Dr Mahathir says race relations today are not as good as when he was prime minister
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed press freedom today for poor race relations which, he claimed, had worsened since he stepped down as prime minister in 2003.
He said that this was because press freedom has allowed racial and religious tension to ferment in Malaysia.
“Those days we didn’t talk so much about race, showing disrespect to others. Today we talk about race and religion, putting a wedge between the different races.
“Race relations today are not as good as when ‘a dictator of 22 years’ was leading the country,” the former prime minister told a forum of chief executives today.
Dr Mahathir said that although he is made out to be a “Malay ultra and the Chinese are afraid of me,” he only managed to maintain Barisan Nasional’s (BN) two-thirds of Parliament in 1999 due to Chinese support.
“Chinese support gave me two-thirds majority despite the displeasure of Malays due to the black eye,” he said, referring to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s injury suffered in jail after he was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998.
The 1999 election was Dr Mahathir’s last as prime minister before being succeeded by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Despite leading BN to its best-ever showing in 2004, Abdullah was forced to resign in 2009 after BN ceded its customary two-thirds majority and five states in Election 2008.
The emergence of online media was credited as a main factor in the swing against the ruling coalition, especially in urban centres such as the Klang Valley and Penang, which saw Pakatan Rakyat (PR) win even in seats considered to be BN strongholds.
