Mahathir, a racist and Malay chauvinist – TRUE OR FALSE?

Christopher Fernandez

The nation of Malaysia has reached the crossroads after years of suffering much anguish and pain in the hands of being ruled by Barisan Nasional. The extent of anguish and pain that Malaysians have suffered in the hands of BN cannot be fully quantified or assessed as yet.

However, what is certain is the way and manner of governing Malaysia since the days of the establishment of the Mahathir regime which has definitely witnessed a major blow and setback for democracy and race relations.

The real “pengkhianat Bangsa Melayu”?

It is an undeniable fact that while Mahathir governed Malaysia with impunity, he was also guilty of being a racist and a Malay chauvinist.

By often calling upon and using the racial card, he caused gullible and unsuspecting Malays and other bumiputras to believe that their common enemy is the non-bumiputras especially the Chinese and Indians.

But the blow to his racial ploy was only apparent with the return of globalisation to the fore.

When the world decided to go global, Mahathir’s racial ploys backfired and blew up in his face. The Malays were found not to have the competitive edge in being able to compete in a globalised environment as they were rendered weak by being fully dependent on the BN government for assistance and aid.

By causing Malays and bumiputras to become soft in their belly, an underclass society actually, it is really Mahathir Mohammad who is truly the “pengkhianat Bangsa Melayu” (the traitor to the Malays), and not Anwar Ibrahim, which Perkasa should take note.

Played his cards badly

Many Malays after this went into a dither, upon globalisation taking place, and if they are managing today, it is because of the continued and able support being given by non-bumiputras to them.

In reality, the Chinese and the Indians are pragmatic and wise in seeing that if the Malays and bumiputras become unbalanced economically there will be chaos in the country.

Mahathir however played his cards very badly. He instilled in Malays and bumiputras a fear that the real threat to their well being are the Chinese and Indians who are out to rob them of their share of the economic pie.

This caused race relations to go back to the dark ages with Mahathir behaving more Malay than the Malays themselves in wanting to seemingly safeguard and defend them.

Created a situation where he did not have to answer to anyone

Mahathir went out of his way to dispel any notion that he has links with Indian ancestry in an attempt to be seen as the sole champion and custodian of Malay rights. In doing so, he used the Chinese and Indians as the bogeys to frighten the Malays and bumiputras.

By promoting racism and Malay chauvinism, Mahathir was able to secure the Malay vote bank and win general elections over the years of his rule with commanding victories.

However, the fallout with his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, over the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit because of Mahathir gambling with funds obtained from Bank Negara Malaysia in the currency market spelt the beginning of the end of his so-called legacy.

Mahathir caused Anwar to be the scapegoat to cover for his misdeeds and acts of blatant corruption as he governed Malaysia without having to be answerable or accountable to anyone. He was governing Malaysia as a man above the law.

Cronyism and cronyism

During the tenure of his premiership, Mahathir established a BN-crony network to create the minority elite in this country while most Malays and bumiputras looked forward to a token value of financial progress.

Besides this, he staffed and employed most Malays by absorbing them into the civil service and offering them terms and conditions of service that were second-to-none despite a poor and low productivity rate and output by the civil service.

This was another of his ploys to curry favour with the Malays and to assure himself of their votes. As it stands, the racial composition of the staffing and employment of the overly-bloated civil service in this country is a blatant example and reflection of his acts of racism and chauvinism.

This is why more and more ordinary Malaysians have come to the realisation and recognition that Mahathir is perhaps more to be known as Bapa Rasuah (the father of corruption) than Bapa Pembangunan (the father of development).

A legacy of evil?

Mahathir’s skewering and tinkering with the politics and policies in this country has caused rising anger and resentment against him owing to numerous allegations of atrocities and abuses committed by him and his henchmen in the country.

Only by him and his cronies being brought before an international tribunal of justice can Malaysians be assured that the crimes he committed in this country towards Malaysians can come to the fore without people being fearful of reprisal.

While expecting justice and fair play by a competent court of justice in this country or even establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry into his crimes and misdeeds might not lead to justice being seen to be done, Malaysians must bring him to book in an independent court abroad where his reach and influence is not there.

While Mahathir claims he does not fear death but evil, the evil he has spawned in this country is enough to convince and convict right-thinking Malaysians that his evil legacy is already in tatters for the coming generations to study as facts of history.