Malays sideline themselves by selling off their rights, says Dr Mahathir

SM Amin SM Amin Updated 7 years ago · Published on 1 Sep 2018 1:35PM · 2 Comments

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malays will not progress if they keep selling off the opportunities given to them for short-term gains. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Nazir Sufari, September 1, 2018.

MALAYS are sidelined from mainstream economic development because they are selling off the opportunities given to them, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

Criticising the rent-seeking culture, he said they did not utilise the opportunities and contracts provided to them by the government and instead sold them to others for short-term gain.

“If we sell off our opportunities, those who become rich are others, not us. We must stop this trait. When we get opportunities, use them.

“If we get a scholarship, study hard. If we get a contract, work the contract yourself,” the prime minister told the “Congress on the Future of Bumiputeras and the Nation” in Kuala Lumpur today.

Malay competitiveness has long been a pet topic of the 93-year-old leader, even during his first tenure as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

He said the situation for Malays in rural areas would not improve as long as they did not advance themselves and resorted to selling their land to others to develop.

“Malay villages in Kuala Lumpur are (being replaced) with skyscrapers but inside, it’s not Malays who use the building or live or work there.

“Other Malays are giving up the opportunities they have by selling their contracts or approved permits (APs) to non-Malays.

“We will remain as rural people. Because of poverty in rural areas, we are forced to sell our land. So cities get bigger bigger and we become more isolated from cities. This process will continue.,” Dr Mahathir said.

He said it was of no use for the Malays to shout about Malay supremacy (Ketuanan Melayu) if they were in fact “coolies” working for others.

“The Malay supremacy that a certain party likes to shout about is useless if Malays fail to change their own fate by becoming successful in business and industry.

“It is not because of skin colour or where we live but it is due to our culture and values,” he said, adding that they must work hard, have good work and life ethics and not take the “easy way out”.

The Malays in Malaysia have a special position under the federal constitution and are accorded certain privileges such as quotas in education and economic assistance.

But Dr Mahathir said that they should not rely on these and instead equip themselves with knowledge through reading, writing and continuous learning.

In a nod to Japan, the prime minister who introduced the “Look East” policy said Malays should emulate the attitude of other races who had their country destroyed by war but were able to rebuild themselves and become an economic powerhouse.

He also criticised the practice of welfare cash handouts, citing BR1M by the previous government and aid for fishermen who do not catch any fish.

“All this weakens us because we don’t work hard to earn our living. Instead, we wait for the money to fall in our laps.” – September 1, 2018.

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Comments

  • I hope more people will wake up to TDM's constructive criticism. Resources are limited. Opportunities are not always available. In fact true businessmen seek for the unknown to become big. The whole systems from finance, government policies and machinery were helping over the past decades and all races accepted this fact until the billions and billions have gone missing or into the hands of the few and powerful. The few robbed millions of Malaysians of their entitlements (one could easily know who are the millions of Malaysians still struggling and living in poverty and who are the few ones with billions of assets and cash). This is the main reason PH has to make adjustments to the systems.

    Posted 7 years ago by Concerned Citizen · Reply

  • I hope Mahatir should wake up too and realize that it is always the nons that have to pay the price for the greed or stupidity of the Malay race. All the special rights provided are not seeing any results or gaining any mileage from all the opportunites provided to them. As long as the Malay race do not want to change and still stuck in the feudal mindset to being abused and exploited, they will always be held in bondage by their owndoing by their own unscrupulous leaders dishing out thei 3Rs dogma. No amount of time and wealth will be enough to do so. Even if a thousan Mahtirs' were to come and strictly enforced the same special rights at the expense of others , nothing will change for the perpetuation of such entitlement will only expedite and create their own demise. Wealth are easily depleted if handouts flowrate are faster than the productive yield. It is high time that leadrs have to wise up and remove all the crutches and wheel chairs to allow a breaher so that a new productive rakyat is formed. No other Malaysian race should continuosly carrying the endless burden of the "special rights race"when they do not even bother to improve after 61 years of Independence. Enough of the excuses and reasons to continue spoon feeding as no way will the "entitled race" learn to free themselves to be constructive in their living. Crutches to wheel chairs dependents should be for the deserving case of needys irrespective of race. The full entitlement for a particular race are taking its toll where the irresponsible attitude will lead to dissent and the country will not be healthy if it is bogged down by such ridiculous social responsibilities by a few. No unity will be achived and causing the ruins of the country as in the end there are nothing much more left to share. The drive of PH should be intensified further to clean up and recover all the plundered wealth. No mercy for any corrupted leaders and the Malay race has got to stand on their own without feeling lost out or anger on the discontinuation of special rights for it is one of the social economic ills which are slowly gnawing into their capabilities and rendred them useless and lazy thus eliminating them from the art of survival.

    Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply