Former premier and Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamed today said his call for Malays to work hard and prove their mettle continues to remains relevant through the current Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.

NONE He commended Najib's policy speech at the opening of the party's annual general meeting today, saying it is a timely reminder to the Malays on the importance of earning their keep.

"The Malays must realise where they stand and that they need to work hard to be successful... I have said this before when I was president, and Najib is reinforcing this," he said after the AGM's opening ceremony.

NONE Mahathir, the country's longest serving prime minister, chalking up 22 years in office, supported Najib's call for a halt to debates on Malay rights and the social contract, saying it does nothing to help inter-racial understanding.

He added that groups and individuals that continue to question the special position of the Malays are ignorant of the federal constitution.

"They don't really understand the contents of the constitution... if you hold on to the original agreement, there is no problem. When people want to make changes that all this while had not been allowed, that would spark tension among races.

“What he (Najib) said is that we have a formula that has worked well for the past 50 years, so why do you want to change it? Why bring up issues that only cause tension among all races?” he said.

NONE Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ( far left in photo ) also gave the thumbs up for his successor, saying Najib’s policy speech cleared the confusion over the long-debated special position of the Malays.

“This entrenchment in the constitution, followed consensus among the leaders of that time... we must realise this,” he said.

Abdullah added that he is confident that Najib’s speech will give the Malays the confidence to take the “new way” and utilise their minds to move forward.