Wee raps Mahathir over ‘race-oriented policies’

PETALING JAYA: MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has criticised Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for wanting to continue “race-oriented policies”.

“Wealth has nothing to do with skin colour, religion or gender.

“If the Government really wants to tackle poverty, actions taken need to be directed towards the poor and not distort socio-economic issues into a topic laced with racial intonation,” Dr Wee said in a statement yesterday.

The Ayer Hitam MP was reacting to Dr Mahathir’s comments made during an interview with Channel NewsAsia on the need to continue policies to help Malays to avoid conflict between them and “richer” ethnic groups like the Chinese.

The Prime Minister said when he was in Britain, the Chinese students he met were able to study there because their parents could afford the tuition fees.

In contrast, Malay parents could not afford to have university education for their children, he said, adding that more scholarships should therefore be given to Malays.

Dr Wee urged Dr Mahathir to stop using the Chinese as a “sacrificial lamb” in his attempt to further his racial ideologies.

“The wealth disparities in Malaysia need not always be conflated with ethnicity.

“It does not matter if it is the Malay, Chinese, Indian or any races, each race has members on both ends of the income spectrum,” said Dr Wee.

He said the Government must ensure all citizens were treated fairly, and the needy and vulnerable provided with a solid social protection network, regardless of their ethnicity.

“The majority of the six million Malaysian Chinese in 2018 is working class, not dissimilar to how most bumiputras are wage-earners.

“The Chinese mostly depend on frugality, hard work and self-reliance in an attempt to accumulate wealth.

“More importantly, the Chinese value education above all else; they will strive to give the best education to their children regardless of how little money they might have,” he said.

He also lambasted the “race-oriented policies” that Dr Mahathir had introduced during his first term as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003.

“The premier would not ease up on reinforcing the fallacious stereotype that ‘the Chinese are the wealthy ones’ in order to rationalise the neglect of the interests of Malaysian Chinese.

“Whenever he starts talking about ‘the Chinese are rich’, he is knowingly attempting to segregate us Malaysians.

“How can one expect policies set forth by apartheid ideologies resolve any ill feelings that exist in a multiracial society?” Dr Wee asked.