SERDANG, Jan 16 – The government strongly objects to the statement by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysian Indians are still not completely loyal to the country, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Describing the statement as irresponsible, Anwar said Dr Mahathir, as a former prime minister who served for a long time, should not make such remarks against the Indian community or any other races in the country.
“His statement is entirely baseless, but he is known to make such a statement such as calling the Malays lazy except for himself, while Indians and Chinese are considered less loyal unless they are his cronies.
“We must respect the rights of all communities, whether majority or minority, and unite towards addressing the core issues. This kind of statement seems to divert public attention from the government’s effort to combat corruption and uphold good governance,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters after the launch of the AI Untuk Rakyat (AI for the People) programme at Universiti Putra Malaysia today, with Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli also present.
Earlier in his speech, Anwar described the former prime minister’s remarks as a form of old-fashioned thinking that could harm the country.
Dr Mahathir, in an exclusive online interview with an Indian satellite TV channel Thanthi TV recently, claimed that Malaysian Indians were still not completely loyal to the country as they were still ‘inexorably tied’ to their country of origin.
