The tradition of making money is simply not with Malay paddy farmers and fishermen, especially as they believe that money is only to be spent.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said this today at a lecture titled "The Malaysian Dilemma", organised by the Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) in Kuala Lumpur.

"When they (the farmers) need money, they sell the Malay reserve land. In the end, most of the Malay land does not belong to the Malays."

Explaining further on how the farmers and fishermen believe that money is solely for spending, Mahathir said the idea of money as a capital was something new to them.

He had earlier said that although everyone should be given a chance, he believes that not everyone will perform equally.

Explaining further on how farmers and fishermen believe that money is to be spent, Mahathir pointed out how they would take loans for their daughters’ weddings.

 

"And then they spend the money. And how are they going to pay back the loan? Don't know," he said.

 

'Malay outlook needs to change'

He also believes if one does not now how to handle money, one will never make it in life.

 

"After the National Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented, we gave the Malays licenses, contracts and APs.

 

"And what did they do? They sold all those things. For a short while they were rich, and then they came back for more APs."

 

He however admitted that the NEP was like using crutches or a cane for the Malays.

 

"When we have to use a tongkat (cane), it means you are old and decrepit. That's why I don't use a tongkat ," he joked.

 

Explaining that the NEP was designed to give the Malays a "greater share of the economy", he admitted that it was easy to formulate a plan.

 

"But implementing it is very difficult. We must change the culture of the people," he said.

 

He then said that it was necessary to change some of the culture of the Malays.

 

"It's not for them to become Chinese or Europeans. But some of the (Malay) values are wrong," he said.

 

'Malaysia did well despite racial problems '

Meanwhile, Mahathir said despite Malaysia’s racial problems, it had nevertheless become more developed than countries which had never been colonised.

 

"We have made tremendous progress. Although some have tried to impoverish us by devaluing our currency, we went through that and we recovered.

"So we can pat ourselves on the back because I think we have done rather well,' he said.

He nevertheless argued that it was "not always about race".

Citing the 1999 general election result, he said his government would not have gotten the two-thirds majority without the support of Chinese voters.

"Somebody (Anwar Ibrahim) got a black eye, so the Malays were not sympathetic towards me and my government.

"But there were some people – those who were about to go bankrupt – who were appreciative.

"But because we managed to avert a bigger financial crisis, they were grateful. You can guess who they were (i.e, the Chinese).

"The Malay electorate didn't vote Barisan Nasional because they thought I was dictator."

 

He also denied that the government had practised discrimination against certain races and pointed out that it was "not easy to run a country with three different races".

 

"Not many countries have succeeded, but I think Malaysia has succeeded," he said.