A former minister who served under former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has posited that the nonagenarian's latest racist attack on Indians was intentional and meant to gain political support.
This is after Mahathir and his Pejuang party suffered a total wipeout in the last general election, said former human resources minister M Kulasegaran.
"What Mahathir intends to do is simple. First, he aims to divide the nation by using inflammatory language that targets specific racial or ethnic groups, playing on existing tensions or fears within the people.
"Then he makes one group, scapegoats. He blames one ethnic group for societal problems, economic challenges or other issues that can be used to create a common enemy and rally support against them.
"Then he stokes fear by playing on people's fears and prejudices so he can gain political support. He then promotes the stereotypes and uses selective messaging.
"Then he makes his last-ditch effort to come back," the DAP vice chairperson said in a statement today.
This comes following an interview that Mahathir had when he said that Malaysian Indians are not completely loyal to the country as they still identify with their country of origin and speak Tamil primarily.
He said one should identify as Malay and speak Malay as their primary language to have the right to call the country their own.
The comments have earned widespread condemnation.
Mahathir is currently aligned with Perikatan Nasional and is the advisor in the four states governed by the coalition.
Meanwhile, Kulasegaran said the loyalty and contribution of Indians to Malaysia should never be questioned.
"The sacrifices made by hundreds of Indians, alongside fellow Malaysians, during critical moments in our nation's history – including defending our sovereignty and combating the communist insurgency – serve as irrefutable evidence of their dedication and allegiance to Malaysia," he said. - Mkini
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