Dr Mahathir's 'racist remarks' draw flak - NST

By : M. Husairy Othman, Ridzwan Abdullah and Eileen Ng

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malays have every reason to fight for their rights, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as non-Bumiputera groups again lamented over the former prime minister's apparently racist line.

He claimed Malaysia was the only nation in the world where the main ethnic group had admitted other races and endowed them with rights.

"We (the Malays) are not the type to protest and have accepted those who came to the country.

"We even accorded them rights unlike other countries," he said at a talk titled "The Future of Malaysian Malays" organised by Warisan Pekembar, a non-governmental organisation, in Teluk Intan on Saturday.

Some 2,000 people attended the hour-long event.

In an immediate response, Gerakan secretary-general Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye said national unity was crucial to meeting the challenges of the present day.

[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Frontpage/2268823/Article/index_html]