THOSE rejected by voters in the general election have resorted to playing up issues of Malay rights and Islam in a desperate attempt to save themselves, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

Speaking in an interview with RTM tonight, he said the opposition parties need to divert attention from themselves.

He did not mention the names of those in the opposition, but it is understood that he meant Umno and its new bedfellow, PAS.

“The easiest issues (to agitate) the Malays are Malay and Islamic issues. They just look for something that is not right or not nice to make an issue out of it.

“But whatever that is wrong now is because the previous administration did not correct the mistakes then.

“What did they do for Muslims? They took away opportunities for the Malays to enrich their cronies. That is the root of our problems today,” he said.

Tonight’s interview marks PH’s first year in government after unseating Barisan Nasional which had ruled over 60 years.

Dr Mahathir was asked for his thoughts on the opposition’s line that Muslims and Malays are under threat under a PH government controlled by DAP.

DAP, a member of PH, has long been painted as anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

Dr Mahathir said those in the opposition “talked as if they were clean and had no sins”.

“That’s normal. They want to save themselves. It is not about Malay or Muslim problems.”

He said when other Muslim nations look at Malaysia, they want their countries to be like Malaysia.

“We are seen as a good model for them. It is the opposition that is looking for issues to cover their own weaknesses,” he said.

On the Malays – the majority race in the country – feeling threatened despite dominating in the civil service and in parliament, Dr Mahathir said the fears stemmed from being economically weak.

He said the Malays are split among four political parties, thus causing them to become “minority” groups who need help from others.

“If they cannot get it, they will be afraid. There is basis for this fear.

“But if the Malays can work hard to improve themselves economically and knowledge-wise, and have courage to compete with the minority races, they will no longer fear others.”

On the relevance of racial politics today, and overcoming the Malay siege mentality, Dr Mahathir said it is a sad fact that many people still look to their own races.

“Leaders may think that it is better that we do not stress on the interests of the race over the interests of the nation.

“But the people still focus on the performance of their own race. If politicians don’t take this into consideration, they will lose support.

Dr Mahathir conceded it is hard to build a society that sees itself as Malaysian and whose people do not identify themselves by their race.

“This is the reality we face. We have tried to focus less on race, but the resistance from the people is great.

“Take schools for example. Each race wants to maintain its own schools,” he said, referring to the Bahasa Melayu-medium national schools and the Tamil and Mandarin-medium vernacular schools.

“When we tried to put all the three types of schools in the same campus, they rejected it.

“The racial sentiment among the people is very strong, and cannot be disregarded. We have to take it into consideration. If not, we will lose,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said Malay parties also recognise that other races, like the Chinese, have their individual political strengths.

He said Malay parties also needed to work with other parties that could win elections in urban areas, where the non-Malay population is substantial.

Because of this, Malay parties must also be liberal towards other races. – May 8, 2019.