I am disgusted with the statement by Mukhriz Mahathir that the May 13, 1969 incident should be seen as a ‘blessing’. I wonder whether Mukhriz, coming from a privileged family, realised the pain and sufferings that Malaysians had to go through because of the tragedy.

Perhaps Mukhriz was too young to remember the May 13 tragedy himself, but his statement, which clearly show how he is willing to make light something so significant, for, what I can only conclude, his own political advancement, sickened me to the core.

A total of 184 people died in that tragedy and more than 350 people were injured. Buildings were burnt down and hundreds of vehicles damaged. Children lost their parents. Shops, schools were shut down. People were living in fear. The country was literally in the state of emergency.

The psychological horror that haunted thousands and millions of Malaysians for many years to come can never, in whatever context, be regarded as a ‘blessing’.

The trauma that the country experienced, the years of trying to pick up the pieces and the unspoken suspicion that all races had against each other for many years, could never, never be seen as a ‘blessing’.

I am sickened by the thought that somebody who is positioning himself as the country's future leader could be so insensitive and so condescending.

By making that statement, Mukhriz clearly demonstrates his inability to understand not only the full impact of the tragedy, but the essence of this country that he claims to care so much.

His statement is an insult to not only the people that were directly aggrieved by the tragedy, but to all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and political belief.