Malaysia’s former PM Mahathir slams critic as ‘racist’ in latest swipe at ethnic minority groups

Former PM Mahathir Mohamad says staunch critic P Ramasamy’s loyalty to his ethnicity shows that he is racist
Mahathir previously triggered fierce backlash after saying ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens were ‘not completely loyal’ to Malaysia

Malaysia

Joseph Sipalan

Published: 10:00am, 16 Jan 2024

Why you can trust SCMP

Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad on Monday accused a staunch critic of being a racist for focusing only on Indian affairs in the country, days after the two-time former prime minister came under fire for questioning the loyalty of ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens.

Mahathir last week triggered a fierce backlash from ethnic minority groups, after saying in an interview on Indian broadcaster Thanthi TV that Malaysian citizens of Chinese and Indian descent were “not completely” loyal to the country as they insisted on “identifying themselves with their countries of origin”.

In response to Mahathir’s allegation, P Ramasamy, a former deputy chief minister of Penang state and long-time critic of Mahathir, said in a letter published in local news portal Malaysiakini on Sunday that Mahathir was “the prime architect of the divisive racial and religious policies” that drove Malaysia’s ethnic groups apart.

P Ramasamy, a former deputy chief minister of Penang state and long-time critic of Mahathir. Photo: Facebook/P Ramasamy

Mahathir on Monday said he had repeatedly been accused of being a racist by Ramasamy, who in turn had criticised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of disregarding ethnic Indians by not naming even one Indian a full minister in his cabinet reshuffle last month.

“If the absence of ethnic Indians in cabinet is seen as unfair, the reason [Ramasamy deems it unfair] clearly is that Ramasamy is still loyal to his Indian ethnicity,” Mahathir, 98, said in a statement. “This means Ramasamy is a racist who fights not only for Malaysia but also for ethnic Indians.”

Mahathir’s latest swipe at ethnic communities, however, is a clear attempt at a political “comeback” after an embarrassing defeat in the 2022 national polls, according to a deputy minister.

M Kulasegaran, who had served as a minister during Mahathir’s second term as prime minister, said the attacks were a calculated attempt at shoring up support from among the Malays at the expense of the nation’s values of unity, diversity and inclusivity.

“While it can be effective in the short term, it can have severe consequences for social cohesion, tolerance, and the overall well-being of a nation,” Kulasegaran said in a statement. “Do not let Mahathir win because then Malaysia loses.”

02:22

A multiracial Malaysia would be unconstitutional, says former PM Mahathir

Mahathir has regularly courted controversy for pushing a Malay nationalist agenda that placed the ethnic Malay majority as the original inhabitants of the country and with specific privileges not afforded to immigrant Chinese and Indians.

As far back as 1970, when he published his book, The Malay Dilemma, Mahathir had said the Malays had given too much leeway to ethnic minority groups who seized economic power – an argument that has been widely cited as a key trigger for the deadly 1969 racial riots in capital city Kuala Lumpur.

Anwar, however, also fell into some controversy last month. The prime minister had to apologise after an uproar over his use of the word keling – deemed derogatory by Malaysia’s Indian community – while addressing a university audience.