As a 'white' and 'European' from Scandinavia, who has lived in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, for a number of years, I have gotten used to PM Mahathir's rhetoric and opinions.

However, I am not a fan of either his rhetoric or policies. Reading his opening address to the 2003 Umno general assembly made me shake my head in disbelief.

I thought that since this was (perhaps) his last chance to make one of the most important speeches to the Malaysian nation, it would deal with important issues facing Malaysia and its people and perhaps some hints of what potential foreign investors can expect in the future. Also I was looking forward to an objective evaluation of his time in office.

But even from Mahathir, I had not expected anything as blatant and ridiculous as the speech he delivered. More than half of the speech is racial slur of a caliber almost worse than what was written by the same man in 'The Malay Dilemma'.

To generalise and stigmatise people from a certain ethnic group is very dangerous and totally uncalled for. This is something the ethnic Jews in Germany, the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, ethnic 'Europeans' in Zimbabwe and the ethnic Indians in Uganda, all have painfully experienced. These are only a few examples of people who have suffered from irresponsible racial stigmatising by politicians.

Its quite ironic that Mahathir defines the 'Europeans' to include: "those who migrated and set up new nations in America, Australia and New Zealand", without mentioning the ethnic Europeans of South Africa who run the infamous apartheid state for decades, a nation that in its past classified people by their race and gave them legal rights according to their race. Sounds familiar?

His speech is littered with everything from half-truths, lies, contradictions and errors. He says that "they are also very greedy and like to take forcibly the territories and rights of other people. Their 2,000-year history is full of endless wars to seize territories and enlarge their power worldwide".

What about the Chinese or Japanese expansions? Are people born 'white' the only ones who are greedy by nature? What about all the corrupt politicians in this part of the world? They must have Western blood in them.

It gets worse when he claims that "they (the Europeans)like to wage war and seize other people's territories, their main interest is in the development and the production of weapons to kill people more efficiently" and "skills in killing are regarded as honourable by the Europeans".

To imply that high regard for killing is our particular nature that sets us apart from other 'races' is pure nonsense. All European countries (except the US) have abolished the death penalty long ago. What about the 'Asian' countries?

It absolutely hits rock bottom when the prime minister say: "Genocide for them is the final solution". This is so outrageous and far from the truth that I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I can not believe that a prime minister of any nation can sink as low as this. Well, perhaps Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe can sink as low, but he is not exactly regarded as a global role model.

Malaysians I have spoken to have said: don't take him seriously, it is only Mahathir. But he is the prime minister in Malaysia. His words are heard both domestic and international. Is this a way to build bridges between nations and cultures?

If anyone believes in what he says, I should be worried about going to Malaysia as a tourist due to the colour of my skin. But what else can be expected from the PM of a country, which more than any other country in the world is governed by racial laws?

He has insulted me and a billion other 'Europeans' by his spreading of racial slur. We are not different by nature than any other 'race' on earth. We just happen to look different and originate from a part of a world that had a different history that shaped much of our culture and modern societies.

But just because there has been many regrettable events in European history (as there have been in Asian or African history) and bad seeds among 'our' people, that does not mean that Mahathir have the right to generalise us in the way he does.

When this is said, I have a feeling that his motives for such outrageous statements is a way to put the blame for his own failures on the 'Europeans', with their murderous and hidden agendas.

And, Mahathir, while you claim you are not a racist, little has changed since the day you wrote 'The Malay Dilemma'.