Malaysia is for Malays? PM says he didn't hear that said at congress
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he did not hear academic Zainal Kling make remarks about Malaysia belonging to the Malays at the Malay Dignity Congress earlier today.
"Well, I didn't hear him say that. I have to find out whether in fact he did say that," Mahathir told reporters tonight...
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (above) said he did not hear academic Zainal Kling make remarks about Malaysia belonging to the Malays at the Malay Dignity Congress earlier today.
Mahathir had arrived at the congress in Shah Alam at around 11.15am, while Zainal's speech was at 9.30am.
"Well, I didn't hear him say that. I have to find out whether in fact he did say that," Mahathir told reporters tonight.
He was speaking at a press conference at the close of the Pakatan Harapan lawmakers retreat in Subang today.
He was asked if Zainal's remarks were raised at the congress.
Mahathir was among the speakers at the congress today, which kicked off with a hardline speech from Zainal.
The academic, in his speech, said Malays inherited Malaysia as "their land".
"We Malays have inherited this land called Malaya, called Malaysia. What is behind Malaysia's name? It means Malays plus 'sia', which is a Greek word meaning archipelago.
"So Malaysia is the Malay archipelago. As such this land is Malay land, just as up north we have Thai land, Chinese land, and Indian land," Zainal said.
Zainal's speech, which also repeatedly referred to a social contract, had courted flak from several quarters, including International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking.
Darell, in a statement, said that after Malaysia was formed in 1963, it became the land of Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, Bajaus, Ibans and Dayaks.
Besides Zainal's remarks, there were also five resolutions which made thorny demands of the government, including reserving top positions such as the finance, home, and defence ministers, exclusively for Malays.
Besides Mahathir, those at the Harapan press conference tonight included PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the finance minister.
Lim declined to speak to reporters when met after the press conference, while other leaders quickly left the scene.
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