KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — The Selangor chapter of Malay rights group Perkasa has warned non-Malays against engaging with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s criticism of the Malay community as they may not have understood what he meant.
Dr Mahathir was widely panned for describing Malays as being lazy and dishonest in a speech last Thursday but the group thanked the former prime minister for his remarks, saying any advice from him must be taken as that being given by a father to his children.
“Only those who can’t take the reality or are with vested interests cannot take his opinions and criticisms,” the group said in a brief statement on its Facebook page.
“If he reprimands the Malays, hopefully other races will not be stirred into frenzy, because they may not understand what he means,” it added.
Dr Mahathir truly understands the quirks of every race in the country given his age and having been Malaysia’s prime minister for over 20 years, it said.
“Selangor Perkasa accepts whatever criticism he has with an open heart. In addition we thank him for his willingness to share any knowledge and insight that he has,” the group added.
The 89-year-old Dr Mahathir said last week that Malaysia’s majority race lacks good values, ethics and was not hardworking enough, causing them to trail other races economically.
Over the weekend, Dr Mahathir added that ethnic Chinese and even migrant workers from Myanmar are more honest compared to the native Malays where money is concerned.
The former prime minister also claimed that many Malays do not repay debts, and therefore many companies prefer to award contracts to ethnic Chinese, whom he insisted were more trustworthy.
