Michael Tiang
KUCHING: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent interview about “rich Chinese and poor Malays” is said to have destroyed the hopes of Malaysians of a “new Malaysia”.
According to Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth chief Michael Tiang, Dr Mahathir’s interview with Singapore’s Channel News Asia “has completely shattered Malaysians’ high expectations on the PH (Pakatan Harapan) government to bring about a new way, new thinking”.
He opined that Dr Mahathir seemed to be leading Malaysia back down the old path of racial politics.
“Dr Mahathir has publicly emphasised that the poverty eradication policy will focus on helping the Malays. His rationale is based on an unsubstantiated belief used by the ‘old government’ of the last century that most Chinese are rich and the Malays are poor.
“This is giving an excuse to the (PH) government to continue to give help to a single race under the national poverty eradication poverty. At the same time, the poor and the needy from other races are being neglected and denied from the benefits of the poverty eradication policy,” Tiang said in a press statement yesterday.
In the exclusive interview with Channel News Asia on Monday, Dr Mahathir said there are certain areas where the new government needs to give the Malay community a boost.
“For example, when I was in the United Kingdom, I met a number of Chinese students. They were there because their fathers, their parents, were able to pay for their studies there. But I find that Malay parents, by and large, cannot afford to have university education for their children,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said more scholarships need to be given to Malays as the Chinese in the country “are largely in business”.
Tiang, who is a political secretary to the Chief Minister, alleged that Dr Mahathir “has injected neither any new ideas nor new directions into the national policies” since he was sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister last month.
He said Dr Mahathir had continued to recycle ideas borrowed from the last century while ignoring new economic needs and an international environment.
He cited Dr Mahathir’s recent visit to Japan to revive the ‘Look East’ policy introduced in the 1980s.
“By doing so, the Prime Minister deliberately estranged the close ties between Malaysia and China, and ignored the fact that China is now the super economic power of this century, not Japan. During his official visit to Japan, Dr Mahathir even went so far as to propose another national car project for Malaysia, instead of suggesting a more forward-looking scheme to reduce car prices in Malaysia,” he said.
Tiang labelled Dr Mahathir’s governance as “simply like old wine in a new bottle”.
He noted Malaysian voters had strongly demanded to abolish the old mindset and governance during the last general election.
“This is particularly so in this era of digital and social media. It is blatant that Malaysians are looking up to the new ruling alliance to show its courage and commitment in leading Malaysians to deny the racial politics that have hampered Malaysia’s way forward. As for Sarawak, the new government is expected to give due respect and consideration to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 by rectifying the mistakes and erosions done by the former government in the Federal Constitution, legislation, and polices,” he said.
Tiang also wondered whether young members of the new federal cabinet would agree with Dr Mahathir leading Malaysia back down the old path.
“Particularly, the representatives from Sarawak in the cabinet, on whether they could effectively exert their influence in opposing the Prime Minister’s racial approach in policy-making, and striving for the poor and the needy in Sarawak to be the real beneficiaries under the national poverty eradication programmes,” he added.