Mahathir’s statement against multiracial Malaysia a ‘desperate attempt’ to be relevant: PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday (Jul 10) called former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s outcry against the concept of a multiracial Malaysia as the latter’s “desperate attempt” to be relevant.

“The ex-prime minister lost his deposit in Langkawi. I don’t think we should take him very seriously … (This is his) last desperate attempt to be seen (as) relevant,” said Mr Anwar at the International Malaysia Law Conference. 

During the 15th General Election (GE15) in November last year, Dr Mahathir failed to defend his Langkawi seat and lost his deposit after securing 4,566 out of 25,463 votes. It was his first electoral defeat in 53 years. 

Mr Anwar stressed on Monday that the constitution protects the welfare of all citizens in Malaysia. 

“The constitution is very clear on the position of the Malays but the constitution is also clear to protect the welfare of all citizens in this country … The future is for all Malaysians,” he said. 

He also criticised those who were “stuck” focusing on who Malaysia belongs to. 

“I can't understand why, in 2023, we are stuck. We are not talking about governance, we are not talking about economic advancement or digital technology; we are stuck on who this country belongs (to),” he said. 

The prime minister then challenged those who claim to want to help the Malays to surrender half their wealth to the community. 

Last Tuesday, Dr Mahathir maintained that a multiracial Malaysia will erode Malay rights and make them “poor”.

He was doubling down on his statement the day before that promoting a multiracial Malaysia is unconstitutional, arguing that the federal constitution never mentioned that Malaysia was multiracial.

He later warned in a Twitter post last Friday that the constitution can be amended to convert Malaysia into a multiracial country. 

“The Constitution can be amended if two-thirds of the members of the House of Parliament agree. If an agreement is reached, Malaysia can be converted into a multiracial country.

“If the Malays want to eliminate the Malayness of this country, just support the interpretation of this country as a multiracial country,” he said. 

In another Twitter post on Tuesday, Dr Mahathir claimed: “The population may be multiracial. But it does not mean that this country has ceased to be a Malay country.”

Dr Mahathir has also previously warned about the potential erosion of Malay rights under the current government.

Since failing to defend his Langkawi seat during GE15, he has authored a Malay Proclamation that purportedly aims to protect the interests of Malays, and has been questioned by police over this campaign.