Mahathir forgets easily (II)
By Martin Jalleh

Recently, Bolehland’s Statesman Dr Mahathir (Dr M) launched Perkasa, a right-wing Malay group, (some consider it as an ultra-fanatical wing of Umno) at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

The former premier was the replacement for the much wiser Sultan of Selangor who turned down Perkasa’s invitation. The Malay CEOs of government-linked companies (GLCs) also declined.

Dr M and his wife were greeted with a silat performance, strains of traditional music and a huge replica of a keris which stood out on the side of the stage. In the midst of speeches were shouts of “Hidup Perkasa”.

Dr M said that the Malays’ faith in Umno has weakened since it’s disastrous performance in the 2008 general elections. The BN government was weak and all this was due to the then weak leader! He inferred that the Malays needed a strong voice like Perkasa.

They placed a sash on their “strong” Malay leader with the title ‘Bintang Primbumi Perkasa’. Dr M then handed a kris to Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali who unsheathed, kiss and waved it high to cries of “Hidup Melayu”.

Lim Kit Siang slammed Ibrahim Ali for blaming the DAP and its Malaysian Malaysia slogan as the main cause of the May 13 race riots, and for his keris-waving antics which to the DAP stalwart were meant to signify that Perkasa was ready to shed blood to defend Malay rights.

But the “greatest tragedy” according to Kit Siang was Dr M giving his patronage to Perkasa, an organisation “built on stilts of lies”. He lamented that Dr M “has come full circle – from an ultra back again to an ultra”.

Ibrahim Ali, an Umno reject (in the last general elections) was only making use of the supposedly retired Umno president who was slick and sly enough to outshine the hopper and used Perkasa too. They both needed their stage to stay relevant and adored – even if the script involved making use of the poor Malays!

Dr M and Ibrahim Ali would remain silent over the poor Malays having been for so long and so scandalously shortchanged by the Umnoputras and the blame for their struggles being put on the non-Malays. They were mum on those elite Malay leaders who have bled the country dry and gambled away her well-being with a racial-religious card.

As mentor to and godfather of Perkasa, Dr M, the great Statesman, would join in the rhetoric and heroics of the mentally challenged Ibrahim Ali. The latter would holler for the continued handicap and handouts given to the Malays He would clamour for their continued “crutches” and contracts.

Yet, a long time ago Dr M had very bravely declared: “The Malays should stop sending memorandum after memorandum to the government asking for aid and other things for themselves. Such an approach is no longer suitable because the time has come for them to stand on their own feet.”

He had boldly asked: “How much longer must the Malays depend on the government and the privileges accorded to them? How much longer must they remain mediocre?”

The then prime minister was delivering a speech at the ‘Reaffirming the Idealism of Undergraduates in the New Millennium’ symposium at Dewan Perdanasiswa, Universiti Malaya, in 2001 (the 30th anniversary of the NEP).

Speaking to the predominantly Malay crowd, Dr M continued: ‘How do you view the beggars on the street and then ask yourself what is the difference between their circumstances and yours? The government has done so much to elevate the position of the Malays, be it in business or education so that their achievement would be on par with the races, yet these efforts are never enough.”

“If the Malays could compete on the same level with other races there would no longer be a need for them to restrict themselves to the quota for everything. Must we lower the eligibility standard to the point where even useless students can go to the university just so that we can fill up the 55% bumiputra quota in the local public universities?”

“If so, we must remember that some of the students who go to the university in this manner will some day become doctors and engineers. How can we entrust our life to such doctors or what will be the quality of our infrastructures if they are built by such engineers? It would be much easier to tackle the problem affecting the Malays if they are proven stupid because all that is required would be to encourage them to study harder.”

“However, the underlying reason is much more difficult to address because it is caused by negative attitude and their reluctance to work hard.” (The Star, 2 July, 2001)

That was nine years ago! Today, Dr M joins Perkasa in insisting and almost begging that the Malays remain a begging and handicapped community! Who indeed has insulted the Malays?

(31 March 2010)