Courage needed to make Malays ‘tuan’, do you have it? - Dr M

 

Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to ponder on an issue which has been close to his heart since entering politics - the position of the Malays in Malaysia.

In his latest Twitter post titled "Ketuanan Melayu" (Malay supremacy), the former premier posed a rhetorical question, which reads: “Are we really the 'tuan' (master)?”

“When we are poor, when we work for someone, are we the master or is the boss the master?

“If we want to be the master, then we must be the boss. But today, we are not the boss,” he said.

In another rhetorical question, Mahathir underscored the importance of courage to realise this aspiration.

“It is possible for us to become a 'tuan'? Yes. It is possible. But much needs to be done. Are we able to do it? Yes, we are able.

“It only requires courage. Are we brave enough? Ask yourself,” he added.

However, the former premier did not shed light on what prompted this musing about the status of the Malays or if his tweets are related to the current political situation.

Last November’s 15th general election served as a crushing blow to Mahathir as it became evident that the 97-year-old politician was no longer influential in Malay politics.

He lost his deposit in the bid to retain the Malay-majority seat of Langkawi, located in his home state of Kedah, which is regarded as his political stronghold.

All the candidates from Mahathir’s party Pejuang and the NGO, Gerakan Tanah Air, which he spearheads, were trounced. Among the casualties were his son and Pejuang president, Mukhriz.

In 2017, when Mahathir aligned with Pakatan Harapan against the then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, he told a forum at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) that he does not believe in “Ketuanan Melayu”.

“...I used to tell (Malay rights pressure group Perkasa president) Ibrahim Ali that if you are the driver, it is the guy behind you who is the ‘tuan’ (master).

“We have to accept reality. If you want to be a 'tuan', you must work hard, be competitive, get a good education and must have a good value system,” he was reported as saying.

Mahathir made a similar statement in his memoirs “Capturing Hope: The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia.”, which was published in 2021 after he led Harapan to victory in the 14th general election.

FMT reported that the former premier, who described “Ketuanan Melayu” as a fantasy, said such a concept based on the belief that Malays are the true “lords of the land” while the rest are guests, stemmed from insecurities.

He accused Perkasa founder Ibrahim of “blowing it up and making it much larger than it deserved to be”.

Mahathir said he believed in “Bangsa Malaysia” and cited the “Malaysia Boleh” slogan which he introduced to convince Malaysians that the nation could be on par with others.

“This is the difference between ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ and ‘Malaysia Boleh’. It takes all of us, the whole of Malaysia, to compete on the global stage and, together, we can achieve anything,” he said.  - Mkini