Dr Mahathir Mohamad is one controversial man who survives by making statements that irk the people.

On his latest reprimand against the Selangor Islamic Enforcement Department (Jais), responsible this time around for raiding a Hindu wedding, I wonder if the former prime minister has forgotten who was it that allowed the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 to be first enacted?

And who is it who created the concept of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ (Malay supremacy) that is now expressing its ugly horns every now and then? Rather than preferring that Malaysians learn to respect each other, did the Malaysian maverick not destroy the fabrics of our social structure which was based on the five pillars of Rukunegara?

Instead of Belief in God, it has become nothing but fanaticism, based on how things are interpreted these days.

Instead of loyalty to Agong and country, it is loyalty to Umno and Barisan Nasional.

Instead of supremacy of the constitution, it is supremacy of the Malay race.

Instead of rule of law, it is which political master you serve.

Instead of courtesy and morality, it is crudeness and mischief. As long as one is on Umno’s side, one gets away from any form of rudeness or mischief. It does not matter how crude your words (such as burning down the DAP headquarters or running down on another religion) are, the forces are there to protect you.

Because this enactment and others were allowed to go through the state assemblies around the same time when Dr Mahathir had just recovered from the onslaught by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, it is not difficult to understand how an Indian Muslim could continue to survive in a political organisation like Umno.

Thereafter, with Umno Baru, we see others rising to the top, especially those of the same kind as Dr Mahathir. It is no wonder how Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, even as a prime minister, could not withstand being attacked by Dr Mahathir.

Jais’ raids on both the Hindu wedding and the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) are nothing but an expression of his ‘ketuanan Melayu jenis Mahathir’. Mahathir is a spoiler, so is the monster that he has created over the past three decades.

In my opinion, instead of reprimanding Jais, now, Dr Mahathir should be reprimanding himself. If he wants to die as a statesman, he should stop talking nonsense. Instead, he should get things back into order again for the sake of the future generation of this country.

Otherwise, he will die an Indian Muslim, and leave behind a legacy of curses to this nation.

STEPHEN NG is a chemist by training. He dealt with printing ink, paint and emulsion polymer for 15 years before becoming a freelance writer.