TTF: Following is a news editorial adapted from the NST Online (original editorial far below) that was reproduced (lines in blue) to incorporate reactions by TTF (lines in red):
NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad voiced his fear that Malays and the Bumiputera would not be able to compete if Malaysia welcomes a flood of traders and entrepreneurs from China.
The prime minister said the traders and entrepreneurs differed from the Chinese who have been in Malaysia for generations, who were originally involved in small businesses and started out as labourers.
TTF: Mahathir has to be specific and point out at which point in time was there a suggestion to welcome “a flood of traders and entrepreneurs from China.”
To my knowledge, there was none.
As a matter of fact, the administration of Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak undertook in agreements with the Government of China and Chinese companies to embark on mega projects that offered employment opportunities to hundreds of locals.
Not only did these locals far outnumber Chinese nationals, many were hired in senior executive positions and gained immense benefits through technology and knowledge transfers.
NST: “Today, the children of our Chinese people have achieved success. Some have become millionaires, their businesses have grown while they also own skyscrapers.
“If we bring in another three million people from China, what will happen to us? They are strong, able, knowledgeable in business; they come not as labourers but as successful entrepreneurs.
TTF: Back in the eighties and nineties, Mahathir turned a significant number of Chinese from millionaires to multibillionaires in no time at all.
These Chinese ended up becoming his cronies and were fed multibillion ringgit projects through direct negotiations.
In return, they helped him stuff his war chests with millions upon millions of ringgit to help bankroll UMNO and national elections with the intent of keeping him in power.
NST: “I am certain that if we bring in three million more people from China, we will lose our place. The rich among them will buy our land. We will be moved further from the city until we have to live next to the jungle.
“This is what I am seeing. Singapore was once ours, and now we cannot dominate Singapore because our people cannot compete with the Chinese,” he said.
TTF: Again, at which point in time was there a suggestion to welcome “a flood of traders and entrepreneurs from China?”
And what’s with all the talk about “dominating Singapore?”
Back when the southern republic was a part of Malaysia, Mahathir practically insulted the late Lee Kuan Yew in parliament and accused him of being a Chinese chauvinist.
On the 25th of May 1965, Mahathir stood up in Parliament and said:
“When it is examined carefully, it will be found that the PAP (Lee Kuan Yew’s party) has retained a hold mainly over matters which will affect the Chinese and their chauvinist ideas. National language is one of those things which tend to create disaffection among China-orientated Chinese. Playing to chauvinist ideas , the PAP retained multi-lingualism, while paying lip-service to the national language. The target date for accepting the National language is ignored by the PAP.”
While that may have been an accurate depiction of the late Singaporean premier back in the sixties, Mahathir took it upon himself to erect a ‘diplomatic barrier’ in the years that followed by accusing the island republic of being a bad neighbour.
Then, when Tun Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi attempted to break that barrier by calling off the much abhorred crooked bridge project, Mahathir immediately accused the Government of Malaysia (GoM) of being cowardly.
That bridge, though non-existent, remains ingrained in our memories to this day as “the crossing that would have further divided Malaysians and Singaporeans.”
It symbolised the extremes to which Mahathir was willing to go just to feed his ego and satisfy his whims.
As a matter of fact, back in the eighties and nineties, we became accustomed to hearing Mahathir dish out unfounded theories about how Singaporeans were “bullies” who “expected us to do everything they said.”
Come to think of it, Mahathir was even known to have accused the Singaporean administration of “keeping the Malays under its heels.”
Now, can you imagine how the Singaporean government would have felt?
Did it not occur to Mahathir that Singapore became hostile towards us simply because he lacked diplomacy and constantly accused the Southern Republic of being chauvinist?
If you were to have been the late Lee Kuan Yew, would you not have told your cabinet to “keep a ten foot pole distance from Mahathir and focus instead on developing your own nation?”
Is it not obvious that the reason we never worked closely with the Singaporean Chinese is because Mahathir himself was too egotistical to learn from them?
So what’s with all this talk about “our people not being able to compete” with them?
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad voiced his fear that Malays and the Bumiputera would not be able to compete if Malaysia welcomes a flood of traders and entrepreneurs from China.
The prime minister said the traders and entrepreneurs differed from the Chinese who have been in Malaysia for generations, who were originally involved in small businesses and started out as labourers.
“Today, the children of our Chinese people have achieved success. Some have become millionaires, their businesses have grown while they also own skyscrapers.
“If we bring in another three million people from China, what will happen to us? They are strong, able, knowledgeable in business; they come not as labourers but as successful entrepreneurs.
“Can we compete with them?”
Dr Mahathir was speaking during a question-and-answer session at the Congress on Future of Bumiputera and the Nation 2018 at the KL Convention Centre on Saturday.
Dr Mahathir said the presence of numerous traders and entrepreneurs could also see the Bumiputera and Malays lose their place.
“I am certain that if we bring in three million more people from China, we will lose our place. The rich among them will buy our land. We will be moved further from the city until we have to live next to the jungle.
“This is what I am seeing. Singapore was once ours, and now we cannot dominate Singapore because our people cannot compete with the Chinese,” he said.
Adapted from: NST Online
