Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has claimed that the government may change electoral boundaries to reduce the number of “Malay constituencies”.
This in turn, he said, will increase the number of “non-Malay constituencies”.
This comes as the nonagenarian said he feels the Malays have lost their dominance in politics in the country, on top of their lack of economic control.
“To some extent, this situation will change the existing ways of government in the 16th general election and by the 17th general election, the situation will be even worse.
“In our country, there is no guarantee that the prime minister (must) be Malay and anyone can become the prime minister. Even now, the Malay parties in government are not in power and are split into three parties,” he said, as reported by Sinar Harian today.
He said this while attending a “mini townhall’ programme in Putrajaya, which also featured former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar and former Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin.
‘Malays must regain power’
Mahathir, who recently quit Pejuang as its chairperson and joined Putra, said he believed the future of the country would be at stake if the Malays do not choose leaders who truly fight for the Malay people.
As such, he urged the Malays to set aside personal and party interests so that they can regain power in their own land.
He emphasised that they needed to prioritise the Malay struggle so that they can determine their own fate in this country.
“Right now, our fate is being decided by others and we are not getting what we want. There is no unity now (among the Malays),” the former Langkawi MP said.
One Malay-based party after another
In recent years, Mahathir had successively moved from one party to another, all of which claim to be fighting for the Malay struggle.
He founded Bersatu in 2016 after quitting Umno at the height of his feud with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
In 2020, Mahathir resigned from Bersatu after the Sheraton Move which toppled the Pakatan Harapan administration he was at the helm of.
In August of the same year, he officially announced the formation of Pejuang. However, Pejuang had a disastrous showing in the 15th general election where all its candidates, including himself, lost their deposit in the polls.
Shortly after quitting Pejuang last month, Mahathir joined Putra as its adviser, with reports claiming that he will soon take over as president.
On his decision to join Putra, which Ibrahim Ali founded in 2018, Mahathir said he chose the party to champion the rights of the Malays.
“Although I’m already 97, my heart is still for the struggle of the Malays, who are now facing more problems than the other races. This is not about racism,” he added.
After his departure, Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir, who is the former premier’s son, submitted an application to join the Perikatan Nasional coalition.- Mkini
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