Mahathir Mohamad SHOCKER: 'Indians Not Loyal, Need to Shed Indian Identity to Be Malaysians'

Kuala Lumpur: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Moham has hurt Indian sentiments when he expressed his views on identity of Malaysians, particularly targeting Indian diaspora in Malaysia, in a recent online interview with a TV channel. Mahatir Mohamm sparked outrage among Indian diaspora when he said, “ Indian’s haven't been completely loyal to Malay culture and Malaysia.”

Mahathir asserted that "Malaysia belongs to people who founded Malaysia," underlining that Malaysian Indians are not entirely loyal to country due to ir continued identification with ir country of origin (India) and preservation of ir own culture. According to him, for Malaysian Indians to be considered truly Malaysian, y should identify more as ‘Malay’ and opt ‘Malay culture’. former Malaysian Premier said, “y (Indians and Chinese) are different from original people (Malay) who founded this country.”

Mahathir Alleges a Lack of Malaysian Identity in Indian Diaspora

During interview to Thanthi TV, Mahathir pointed out that Malaysian Indians often speak Tamil at home rar than Malay, official language of country. He argued, “If y want to be Malaysians, y must also remember that y are Malaysians more than immigrants from or countries.”

When asked about assimilation of non-Malays into Malay culture, Mahathir affirmed expectation, stating, "In any country, if you want to claim that you belong to that country, you must identify yourself with indigenous people of that country." He insisted that individuals claiming to belong to a country should align mselves with indigenous community.

However, when questioned about rights of Orang Asli, indigenous people of Malaysia, Mahathir disagreed.

‘I'm Not Indian’: Mahathir on His Roots of Origin

Trying to distance himself from Indian-identity, Mahathir said, “No, I'm not an Indian. I'm a Malay because I do not know Indian language, and that was a long, long time ago.”

When asked if he expects all Malaysians to follow same path, Mahathir insisted, “Yes, if y want to claim country as ir own, y must identify mselves completely with this country.”

Furr in assessing contribution of non-Malays to nation-building and economy, Mahathir stated that y have been "fairly compensated." According to him, Malaysia's political landscape allowed involvement of individuals who did not fully identify with Malay identity, and even after that, y were in federal ministration.