KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is being provocative because he has nothing better to do in his old age, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.
Zahid said the 97-year-old’s antics aren’t anything to be surprised about and he does not want to react too much to what Dr Mahathir says as he has used a similar template in the past to get attention.
“I think I will leave it to the prime minister to reply but I think you know, knowing him, he will like to be provocative and I don’t intend to answer to his provocation,” Zahid told reporters at his ministry today.
When pressed if he felt Dr Mahathir was purposely stoking racial sentiments as the state elections approach, he said: “That’s been his thinking, you know, he uses this template to provoke others for him to continuously (be) alert, because at his age I think he needs that to carry on with life.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir accused the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of attempting to turn Malaysia secular and multi-ethnic.
He claimed in a brief Facebook post that promoting multiracialism is against the Federal Constitution, which he alleged instead endorses the “Malayness” of the country.
He claimed Anwar was being controlled by DAP MPs and that the Constitution does not explicitly state that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, Article 8 guarantees equality among citizens and that no one should be discriminated against based on their ethnicity.
Meanwhile, Zahid, in his capacity as the rural and regional development minister, said they were taking proactive steps to ensuring the price of goods does not increase.
He said there were still price hikes in certain high-density areas where a lot of hardcore poor and lower income families live.
He said the ministry is looking at price, supply, and demand to ascertain how to lower the price of goods.
“We’ve managed to control the prices of goods while the prices of controlled items are steady. If we can manage this, we can reduce the market prices of these essential goods.
“We are also looking to subsidise small contractors for their cement costs so they can go about with their restoration and development projects, especially in rural areas.
“We want everyone to be given an opportunity to benefit from these government incentives and we hope it can alleviate some of the financial burden on them,” he said.
