The Malays’ grip on politics is weak due to disunity, prompting them to beg other races for support to remain in power, says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said the Malays who made up 60% of the population should be politically dominant. But that power has weakened.
"Now Umno, PKR, and PAS have to beg for support from DAP to win the general election. When we become beggars, we no longer have power," he said in his keynote address at a youth leadership programme in Kuala Lumpur today.
He added that even if the country achieved developed-nation status, the Malays might be left behind.
"This is our fate now. We plan to achieve developed-nation status by 2020. Our nation might get there. But, because of disunity, what we planned in vision 2020 for (the Malays) may not materialise," he said.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Mahathir said history played a major part in identifying one’s weaknesses and to learn from it in order to correct them.
"We have to learn from history and take note of what took place. We have to learn our enemies' tactics. If we don’t, history will be repeated," said Dr Mahathir, citing how then-Malaya at one point was about to be sold off to British by the monarchs who had absolute power over the land.
He said Malaysia would not be an independent nation today if the effort was not stopped by the Malays who were opposed to the formation of the Malayan Union.
"Because we were united, we achieved independence, and after that we realised that we cannot give monarchs the absolute power to rule," said Dr Mahathir.
He also said that independence helped the country to improve and move forward.
But, he added, "We always took the easy way out".
He said that when the government introduced the wealth-sharing concept, it also decided to award citizenship to a million people (of different races) which resulted in the reduction of Malay dominance.
"We started with 80% of the population then after that it was reduced to 60%. We became weak although we still had the majority.
He said as Malays and Muslims, one of their values was to protect the ummah (the community).
"We prioritise tahfiz (memorising the Quran), but not empowering ourselves with science and mathematics. This is also another way to boost Islam," said Dr Mahathir.
He added that it was a matter of understanding the contents of the Quran and applying them in life rather than remembering the holy book’s contents.
He said the Malays were also divided as they blindly followed what the leaders said, instead of following Islamic teachings.
Dr Mahathir advised the Malays to change their ways if they wanted a hold on their rights.
"Success is not measured by the colour of the skin or the location or the weather or the resources. It is measured by culture and good values," he said.
He said if Malays held up good values, the community would achieve what it desired.
"I am sometimes scolded by the Malays for my advice because it shows up their weaknesses. But, if we do not identify our weakness, then we will continue to live in a dreamy state and not fix them.” – December 20, 2014.
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