YOURSAY ‘Voters want a gov’t of clean people, irrespective of their race.'
Dr M: Rising racial tension threatens peace
WDA: Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad, BN fared badly in 2008 and 2013 because the opposition parties were united and grew in strength under the leadership of your nemesis - Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The voters have also become more informed, thanks to the alternative media. Pakatan Rakyat is not reliant on the mainstream media anymore.
You also see the rise of young and talented leaders in Pakatan, such as Rafizi Ramli, Tony Pua, and Nurul Izzah, just to name a few. You don't see any youthful potentials on BN’s side.
You were partially right about the slogan "Ini Kalilah". The people were ready and eager for change.
This was because they were fed up with the highly corrupt BN government with its unfair policies. The last thing on the pro-opposition voters’ minds was for any race to dominate any field.
What they wanted was for the government to be "dominated" with clean, talented, responsible, intelligent and highly effective people, irrespective of their race. Be a statesman and bring the people together and not fight one another.
Tan Kim Keong: Veiled remarks all over - Mahathir relies on innuendos to convey that draconian laws should be used to maintain supremacy and dominance. It's so sad to witness a dictator in a 80-something year old man.
Senior: There is no racial tension. Tension, if any, is caused by religious bigots.
CHKS: This is not the first time he kept saying that DAP is the one who "dangled before the Chinese the possibility of having both political and economic dominance".
I think DAP should sue him for this. Never did DAP suggest that. DAP suggest equal sharing, weed out corruption, cronyism, and a fair share for the poor. In fact, multi-racial harmony is only possible in Pakatan.
The ‘Turun’ rally is a sign that different races can still come together as one. It is only BN who stokes the fire.
PK: Mahathir may be right, "Malaysians, be they Malays, Chinese, Indians or the native of Sabah and Sarawak must banish from their minds the idea of racial dominance. This country must be shared, and shared fair by all the races," Mahathir said.
Then, please define "fair sharing by all races" in real terms. Is there no attempt to place racial dominance above all else in the present scenario? Or economic and political dominance by one race? Just ask the people on the ground and get the real sentiment of the rakyat.
Unafraid: Mahathir, true to his devious nature, twists and turns the truth again. The real truth is that the Chinese are not interested in getting more power.
They recognise and accept the rights and privileges of the Malays as enshrined in the constitution. The Chinese are only asking for their rights in the constitution. So are the Christians.
That’s all they ask. But what is clearly obvious lately, is the rise of Malay and Islamic dominance that robs the Chinese and also the Christians, bumiputera Christians included, of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution.
That's the root cause of all the problems. The Chinese and the non-Muslims do not want to grab any power, political or economic, from the Malays. They only want to be left in peace to live as rightful citizens in their country called Malaysia. Is this wrong?
Anonymous Malaysian: If there is one thing here I would agree is that Malaysians should foster a habit to call themselves Malaysians, instead of Malay, Indian, or Chinese.
I would say the root of this problem mainly stems from education system. Instead of instilling patriotism in us, from a very young age, the education system divides us.
I'm not sure if it’s the Education Blueprint, or the teachers who deliver the education, but one thing I am sure to note is that it miserably fails to promote patriotism.
Just to imply that liberating policies of the new BN government was a mistake, contradicts with what Mahathir is talking about in the first place.
If we are all Malaysians, then why does it matter if it’s a Malay, Indian or Chinese that is controlling the economic and political power? Shouldn't the scenario be that the one who works the hardest reaps the greatest benefits?
Hold Awam Accountable: The maestro of racial tension does not seem to understand that his old methods no longer work. Across all races, people are smarter, less easily frightened and stirred to violence.
He still has his bedraggled bunch of loyalists, but they all look pathetic... including Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali who was handed the opportunity by BN to capture a parliamentary seat but was rejected by the people.
Armageddon: We respect the government because they won the last election. We only dislike the political party running it. Can Perkasa differentiate the difference?
Ipohcrite: The rise in racial tensions is simply due to the BN government. The adjective "weak" or "weakened" used to describe the BN government by Mahathir is mere justification to paper over the failure of the BN government, the foundations of which were laid by Mahathir himself.
NoBN4me: Mahathir said the Chinese gives victory only to those who believe in throwing out the sharing concept. Does this make sense?
Rather, it sounds more like an insult to the Chinese. He is actually selling a theory to the Malays. So who is causing racial hatred?
Myop101: Mahathir, we are tired of being used as the bogeyman for all your whims and fancies. We are happy with anyone ruling us as long as that person is transparent, accountable, just, and rakyat-minded.
We know the poor need help and we are never against policies that meant to uplift them. But when a policy creates and perpetuates the elite to the detriment of the real recipients, something must be changed to stop that. Don't you get it?
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