PETALING JAYA, July 27 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad painted today a portrait of Chinese Malaysians in a dilemma, caught ostensibly between their thirst for political control while retaining their economic clout and the decades-old power-sharing formula the former prime minister argued has prospered the country and its diverse peoples post-independence.

The country’s longest-serving PM of 22 years also accused the opposition DAP of having brought on the racial dilemma through what he attributed as the party’s persistent efforts to undermine its political foe, the MCA, leading to the weakened representation of the minority Chinese in the government.

“The dilemma for the Chinese is whether to make a grab for political power while dominating economic power or to adhere to the principle of sharing which has made this country what it is today,” Dr Mahathir (picture) wrote in an opinion piece published today in the New Straits Times daily.

In his column, the 88-year-old reiterated that the Chinese have reaped the fruits of the power-sharing formula for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s race-based components, adding that the community that makes up about 30 per cent of the country’s 28 million population was better off today than before independence in 1957, when it was shackled by colonial British rule.

“To say that the Chinese have gained nothing from independence and the ‘kongsi’ government, in which MCA is the second most senior partner, is to deny the reality in Malaysia,” Dr Mahathir said.

Banking licences were given to the Chinese, as were control of agencies and dealerships of imported goods, and the right to establish private colleges and universities where the student intake was predominantly Chinese, he said, to back up his argument.

He accused the DAP of having ignored the community’s gains with its persistent portrayal of the MCA, the BN’s main Chinese party, as “the lackeys of the Malays”, and denounced its actions as “racist in the extreme”.

“DAP, by undermining MCA, is what causes the Chinese representation in the government to be weak. Without DAP, MCA is likely to garner more seats in Parliament and in the government,” he said.

Dr Mahathir, who had authored the “The Malay Dilemma” in 1970, admitted that the Federal Constitution did not preclude a Chinese from holding office as prime minister, but stressed that the person to occupy the seat tended to be a Malay only because the Malay party, Umno, is the BN’s biggest party.

With membership estimated to number some three million, the party is also the biggest political power in the country while the DAP is the second-largest party.

“The idea of a Singapore-like Malaysia seems tempting and Penang has shown the way,” the still-influential politician said, referring to the Pakatan Rakyat administration of the northern state by the DAP’s Lim Guan Eng, who is now into his second-term as its chief minister.

But Dr Mahathir hinted that an upset of the power-sharing formula may likewise upset the country’s future peace, stability and economic development.

“Battered, accused of being lackeys of Umno, MCA has gradually lost the support of the Chinese. It is now but a shadow of its former self,” he said, ahead of the party’s election this year.

“And with its weakening, the idea of sharing with the Malays political and economic power has become insupportable,” he said.

The DAP won 38 federal seats in Election 2013 while MCA won only seven. Other Chinese-majority parties in BN also suffered major losses that led the ruling coalition to win only 133 federal seats in the May 5 general election against the 140 won in Election 2008.

Both Umno and the MCA will head into their respective party polls this year.