KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — While declaring he was not a racist, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared to play the race card for Umno today by warning Malays that they would lose power if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) came to power.He also implied that a Chinese or an Indian could become prime minister if PR took federal power because there was no constitutional restriction on race for the position.
The former prime minister (picture) claimed the political marginalisation of the Malays had already become a reality in PR-controlled states even though those administrations were led by Malays.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Dr Mahathir has offered his expertise to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to deliver a big win for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general elections which could be held as early as next year.
His remarks to Umno Online today suggests he will play a big role in Umno’s campaign to consolidate support among conservative Malays and win over fence-sitters uneasy with PR administrations.
The former Umno president, who still commands widespread influence among Umno members and larger Malay community, pointed to the former PR mentri besar in Perak Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as an example of how Malay politicians had been sidelined by PR.
“We see Nizar in Perak...even though he was Mentri Besar he followed the instructions of DAP until he fell. The Chinese claim this was BN’s move to bring down a Chinese government.
“So they called it a Chinese administration and is it not possible that we can have a prime minister like Nizar, Malay in name and a Muslim but not really independent and a tool of others,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said that while Nizar represented PAS which supposedly champions Islam, he was actually used to get Malay support.
He pointed out that there was no requirement for the prime minister to be a Muslim or Malay. All that was needed, Dr Mahathir said, was that the person had the support of the majority in Parliament.
“There is no restriction in law. In our Constitution there is nothing to stop a Chinese or an Indian from becoming prime minister. What is needed is support from the majority. If the majority agree there is nothing we can do,” he said.
In a thinly-veiled reference to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Mahathir said that PKR did not champion the Malays but was set up to realise “one leader’s” ambitions of becoming the prime minister.
“Unfortunately Umno dropped this person and in anger his chance was gone, so he set up another party. His struggle is not for race, religion and country but to become prime minister.
Dr Mahathir added that the public should not be swayed by PR because he said the opposition coalition’s aim was only to bring about the downfall of BN.
The former PM claimed that his remarks were not racial in nature but were being made for the sake of restoring stability. - The Malaysian Insider
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