Dr M: 1999 polls proved I’m no extremist

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan chairman and former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has cited his survival of the political turmoil of the late 1990s as proof that he is not a Malay extremist as alleged by some of his critics.

Addressing youths in a town hall session at the Petaling Jaya community library last night, he recalled that he won the 1999 election largely on Chinese support because Malays voted against him out of anger over the sacking, jailing and physical assault of his erstwhile deputy, Anwar Ibrahim.

“When I became deputy prime minister (in 1976), the Chinese were agitated because they thought I would be a threat to them,” he said.

“Yet, in 1999, when the Malays went against me because of Anwar Ibrahim’s black eye, the Chinese supported me and I won a two-third majority.

“If I was an extremist Malay, the Chinese wouldn’t have supported me to that extent. So I don’t know why I am always labelled as an extremist.”

The “black eye” incident happened a few weeks after Anwar was sacked from the government in late 1998. While in police custody, he was beaten by Abdul Rahim Noor, who was inspector-general of police at the time.

Rahim was subsequently found guilty of assault and jailed for two months in 2000. He was also fined RM2,000 when the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in April 2001. He later made a public apology to Anwar and paid an undisclosed amount in damages.

Addressing a question from the audience last night, Mahathir said most moderate Malays were against pro-Bumiputera affirmative action, but he did not disclose whether he was one of them.

However, he added that he believed in meritocracy.

Addressing the question of ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy), he challenged its advocates to prove that they indeed had supreme attributes.

“If you want to be a tuan, you need to improve yourself,” he said. -FMT