I refer to the issue of the New Straits Times and Dr Mahathir Mohamad's extreme view of whether Brendan Periera is a Malay or not. One thing that Mahathir has forgotten is that the bulk of NST's readers are non-Malays.
I have been subscribing to the NST for more than 30 years and never did I ever have a thought that it was championing Malay issues. I thought it more as a balanced newspaper representing all races.
The NST was able to remain in this position because of the many non-Malays employed by it and it had people like A Kadir Jasin and Kalimullah Hassan at the helm who were equally broad minded and had never had gone to the extreme to portray the NST as pro-Malay. Such a stand has helped NST to maintain its position among the non-Malays.
But what has been said by Mahathir is very disturbing. It makes me ponder whether I should continue to subscribe to the NST or to move on to another newspaper. He has indicated that the NST should only champion Malay issues and the group editor must be a Malay.
Does Mahathir expect the circulation of the NST to grow after this statement? We have to wait and see.