Mahathir admits 'Malay elements' in Harapan not as strong as past BN gov't

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has admitted that the "Malay elements" in his Pakatan Harapan administration are not as strong as that of the BN regimes of the past.

He said the strength had dissipated after Malays allowed themselves to be split as they battled to seize power in the country.

Thus, the Malays had to rely on others in order to win the elections, Mahathir explained.

"When we rely on others, somehow or other, we are indebted to them and we are scared if we do not get their support, then we cannot get our place.

"I would like to confess here that today's government, while still being led by Malays, does not have strong Malay elements. In the past, we could expect that because the government was led by Malays, this (agenda) was strong.

"Nowadays, it's not strong because whether we like it or not, we have to consider the feelings of other people," he told the Malay Dignity Congress in Shah Alam today.

The prime minister added that not caring about the feelings of other groups would lead to a defeat in the elections.

Mahathir said the split of the Malays into six groups have led to no one group being able to attract more than 50 percent of Malay support.

Five of the six groups are Umno, PAS, PKR, Bersatu and Amanah. It's not clear which is the sixth group he meant.

Mahathir said only the Malays can restore the dignity of the Malays and that they must stop expecting others to do it for them.

The prime minister also said even the government led by a Malay leader could not restore the dignity of the Malays if the Malay people refused to strive for the betterment of the community.

“Don’t ask others to do something to restore our dignity. We, the Malays, are the ones who have to restore the dignity of the Malays,” he said.

Mahathir explained that the government could only do as much as providing opportunities for the Malays to participate in various fields in the country in a bid to restore the dignity of the Malays.

However, he said the efforts would be difficult if the Malay people were hesitant to participate and make optimal use of the opportunities made available by the government.

“The (restoration of) Malay dignity depends on our performance. If we are capable of administering our country well, making optimal use of every opportunity, working very well, producing good consumer products, then nobody can take away our dignity,” he said.

Mahathir said this when addressing the congress attended by thousands of what he described as the ‘awakened’ Malays, including leaders and representatives of Malay political parties, academia and non-governmental organisations.

In economy, the prime minister said the failure of the Malays to make optimal use of the opportunities made available to them had caused others, including foreigners, to grab the opportunities to build a better future for themselves to the extent of being rich in Malaysia.

“We depend so much on others to the extent of being their slaves. They progressed more than us because of the opportunities that we left untouched and because we are not willing to do certain jobs which are often construed as lowly or demeaning, dangerous and dirty,” he said. - Mkini