KUALA LUMPUR – PKR Youth branches nationwide have been urged to lodge police reports against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for claiming Malaysian Indians are not loyal to the country.
M. Sathasivam, the wing’s central leadership council member said this will oblige police to investigate the 98 year-old two-time prime minister.
“I am confident police will conduct a thorough investigation into these reports,” he told reporters after lodging a report at the Travers police station, here this afternoon.
Sathasivam also reminded Dr Mahathir that he was prime minister for 22 years because he had the support of Indian and Chinese voters.
“Now when the Chinese and Indians do not support him, we are accused of disloyalty.
“Dr Mahathir must stop making such statements as it makes Malaysia’s politics look chaotic and scares off foreign investors,” Sathavisam said.
He added that such remarks were harmful to the country’s racial harmony.
So far, 50 reports have been lodged against Dr Mahathir, according to Kuala Selangor PKR chief S. Thiban, who was also at the Travers police station.
Dr Mahathir recently gave an interview to Chennai-based Tamil news channel Thanthi TV, in which he said Malaysian Indians should not call themselves Malaysians unless they identify as Malays.
He also said Malaysian Indians do not speak Malay as their mother tongue, do not practise Malay culture, customs, or traditions, and thus should not refer to Malaysia as their home country.
He considered it a “problem” when “immigrants” (Indians and Chinese) claimed the country as their own while practising their own cultures and customs.
Dr Mahathir has been slammed by several quarters, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who said it was irresponsible for the country’s former leader to state such opinions. – January 18, 2024