Dr M's 'loyalty' comments disappointing, says Loke

BUTTERWORTH: It is regrettable that a statesman of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's stature is disputing the loyalty of non-Malays in the country, says Anthony Loke (pic).

The DAP secretary-general said any Malaysian who loves the country, would not agree or support Dr Mahathir's remarks.

"A leader, especially a former statesman like Dr Mahathir should not question the loyalty of any ethnic group in the country.

"I am deeply disappointed with Dr Mahathir's stance," he said during the press conference after witnessing a memorandum of understanding between Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) and Penang Housing Board (LPNPP) at The Light Hotel here on Tuesday (Jan 16).

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He said Dr Mahathir seemingly forgot that he outlined Wawasan 2020 to create Bangsa Malaysia and to unite people from different backgrounds, races and religions.

He said it was Dr Mahathir's vision but his recent statement indicated that he had forgotten what he envisioned before this.

In a recent interview with a Tamil news channel based in Chennai, India, Dr Mahathir claimed that Malaysian Indians were not completely loyal to the country because they still identify with their country of origin.

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The former premier also said that non-Malays should fully assimilate and "become Malay".

Dr Mahathir's remarks drew criticism from various leaders, with National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang saying he was disappointed with Dr Mahathir's remarks as political leaders should refrain from issuing statements that touch on religious and racial sensitivities.

Besides Aaron, acting Muda president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz said Dr Mahathir should apologise for claiming that Malaysian Indians are not loyal to the country.

Meanwhile, Loke who is also Transport Minister, said he would let MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR Corp) carry out their responsibility to evaluate the concept proposals submitted by seven local and international consortia, comprising 31 firms that represent the full spectrum of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (KL-Singapore HSR) project.

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He said he doesn't want to exert any pressure on MyHSRCorp and would allow them to independently assess and make judgments on those proposals before a decision is reached.

On Monday (Jan 15), MyHSR Corp chairman Datuk Seri Fauzi Abdul Rahman said the concept proposals for the HSR project were submitted in response to the RFI exercise that MyHSR Corp launched in July 2023 to invite local and international players from the private sector to deliver the project based on a public-private partnership initiative on the design-finance-build-operate-transfer (DFBOT) model.