KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — UPKO president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau criticised Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today for allegedly claiming that East Malaysians were lazy and the cause of the states’ lack of development.

"Sarawakians and Sabahans not any less hardworking than Tun Mahathir’s sons and for him to say we have a poor mentality of wanting to take the easy way out is very wrong.

"We are survivors who worked as hard as anyone else and it is our culture to do our best for our family,” he said in a statement today.

Madius said despite the insults made by Dr Mahathir, Sabah and Sarawak continued to persevere and experience development with the contribution of hardworking locals.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Minister said the integrity of East Malaysians cannot be questioned, accusing Dr Mahathir of squandering resources to fund so-called glamourous projects in the peninsula.

Madius cited the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers, Putrajaya and the Sepang Formula One Circuit, which he said deprived funds for Sabah and Sarawak during Dr Mahathir’s tenure as prime minister.

He said those in Sabah and Sarawak should never trust Dr Mahathir and those associated to the Pakatan Harapan chairman similarly labelled east Malaysians as having poor mentality compared to West Malaysians.

"Mahathir neglecting Sabah and Sarawak throughout his 22 years of power is not something everyone can deny especially when one uses such excuses to exact personal revenge against Prime Minister Najib Razak,” he said.