An elderly former civil servant was subtly campaigning for Tun Dr Mahathir to another elder using the "Apa nak jadi pada Melayu?" rhetorics.
To non-Malays, they usually view such discussion as racist, selfish, and self serving. And to some Malays, such discussions on Malay sounded out-dated, tired and regressive. They prefer uplifting the Malays to be economically independent over reliance on special privileges, handouts and subsidies.
The younger generation wants a fairer and less wasteful way to help the needy Malays and Malaysians at large.
The elder listened attentively without intruding the former civil servant till he finished his repertoire. Then he asked a loaded question with myriad of answers, "Siapa Melayu ni?
That threw the civil servant off. There was a long silence.
The listener then commented that it is not the Malay psyche to repeatedly raise issues related to money. Malays are spiritual and peaceful by nature. They seek harmony with their surrounding, refrain from conflicts, and abhor greedy and opportunistic ways.
He then continued to say enough with Mahathir and his manipulative ways!
Political opportunism
Believe to be Chinese, blogger Ktemoc Konsider here is of the opinion that Mahathir's Malayness was more political opportunism than a true concern on the plight of the Malay.
The expose of "a/l Iskandar Kutty" attached to Mahathir's original name by DPM Dato Zahid Hamidi in August last year revealed Mahathir's father is not the half Malay perception created deceptively by his youngest son but was Indian of Kerala descent.
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| Online poster that viral |
Mukhriz's group of supporters were still attempting to cover up what many former Sultan Abdul Hamid Kolej Alumni members had made known for decades.
Mahathir's behaviour, psyche and actions reflect more the ways of aggressive, vocally confrontational and manipulative Indians than the the similar traits of Malays.
The hurrah over his descendent is not racially intended but also questioned the deep secret of his father's biography. Tabung Haji's Dato Azeeez Raheem does not hide his Tamil descent and openly flaunted his Tamil language proficiency.
Despite resenting Malay, he was ashamed to disclose the truth of his Indian heritage and did not help the Indian community. Sabah and Sarawak were practically ignored!
MMO reported "Mahathir of only championing Malays in order to use the community for his personal goals, and of abandoning Umno after milking it dry of all benefit."
To prove the point, PPBM Youth Chief - no more Armada - said in a speech that PPBM intend to end Bumi-centric positions within two terms. Syed Saddiq would not have uttered such words without consent of party elders.
The question now: Is that how long Mahathir plan to stay as PM again? Another question: Has Mahathir milked the Malay dry?
Prof Syed Hussein Alattas classic, The myth of the lazy natives" had long debunked this colonial capitalist view.
This narrative of Mahathir's attempt to reach out to the nuovo Malay voters disgusted with his past approach of spoon feeding Malays.
He is taking advantage of the new voters ignorance of history and past background behind his comments. However, he may have outdone himself to insult graduates driving Uber on the side and retail entrepreneurs selling nasi lemak.
It is not just a reflection of Mahathir's unchanged old school thinking but a manifestation of a deeply imbedded psyche to look down on Malay culture and its Islamic tradition.
Keen followers of politics should notice his glaring bitter resentment towards PAS and the vitriolic insults of clergy "ulamak" in his political rhetorics. There are those that saw it has his unbounded revenge for his 1969 loss to PAS.
The current criticism of Malays is beyond his violent disagreement with Najib's generous assistance for the lower economic class Malay that is not in-sync with his capitalism philosophy. He labelled Najib as "boros" and corrupt to take political advantage of growing pain of transformation.
Deeply imbedded hatred
Perhaps Mahathir's attitude could be better explained by his deeply imbedded psychological hatred towards Malay aristocrasy. Raja Petra's link from The Third Force website reproduced below:
Mahathir’s father taught him to hate aristocratsThe expected reaction to this revelation would be to ridicule Raja Petra and in the past, to ridicule this blog's credibility for quoting RPK. However, having heard a first hand account of Mahathir's past from an elderly sources, it is hard to dispel RPK's revelation.
August 1, 2017
Raggie Jessy“Mahathir was born to the family of Mohamad bin Iskandar Kutty, a man of Keralan descent who despised aristocrats just the way his ancestors did. Being the first Indian community to embrace communism, Keralans are opposed to members of Indian royalty who typically refer to themselves as the descendants of Gods”
THE THIRD FORCE
One of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s biggest grouses against the late Tunku Abdul Rahman was the latter’s penchant for spending leisure hours at bars, dance lounges and golf courses. During his first term as parliamentarian for the Kuala Kedah constituency, Mahathir confided in his peers that the Tunku’s mannerisms was “what you’d expect from a member of Royalty born with a golden spoon in his mouth.”
As a matter of fact, it wasn’t just Mahathir, but his own father, Mohamad bin Iskandar Kutty (fondly referred to as Master Mohamad), who had problems with the Tunku. Back in the 1910’s, the Tunku was a ‘spoilt brat’ who would impress upon schoolmates that he was the son of a ruler and needed to be revered. Very often, during recess, the young Tunku would parade around the school grounds accompanied by ‘loyalists’ who would demand ‘sembah’ (obeisance) from other pupils.
Master Mohamad was a headmaster at the “Government English School” (or GES, later renamed Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid) where the Tunku studied. At one point, he was forced to approach the Tunku’s mother to seek her ‘permission’ to discipline her son. Mahathir’s dad found it most annoying that the young Tunku would arrive to school on the shoulders of an aged and hunching palace attendant “who seemed as if his life was draining from him.”
As a matter of fact, he would often find the Tunku loitering around the school compound garbed in a gold-laced scarf (typical of the Keralan Manja Thunni) along with other palace regalia. In the Tunku’s memoir’s (as they were related to a former historian, unpublished), he confessed to joking with Mahathir one day about how Master Mohamad had disciplined him before expressing “shock” at Mahathir’s reply.
“That joker had the cheek to tell me right on my face that his father reminded him every other day not to become arrogant like me. The cheek of him…”
That, according to Tunku, may have been the primary reason why Mahathir detested the aristocratic class “to a degree that was so perplexing.”
“I often asked (Tunku) Abdullah what had gotten into that Paki (bursts into laughter).”
Yes, “that Paki.”
The Tunku, who traced his ancestry to the Thais through his mother, often joked about how persons of Indian heritage – particularly the Keralans – were a cunning breed of “Manja Thunnis” (an old Keralan reference to a yellow/golden laced cloth, worn by traditional Keralans around the waist). The Tunku was probably referring to tales of Keralan assassins who would sneak up on their enemies from behind before strangling them with “Manja Thunnis.”
“He found out about it and asked Abdullah, who then asked me if the rumour was true that I referred to him as “that Paki” and spoke of Manja Thunnis. Abdullah related to me that the Kedah boy was slighted by it and felt it unbecoming of me to do that. Ah…the sensitive brat…”
According to the Tunku, Mahathir often confided in Abdullah that the Tunku was a hypocrite for invoking his (Mahathir’s) Indian lineage, a secret Abdullah kept with Mahathir and, as the Tunku put it, “probably even the guy who sold chendol, who knows…but I knew.”
Yes, ladies and gentlemen.
Once upon a time, Mahathir used to confide in a certain Tunku Abdullah bin Tuanku Abdul Rahman – a flamboyant playboy and member of the Negeri Sembilan Royal family – that he had no qualms “with his Indian heritage” and wished the Tunku (Tunku Abdul Rahman) would “see people beyond their skin colour and ancestry.”
“That Mahathir never forgave me for being a kid born to a rich family. I was just being a kid, born with a golden spoon in my mouth. It wasn’t my fault. I was a spoilt brat, and Master Mohamad half-fixed me. Bloody hell, he (Mahathir) wasn’t even born then.”
The Tunku may have been right.
The fact is, Mahathir was born to the family of Mohamad bin Iskandar Kutty, a man of Keralan descent who despised aristocrats just the way his ancestors did. Being the first Indian community to embrace communism, Keralans are opposed to members of Indian royalty who typically refer to themselves as the descendants of Gods.
Mahathir was probably indoctrinated to despise aristocrats the way his father did. So perplexing was his detest for rulers, in 1992, he emasculated the Monarchical institution just to turn his administration into a full-fledged dictatorship. If there is one thing the former premier can never tolerate, it is the idea of an aristocrat leading the country beyond his natural lifespan.
And that is one reason why he wants Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak removed as Prime Minister at all cost, as soon as possible.
To be continued…
It came from a former PAS youth leader, who was involved in PAS's Ustaz Yusof Rawa (father of PAN's Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa) campaign to beat Mahathir at the 1969 general election for Kota Setar seat.
Initially he intended to support UMNO but was discouraged by family, friends and his kampong community resentment towards Mahathir's family. In not so many words, Mahathir's family was seen as vocal and irritating in their critical assessment of Malay life and culture.
Mahathir's views of Malays never wavered and it was told by former ITM students he got close to during his wilderness out of UMNO, without job and living near the Jalan Osman campus.
The former PAS youth leader said Mahathir resented the discriminatory treatment towards his immigrant father at school. His rank as School Master should entitled him to be a Kedah Kelab member but he was rejected by the aristocrat members.
One could guess they had no tolerance to Master Iskandar Kutty's Indian tendency to be vocal and confrontational. Denied his drop, he fulfilled his craving for alcohol at a toddy shop near the Alor Setar rail station.
It was sadly a classic case of scarred for life, but his ego and vengance became destructive to the Malays and Malaysia. Mahathir's return "Bukan Selamatkan Malaysia, tetapi Selamat Jalankan Melayu". Raja Petra see him as more interested to Selamatkan Mukhriz.