Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made scathing remarks to the Malay community in particular on the second anniversary of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU).
He said the foreigners are finding jobs in Malaysia because ‘we do not want to work’. He addressed his message to the Malay community of Malaysia.
“I dare claim that we are lazy, we are more willing to hand over our jobs to others. Today we find that many foreigners come to work in our country. Why? Because we do not want to work. Go to the office and you can’t find your workers
“Yes, the job is tough. Maybe even dirty and dangerous. We only want light jobs, in airconditioned offices (or factories). But there also our productivity is low,” Dr Mahathir said.
Dr Mahathir said every Malay should dare do their mea-culpa and correct their mistakes to get the blessings of God Almighty.
He listed down other mistakes which he says the Malays are committing.
1. The Malays do not work as hard as others
2. The Malays are not very responsible
3. The Malays are not cautious in decision making
4. The Malays lack knowledge in decision making
5. Malays prefer to hand over their jobs to others
6. The Malays are quick to claim rights. Want high salary but often take medical leave when we want to be absent from work
7. Malays break promises easily
8. The Malays are not reluctant to take goods or money that belongs to others
9. The Malays do not like to repay their debts
10. The Malays do not feel shy if they did not pay their debts
11. The Malays have no shame and no qualms if they are said to be untruthful
12. The Malays are not shy at all for failing to do their job
13. The Malays do not care about the quality of what comes out of their efforts
“Whatever the reasons given the fact is that we do not pay our debts. For the individual, it is a small matter. But for the race, it is destructive towards trust in us. People do not like to loan us money. Even Banks are not willing to give loans to the Malays because they believe they will not repay the loans.
“This poses a problem to the Malay business community, it is difficult to borrow capital. So we get mad at the banks. Do not backstab us because others are stingy. But we are well-known as a very stingy race. Hence we are castigated as an untrustworthy race,” said Dr Mahathir.
“Culture, the value of life, good character is said to be good because it’s good for us. We will succeed if we own and practice good values. There are many good values in life.
“But I recall only three here. That is to be diligent, trustworthy and the feeling of shame. With these three elements, we can be successful, we can compete with others and win in any competition. Try it,” Dr Mahathir said.