By FMT Staff
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad has penned a sequel to his “Minority Malays” saga following a stinging attack from an academic, who said that the 84-year-old statesman does not have a mature mindset.
In his latest blog posting titled "Melayu Kemana 2" (Whither Malays), Mahathir, with a dollop of sarcasm, admitted that he lacked mental maturity as pointed out by Universiti Malaya law lecturer Prof Azmi Sharom.
“I forgot that 60% out of 100% is the majority. The Malays in Malaysia make up 60% of the 27 million Malaysians. They are not a minority,” he said.
However, Mahathir reiterated that the Malays are split three ways, in terms of their support for Umno, PAS and PKR.
“If the split is equal, it means that each party has 20% (of the 60%). Even if some parties have more (members and supporters), the percentage cannot be higher than 50%.
“Figures show that PAS has more than 50% Malay voter support and 50% of 60% (percentage of Malays in the country) is 30%,” he said, adding that the 30% was divided between Umno and PKR.
From an overall perspective, he said, the 60% Malays are divided among these three parties, which are at loggerheads with one another, thus rendering them weak.
The Portuguese invasion
Turning back the clock to the time of the Malacca Sultanate, Mahathir said the Sultan had a bigger army than the invading Portuguese armada.
“But Malacca was defeated. So large numbers are not important, it is the ability of the team (which matters),” he added.
Mahathir also noted the important roles played by unsavoury characters like Si Kitol and Raja Mendaliar during that era.
“Now there are many Kitol and Raja Mendaliar among the Malays who are split into three. The percentage is 60%, but the power is not 60%.
“Malay power is only a minority power, and this is the aspect which I, who possess an immature mindset, had put forward,” he said.
Yesterday, Mahathir, who was also prime minister for 22 years, warned the Malays of their declining power and urged them to reflect on their fate.
He also painted a bleak picture for the Malays should Pakatan Rakyat seize control of the federal government.
However, Azmi later dismissed the warning as baseless.
“Actually, there is nothing to this. It is just to scare the Malays because there is no way that the biggest race in this country would become the minority. If we look at it realistically, the Malays are still the majority in all aspects so it is impossible to become the minority.
“Only desperate people would make such statements and it shows that Mahathir is not mature in his thoughts,” he was quoted as saying in a news report.
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Reflect, Dr M warns 'minority' Malays
