Dr M slams Obama; Kadir Jasin approves Zahid

Dr M slams Obama; Kadir Jasin approves Zahid

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today accused the United States of being a hypocrite in telling Malaysia to give equal opportunities to non-Muslims when there is no equality in their own country.

He said unlike the US, Malaysia had allowed Chinese immigrants to get rich and those from India to become lawyers and doctors.

Dr Mahathir said this while commenting on US President Barack Obama's remarks at a young leaders town hall meeting in Universiti Malaya recently where the president had said that Malaysia must ensure non-Muslims in the country also have equal opportunites as its Muslim majority if it wanted to continue prospering.

Dr Mahathir said 1 per cent of the United States population controlled all the wealth in the country while the remaining 99 per cent were poor.

"Indians are lawyers in Malaysia, many of them are also professional doctors," Dr Mahathir said.
"Do you see the Chinese as being the poorest people in Malaysia?
"This is why I do not agree with Obama, I agree with Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz that there is inequality in the United States," Dr Mahathir said.
At the same town hall meeting, Obama had said that non-Muslims in Malaysia were currently facing hostility, and some have felt oppressed.
"There should not be any reason to discriminate, and you have to make sure that you are speaking out against this in daily life," he had added.

Sharing the same page with Dr Mahathir is former NSTP group editor-in-chief A Kadir Jasin who said Obama was trying to meddle in Malaysia's domestic affairs by telling the government 'what to do and not to to'.

And Kadi is not alone. Criticism of Obama continued to pour in from Umno supporters over his insinuations that Malaysia discriminated against non-Muslims.

Kadir, who described Obama's statements as a form of foreign interference in Malaysia’s affairs and a provocation, also criticised Datuk Seri Najib Razak administration and Malay-Muslims for not responding adequately to the US president’s statement made on Sunday.

“The question is are Malay-Muslims going to keep silent in the face of interference from Obama just because there are people who are so ‘elated’ that they can ride in the same car as him or (because) he (Obama) whispers praises those people’s ear?,” Kadir wrote in hislatest posting.
Kadir may have been referring to members of Najib’s government who were responsible for organising Obama’s historic three-day visit to Malaysia.
Obama is the first sitting US president to visit Malaysia in 48 years.
The success of his visit has been attributed to Najib’s continuous efforts to build strong ties with the Obama administration since he became prime minister in 2009.
“Indirectly, Obama has elected himself as a spokesman for Malaysians who have complained to him that they are supposedly being severely discriminated against by Malay-Muslims,” Kadir said.
He also questioned the veracity of Obama’s claims that non-Muslims faced discrimination.
 “Who are the non-Muslims minorities who are oppressed, who cannot worship and who are destitute?
“What about the dozens of churches in Brickfields, Jalan Gasing and Sentul? What about the Hindu temples on every street corner, under every big tree and the one in the cave?

Kadir, however, praised Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who refuted Obama by saying that the Malaysian government was fair to all religions and gave equal opportunities to non-Muslims.

“Congratulations Ahmad Zahid. It was not a waste for Umno delegates who voted you in as the most popular vice-president in the recent elections.

“Thank God that there are still Umno faces who have not been infected by the Koro syndrome,” said Kadir.