The former prime minister was addressing a 10,000 strong rally here today at the Perak Perkasa Assembly.
“We know that this country is successful because the Malays are willing to cooperate with other races for the past 50 years and have governed the country not just with the Malays but with other races as well.
“We were willing to share the governing of this country,” he said.
Dr M lobbed a few potshots at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
Perkasa supporters chanted “Hidup Melayu” at the rally
Participants await the start of the rally at the Perak Malay Perkasa Assembly in Pasir Salak
Dr Mahathir claimed that the Malays live in worse conditions compared to other races.
“What is owned by other people, we don’t question, that’s their right, but the little right that we have, don’t take that away from us,” he said, speaking of the privileges promised in the New Economic Policy (NEP).
Dr Mahathir said it was not their intention to use violence to take away the rights of other races, like what is going on in other countries; instead, he said he is only asking that their rights not be snatched away from them.
“Our fight is halal, we fight only for our place in this country. It is not a lot, what we’re asking of this country even though we make up 60 per cent of the country, we’re only asking for 30 per cent, only half of that.
“I don’t think it is greedy to only ask for half of what is supposed to be our right,” he said.
The rally attendees, who are supporters of the Malay rights group, Perkasa, came in busloads from all over Perak and comprised of Malays of all ages.
At the assembly, Dr Mahathir also took the chance to take a stab at his former deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
“I was Anwar Ibrahim’s mentor. I wanted to give him a chance to lead after my retirement but he couldn’t wait and tried to stab me in the back to take over the power to govern the country.
“However, he kept his position until he was found guilty of a crime that we cannot forgive. That is why he was removed,” he said.
Anwar, the de facto leader of the opposition pact, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in 1999 and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy. In 2004, the Federal Court reversed the second conviction and he was released.
In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised one of his male aides, and is now facing new sodomy charges.
“There is one more who wants to disunite the Malays. He said he is sad that he was born a Malay because the people who are fighting for his race, rejected religion,” he said, referring the Nik Aziz.
There is an ongoing spat between the two, mostly centred around attacking each other’s parties, with religion as the weapon.
Dr Mahathir noted that PAS spiritual advisor Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat had claimed Umno’s Malay nationalism ideology was a rejection of Islam when the latter had been asked to comment about Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s call for Singaporean Muslims to be less strict in their religious observances.
“I have seen that unity among the Malays has successfully defended the well-being of the Malays.
“I believe that if we are not united, we’ll be destroyed,” Dr Mahathir warned.
He said that he is disappointed that now, when one utters the word “Malay”, one is called a racist.
“The fact is we’re still Malays and we are tasked with saving our country and ourselves.
“There is no reason why anyone should be afraid of the call for the unity among the Malays once more,” he said.
The 86-year-old also claimed that there are some Malay leaders who have forgotten their roots, and that the NEP had benefitted the cronies of government leaders.
“More than 300,000 kampung children, who were given the opportunity for higher education, have became doctors, lawyers and engineers, and have high-paying jobs.
“If not for the NEP, there would not be the surgeons who operated on myself and Datuk Ibrahim Ali,” he said.
He pointed out that Malaysia has never denied the rights of other races.
“Malays are not greedy ... to take everything for themselves. They are sympathetic people. They were willing to sacrifice their rights for the sake of peace.
“We are willing to work with other races but they have to admit that we have our rights in our country too. Don’t try to snatch our rights away because they become greedy and think that they have more right to govern our country,” he said.
Dr Mahathir told the Perkasa supporters that they should not just gather and listen to lectures but also use the chance to choose their leaders wisely so the “little right that we have won’t slip out of our grasp”.
“I’m asking all of you to be careful, think thoroughly, understand the different race politics in the country and decide so our representatives are those who sincerely serve for the betterment of our lives. This represents all of our hopes, I believe,” he said.
