(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): It is Malaysia’s tragedy that on his 20th year as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has delivered the worst, most disgraceful anti-national PM’s Merdeka Day message in 43 years, which no self-respecting Malaysian can feel proud and can only shame Malaysia in the eyes of the world
Since last night, there had been very strong reactions from a wide cross-section of Malaysians who felt very disappointed and even outraged that Mahathir could deliver such a Merdeka Day message, which no Malaysian leader could have delivered nor addressed to Malaysians, but could only be made by a desperate Malay leader trying to restore Malay political support from the Malays in the country - completely without respect for truth.
Mahathir seems to have forgotten in his 43rd Merdeka Day message that he is not speaking as UMNO President but as Prime Minister of Malaysia, who is the leader of all Malaysians, regardless of race, and not just a Malay leader.
Mahathir’s 43rd Merdeka Message is distinguished by multiple falsehoods
and distortions even in one single sentence. For instance, this one sentence
"Because it seems as if the government headed by the Malays has become
weaker, the Chinese extremists who are displeased with the cooperation
among the various races in Malaysia are starting to hurt the feelings of
the Malays by making all sorts of absurd demands" contains three
falsehoods, viz:
Is Mahathir aware that his 43rd Merdeka Day Message has offended right-thinking and decent Malaysians regardless of race and religion and deeply hurt the feelings of the Malaysian Chinese, especially as reference to them as communists and terrorists like Al-Ma’unah after the Chinese voters had been largely responsible for ensuring that the Barisan Nasional is returned to power with a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the last general election.
Have the MCA, Gerakan and SUPP Ministers and leaders informed the Prime Minister of the adverse nation-wide reaction to his Merdeka Day message, which had done a great disservice to the promotion of inter-racial relations and understanding?
Or does the MCA, Gerakan and SUPP Ministers and leaders agree with everything said by Mahathir in his Merdeka Day message?
The Cabinet should ordinarily be convened in an emergency session to try to undo the enormous harm which Mahathir’s Merdeka Day message had done to Malaysia’s inter-racial understanding, but nobody expects anything from the present Cabinet.
In accusing "foreign powers" of the design of "divide and rule" in Malaysia , Mahathir is actually trying to perpetrate his own "divide and rule" in Malaysia.
Mahathir accuses "foreign powers" of being bent to "recolonise" Malaysia. DAP pledges full backing to Mahathir and the Barisan Nasional government if he can produce evidence to prove his accusation of "foreign powers" bent on "recolonising" Malaysia.
For a start, let Mahathir name these "foreign powers" which are trying to enslave Malaysia. Is the United States of America one of them? If so, name it and produce the evidence before the Malaysian people.
I believe Mahathir is scheduled to visit the United States in a day or two. If the United States is one of these "foreign powers" bent on "recolonising" Malaysia, he should cancel his trip to the United States and boycott the country until the United States renounces its evil design to "colonise" Malaysia!
If Mahathir is not prepared to cancel his visit to the United States and have a showdown with the United States government, then what credibility does he expect to have for his allegation?
Mahathir went overboard in his persecution of his former deputy prime minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Anwar Ibrahim and alienated decent Malaysian and international opinion - and in particular the Malay society. He has now gone overboard in hurting the Malaysian Chinese in referring to them as communists and terrorists in trying to restore Malay political support.
Mahathir should stop his excesses or he can only blame himself for his fall from grace in the eyes of Malaysians and the world. As a first step, he should withdraw and apologise for the baseless and unfair references to Suqiu Committee and the Chinese community in his 43rd Merdeka Day Message yesterday.
(31/8/2000)