KUALA LUMPUR: Another Perikatan Nasional (PN) leader has condemned Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the latter's remarks which questioned the loyalty of Malaysian Indians and Chinese in the country.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal nevertheless acknowledged and recognised the source of Dr Mahathir's frustration, which was the failure of the country's nation-building efforts.
"I think his mistake was when he 'generalised' matters.. He should make clear qualifiers to the comments.
"For example, those Malaysian Indians or Chinese or even Malays who have failed to understand the culture, the tradition and also to comprehend and speak proper Bahasa (Melayu, the) national language.
"And also having a communal mentality. Meaning to say people who do not mix along with other races, living on their own, claiming to be Malaysians. This is wrong," he told the New Straits Times.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, who is also the Machang member of Parliament, was asked to comment on a statement by Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau, who had criticised Dr Mahathir for questioning the loyalty of the Indian community in Malaysia.
Lau also said that he will raise the matter related to Dr Mahathir's remarks in the next PN meeting this week.
"So, I condemn Dr Mahathir for 'over generalising' Malaysian Indians and Chinese, who he deemed to be disloyal.
"I also acknowledge and recognise the source of his frustration, which is the failure of our nation building in creating a cohesive and true national identity called Bangsa Malaysia.
"This shows the failure of nation building efforts for the past 60 years. Therefore, hard questions must be asked... What went wrong?" said Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, who was the deputy national unity minister during the previous PN-led federal administration.
During an interview with a Chennai-based Indian satellite television channel Thanthi TV recently, Dr Mahathir was of the view that Malaysian Indians and Chinese are not completely loyal to the country as they still want to identify themselves with their respective countries of origin.
Dr Mahathir also stood by his previous remarks that Malaysia belongs to the people who founded the country.
