “Love one another,” he told Malaysians.
Mahathir also praised Penang for being a melting pot of cultures, witnessed by the coming together of 20 ethnic groups that welcomed him at Dewan Sri Pinang for the Premier Unity Gathering.
He said despite a change of government, the administration here had remained multiracial and the cooperation among races is strong, sowed by years of the muhibah (unity) spirit.
The gathering was hosted by the Penang Unity Consultative Council. Penang has declared Feb 8 as Unity Day. The day also commemorates the birthday of the late prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. -FMT
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