Dr M must share blame for frayed race relations, says ex-Umno MP

Free Malaysia Today

23-05-2025

Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock, and VT Sambanthan are widely recognised as three of the country's founding fathers who ensured that their respective communities contributed to nation-building.
PETALING JAYA : A former Umno MP says Dr Mahathir Mohamad must take some of the blame for the deterioration of race relations in Malaysia—a decline the former prime minister claims accelerated after he resigned in 2003.
Tawfik Ismail said Mahathir's decision to focus on policies such as Malaysia Incorporated, which encourages closer collaboration between the public and private sectors, meant that other policies aimed at fostering unity had to take a back seat.
He stated the nation's founding fathers had formed a multiracial leadership and approached the pressing issues of their time from a realistic standpoint.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock, and VT Sambanthan are widely recognised as three of the country's founding fathers.
Tawfik — the son of Malaysia's second deputy prime minister, Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman — said the trio formed a coalition of patriots and ensured that their respective communities contributed to nation-building.
Tawfik Ismail.
'The spirit of 'give and take' was their guiding force,' the Sungai Benut MP from 1986 to 1990, told FMT.
But when Mahathir came to power in 1981, Tawfik said policies and ideologies which were designed to fix race-relations after the 1969 racial riots, such as the Rukun Negara, became less of a priority.
In some cases these post-May 13 policies were exploited, like the New Economic Policy.
Tawfik said that Mahathir's administration had failed to put to good use the legal safeguards for Malay rights established after the May 13 riots and capitalised on them to push for greater Malay dominance, including in the private sector.
Following the race riots, the Federal Constitution was amended to prohibit any challenge to the special privileges of Bumiputeras, Islam, and Malay as the national language.
'It was an attempt to moderate race-based politics and Rukun Negara was made as the national ideology. But Mahathir did not take these as foundation stones for nation building and instead entrenched Malay dominance in all sectors.'
Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
On May 8, Mahathir told FMT the racial divide in the country appeared to be widening and was more pronounced than during his time in office.
Mahathir attributed racial tensions to the absence of a unifying national language and race-based political parties. He contrasted this with the relative harmony in neighbouring countries with sizeable Chinese populations, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
Wong Chin Huat, a political scientist at Sunway University, took aim at Mahathir, claiming that the perceived racial calm during his tenure as prime minister stemmed from his authoritarian rule.
Wong Chin Huat.
He said Mahathir subscribed to the belief that Malaysia belongs to the Malays, disregarding the perspectives of minorities—including those from Sabah and Sarawak—and framing national unity as contingent upon their assimilation.
'His ideas were shaped by the narrow nationalism and authoritarianism in the Cold War era. These are very last century (ideas).'
Wong also suggested that Malaysia follow in Indonesia's footsteps by dismantling the excessive concentration of federal power to reduce the fear among Malays that the government could fall into the hands of other communities.
'If Malays can feel politically secure like Indonesian Muslims, the ethno-religious tensions that Mahathir laments would fade away,' he added.