Mahathir revives racial doctrine
In a bid to drive a wedge between Malays and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, former leader Mahathir Mohamad is resurrecting the doctrine of Malay supremacy that brought him to power nearly 30 years ago.
In his travels around Malaysia in recent weeks, Dr Mahathir has urged Malays to rise up and prevent other races from gaining the upper hand.
He says minority Chinese and Indians have gained politically at the expense of Malays.
'If this continues we will not be masters in our own country,' he told about 2,000 Malays at a meeting in Kedah state on May 17.
'If we do not speak up, if we choose to keep quiet, we will lose our rights and the other races will take over,' he told another meeting in Johore state on May 19.
'All the special rights of the Malays are being challenged and questioned. And the Malays cannot do anything to strengthen their position,' he wrote.
Dr Mahathir has been relentless in his attacks on Mr Abdullah since the March 8 election, in which the ruling National Front coalition lost five state governments and its two-thirds majority in Parliament.
He has urged members of Mr Abdullah's dominant party in the coalition, the United Malays National Organisation, to follow his lead and quit the party until the prime minister is ousted.
Dr Mahathir's latest tactic is alarming ethnic-minority politicians.
'This is incendiary talk and we are worried. We don't know how far this will go,' said ethnic-Chinese politician Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the Democratic Action Party, which rules Penang and is a partner in three other opposition-ruled states.
Dr Mahathir started in the 1960s demanding that Malays rise up to save the country from non-Malays. His book The Malay Dilemma spelled out his policies of Malay supremacy.
But after becoming prime minister in 1981, he changed tack and became a vocal defender of multiculturalism, coining the term bangsa Malaysia, or Malaysian race, as a more appropriate target.
Human rights lawyer Param Kumaraswamy has suggested Dr Mahathir be arrested and held without trial under the Internal Security Act to stop him inciting racial hatred.
'Frustrated and unable to impose his will on us all, he is resorting to racial tactics which could destabilise the country,' Mr Param said.
Dr Mahathir has warned ruling-party members that if Mr Abdullah is not forced out soon, opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, who backs a multiracial ideal, is sure to become prime minister.
Dr Mahathir's views are being taken seriously by some sectors of Malay society, warn some observers.
'He is no ordinary individual - his views resonate among some Malays,' said a former senior editor of Utusan Malaysia, a mass-circulation Malay daily.
