Move forward through education, hard work: Tun M
said there was no need to talk about it if one remains a coolie.
He said the only way to move forward is through education and hard work, and not cheating or stealing.
Speaking on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Mahathir said the government was studying the effects of the trade pact that is set to come into force later this year.
He said the government is studying it thoroughly to make sure it does not have a bad effect on the economy, adding that no deadline has been set to ratify the pact.
New Zealand had announced that the 11member Pacific trade pact would come into force at the end of December and Malaysia was one of the five countries that had yet to ratify it.
Mahathir said the government will sign the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
"It would not be easy as the government needs to discuss it with everyone and there are so many races and they are sensitive about certain things."
On four Bank Negara Malaysia officers going on leave over a RM2 billion land deal, he said he only knows the land was sold to the central bank at that price.
"I do not know what happened after that or where the money went, but there is someone at the bank who knows about it and that is why an investigation is ongoing," he said.