SHAH ALAM - Pejuang has rubbished claims made by Penang Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy's "non-Malays don’t trust Mahathir '' narrative, stating the Malay party recognises the rights of the other party's and everyone is equal before the law.
Federal Territory Deputy Chief, Rafique Rashid Ali said the rights of non-Malays are protected under the federal constitution.
"Go to every town and you will realise that the flourishing city centres are dominated by the Chinese businesses, while the Malays are in the kampungs.
"Economic power is with the Chinese, the Malays are pushed to the semi-urban and rural areas. Painful to note but the truth hurts,” he said in a statement.
He further said that Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s 22 years of service has helped Malaysia to progress as a nation from agriculture to industrialisation, including the development of the automotive industry.
"If indeed, Mahathir was not concerned about non-Malays, why is it that every year Forbes rich list of Malaysians are dominated by non-Malays,” he asked.
Rafique, a lawyer said the argument over Mahathir’s tenure had lead to destruction compared to other Malaysian prime ministers was "laughable if not ludicrous" as it was ex-premier Najib Razak was the man who made headlines worldwide for his "immense contribution", he said in sarcasm, referring to the latter's 1MDB scandal.
"Mahathir has always been a target of such zealots like Ramasamy. They will continue to spew hatred by saying Mahathir was only known for his Chinese cronies and powerful Umno connections.
"But when it suits them, Mahathir will be labelled as the saviour. Just ask Ramasamy and his DAP (friends) who were waxing lyrical when PH-led Mahathir swept to power in May 2018,” he said.
Rafique added Pejuang is trying to achieve stability by prioritising the rakyat and to ensure Putrajaya's policies benefit the people.
Earlier today, it was reported that Ramasamy had said Mahathir should be the last person in the country to talk about the welfare and well-being of non-Malays in the country.
"Perhaps he should be talking about how he systematically undermined them politically, economically and psychologically. It is really sad that Pejuang members are being misled by Mahathir, the prime architect of Malaysia’s failure as a multiracial country," Ramasamy was quoted as saying.