A REAL Bugis warrior is not a thief, Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamed said today of his nemesis Najib Razak, as he continued to insist that he had not insulted the Bugis community by calling them pirates.

“I never said all Bugis were pirates. I was saying that (prime minister) Najib (Razak) may have descended from Bugis pirates,” the former prime minister wrote in a blog post.

He included a link to a video of one of his speeches recently, where he had said: “Ya lah, maybe it is because he (Najib) is descended from Bugis pirates.”

“My remarks were aimed at Najib, who claims he is a Bugis warrior. Bugis warriors don’t steal. Najib is a big thief and is known around the world as a robber,” Dr Mahathir said.

The Bugis community in Malaysia has demanded an apology and retraction from Dr Mahathir for calling them pirates.

Last week, Persatuan Perpaduan Rumpun Bugis Melayu Malaysia held a demonstration outside his office at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya.

Dr Mahathir, who chairs opposition party Bersatu, made his remarks at a rally in Petaling Jaya in response to Najib who has, in the past, called himself a “Bugis warrior” who would not stand down against his former mentor’s criticisms.

Dr Mahathir was formerly Najib’s mentor, but has turned against him over alleged corruption involving state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad and management of the country.

Dr Mahathir said the Bugis people should not be proud of Najib calling himself a Bugis warrior.

“Would the Bugis people accept that this robber is of Bugis origin? I don’t think the Bugis people would be proud of him.” – October 26, 2017.