Ex-AG under fire over ‘failed Malay govt’ remark

Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas was reported to have said that non-Malays were sidelined in the Malay-dominated Cabinet.

PETALING JAYA: The National Council of Professors has accused former attorney-general Tommy Thomas of making a racist statement by suggesting that the opposition tell the public a “Malay government” had failed.

The council’s president Raduan Che Rose said Thomas’s remarks were irresponsible as they could affect ties between people of various communities. He alleged the remark was also seditious.

“Claiming that the government was dominated by a certain race is extremely inaccurate as the government also comprises other communities, who are represented by MCA and MIC,” he said in a statement. The government also has representatives from Sabah and Sarawak parties.

Thomas had made the remark while speaking at a public forum on Saturday. He urged the opposition to get voters to ask themselves whether a “Malay government” had made the country better and more efficient.

He said Dr Mahathir Mohamad had resigned as prime minister because of the impression that the government was not “Malay enough”. However, two and a half years after his resignation, the Cabinet was dominated by Malays and non-Malays had been sidelined, he was reported to have said.

Raduan defended the current government of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and said the economy had recorded 8.9% growth for the second quarter of this year, the highest rate in Southeast Asia.

He said the growth rate was a clear indication that the policies of the current government had helped to rebuild confidence and ensured that economic recovery was on the right track.

Raduan also said Malaysia was listed as the world’s third most competitive location for global business services, behind India and China.

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