Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claim that the Malay race will be extinct in 10 years does not make sense, said Gerakan president Dominic Lau.
Lau opined that it’s more likely the former premier would be the one to be “erased”.
“In Malaysia, the Malay population, which is one of the bumiputera ethnicities, exceeds 50 percent compared to other communities.
“So, how will non-Malays be able to take over Malaysia?
“I believe the community and its identity will never disappear, but what will be erased from the political arena is Mahathir,” Lau said in a statement today.
Last Saturday, Mahathir reportedly claimed that the Malay race in this country will disappear in the next 10 years if nothing is changed as the Malays would be captured by other ethnicities, but without a war.
The Malays are under threat because no one cares about the plights of the race right now, he alleged.
Contrary to the former prime minister’s claim, Lau said, Malays are still peacefully living in territories that the race had lost - southern Thailand, the Riau islands in Indonesia, Singapore, and Penang.
“There are even those who have occupied the number one position in their country,” he said. Although he did not mention any names, it is possible he was referring to former Singapore president Halimah Yacob.
Lau also pointed out that there are Cocos Malays in the Cocos Islands in Australia, who use Malay as their daily language and still maintain their customs and culture.
He expressed his disappointment in Mahathir, saying that a statesperson should be a symbol of confidence for Malaysia’s multiracial society and not use racial issues to divide the people.
‘Not representative of PN’
Previously, Lau also chastised Mahathir for claiming that Indian Malaysians are not completely loyal to the country as they still identify with their country of origin and primarily speak Tamil.
Mahathir said one should identify as Malay and speak Malay as their primary language to have the right to call the country their own.
On Saturday, Lau said Perikatan Nasional leaders do not support Mahathir’s assertion regarding Indian Malaysians.
At a press conference before that, he said many PN leaders at the coalition supreme council meeting the previous night had felt that Mahathir’s remarks were “not appropriate”.
Mahathir is an adviser to PN in the four states that it governs.
Lau had said that Mahathir’s role as an adviser is unrelated to his remarks on Indian loyalty. - Mkini
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