FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia could only achieve its Bangsa Malaysia goals if non-Malays assimilated into the Malay community. 

Speaking during the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast hosted by Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan, Dr Mahathir said because Chinese and Indians refused to assimilate, Malaysia was not able achieve what neighbouring Indonesia achieved in terms of national unity. 

“Immigrants in the past, particularly during Malaysia’s post-independence, wanted integration instead of assimilation as they wanted to preserve their culture from their originating countries,” he said. 

“When the migrants wanted to retain their identities and dispute the ownership of this country to be not a Malay country but a multicultural one, that meant we have lost our country,” he said. 

The Arabs and Pakistanis, however, assimilated well into Malay society; as a result, they are considered Malays, he said. 

“In Indonesia, I was surprised to hear someone speak as if they are Indonesian but when you turn around, that person is Chinese. They embraced the culture there but not here in Malaysia.” 

“Here we call the Chinese as Malaysian Chinese, but there’s no such thing in Indonesia. They don’t refer to themselves as Indonesian Chinese.” 

Here in Malaysia, the Chinese and Indians want to retain their different cultures and languages, and alienate themselves from locals, the former prime minister said.

In March, Dr Mahathir caused controversy when he claimed that the majority of Malays in the country “did not benefit” from multi-ethnic policies.

The former prime minister had said multi-ethnicism in the country created a meritocracy where everything went towards those who were most capable, best trained, and financially secure. 

He also criticised the existence of vernacular schools and ethnic groups in keeping their identities. – November 13, 2023.