Sixty-eight years after Merdeka and 62 years after the formation of Malaysia, some of our veteran politicians still talk about race and religion, in particular the “superior Malay” and the “pendatang” non-Malay.

When will he acknowledge that all Malaysians should be treated as equals and affirmative action policies be disbanded?

How long more are Malaysians to be suffocated by the discriminatory policies of the country?

One does not have to think deep and hard to know that both Malays and non-Malays have more things in common than would be suggested by rabid Umno-Baru, PAS and Bersatu bigots, that the Malays face threat from the non-Malays.

The rhetoric of the politicians is divisive and never about interaction with one another.

Both Malays and non-Malays have the same interests. They want the best education for their children, affordable housing and good healthcare for their families, employment and a decent wage.

Interestingly, on June 5, the indefatigable self-proclaimed Malay hero, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said the Malays needed to be saved and so he suggested the formation of a Malay secretariat committee for this purpose.

Speaking at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s longest serving former PM of 22 years, who also served a second tenure lasting 22 months from 2018, said, “They (Malays) need fighters to champion their cause. Right now, they don’t have a dedicated fighter. We’re not concerned with other problems; we just want to focus on one struggle—the struggle to save the Malays.”

He claimed that the protection accorded by his “big umbrella” would help address issues affecting the Malay community that he opined, the government had failed to resolve.

He said, “We have agreed to focus on Malay issues—not party matters, but issues that concern all Malays.”

With PN Chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, Bersatu Deputy President Hamzah Zainudin, and PAS Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man by his side, Dr Mahathir said the Malays faced several problems and that these issues could only be solved by the Malays leading the government.

He said, “That is why our struggle is to find a way to return to power, so we can address these problems.”

He alleged that the Malays faced many constitutional issues and said one issue was that the Malay language no longer held its position as the national language.

Instead of thinking of only the Malays, Dr Mahathir should dedicate a “big umbrella” to protect all Malaysians, irrespective of their origins.

He kept repeating that the Malays failed to understand the dangers they face.

He claimed that the villagers were unaware of these dangers, that there was no freedom of speech and that one had to be careful about speaking out, because what was said would not be published by newspapers.

Mahathir’s suggestion was to organize an informal movement termed the “big umbrella” with all Malays to be united under this one group.

It is indeed puzzling to know that Dr Mahathir fears that the Malays are being threatened by the non-Malays. How is this possible?

As far as most Malaysians know, the Malays already wield power and influence.

They are the heads of many government departments. They are in the top roles in GLCs. They are the leaders and chiefs in the police and the armed forces.

In reality, many Malays are already in decision-making roles in government. So why does Mahathir pretend that he is not aware of this?

The Sultans are Malay; the civil service is predominantly Malay; as are the armed forces personnel.

The official religion is Islam and the guardian of Islam in the respective states are the Sultans, who are Malay. And students in public universities are mostly Malay.

However, Dr Mahathir was right about the rural Malay being “unaware,” and that is only because he is too busy trying to make ends meet. Moreover, he has no control over policy-making.

The main threat faced by rural Malays is the brainwashing perpetuated by divisive politicians.

Dr Mahathir needs to be told that the threat to the nation is actually from the bigots and racist politicians.

Hence, if change and progress are to come to Malaysia, we need to convince the urban Malays, the ones who are in charge of policy-making and who are the decision-makers, to think of the rakyat as Malaysians instead of separate groups of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Some elite Malays need to stop being non-committal and apathetic because they are happy to enjoy the perks and ill-gotten gains of being the self-appointed Superior Ketuanan race, and they lord it over the other races.

Will these manipulative Malays realize that nothing lasts forever?

Instead of thinking of only the Malays, Dr Mahathir should dedicate a “big umbrella” to protect all Malaysians, irrespective of their origins.

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)