Mahathirisms.

Here are a few Mahathirisms to consider from BBC & Wikiquote:-

"There were times when I was elated with what I thought was my success. But mostly I feel disappointed, because I achieved too little result from my principal task, the task of making my race a race that is respected, a race that is honorable, a race that is highly regarded." - June 21, 2002,

"It is good governance by good people that we need. And feudal kings, even dictators, have provided and can provide good governance." - April 26, 2002, speech.

On Bumiputras........

"The Malays are spiritually inclined, tolerant and easy-going. The non-Malays, and especially the Chinese, are materialistic, aggressive and have an appetite for work. For equality to come about, it is necessary that these strikingly contrasting races adjust to each other." - 1970 book, "The Malay Dilemma."

"They know it, they see it right before their eyes but they learn nothing. Next time they will do it again."

".....We tell them if you use crutches, you will not be able to stand up. Throw away the crutches, stand up straight because you still have the capacity."

"........ I know very well the meaning of crutches but somehow or rather they want the easy way out. If I get an AP and I sell it and make some money, it’s all right, they say."

"..... But every one of them sold their contracts. Sold and sold and sold until finally the last man could not sell and had to do the work. He then found he would make terrible losses and so he tried to cut corners, used bad materials and the labs collapsed."

On Muslims....

Disunited, confused about Islam, fighting each other for power and lacking in essential knowledge and skills... Muslims today have reached the lowest point of their development. - January 2003

"We [Muslims] are actually very strong, 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out." - OIC Conference, Oct 16,2003

On Jews ......

The Jews for example are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively.
- 1970, the Malay Dilemma

"But today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them. They invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong so they may enjoy equal rights with others. With these they have now gained control of the most powerful countries. And they, this tiny community, have become a world power"
- OIC Conference, Oct 16,2003

"The Jews robbed the Palestinians of everything, but in Malaysia they could not do so, hence they do this, depress the ringgit."

"We may suspect that they, the Jews, have an agenda, but we do not want to accuse. And incidentally, we are Muslims, and the Jews are not happy to see the Muslims progress." - Oct. 10, 1997, speech during Asian financial crisis.

On Europeans .....

They are very clever, brave and have an insatiable curiosity... unfortunately they are also very greedy and like to take forcibly the territories and rights of other people.

The culture and the values which they will force us to accept will be hedonism, unlimited quest for pleasure, the satisfaction of base desires, particularly sexual desires. Our way of life must be the same as their way of life. Asian values do not exist to them. -June 2003

"The Sept. 11 attack on America, which supported Israel, has made an excuse for the Anglo-Saxon Europeans to return to their old violent ways. Their strategy to fight terrorism is through attacking Muslim countries and Muslims, whether they are guilty or not." - June 19, 2003, speech.

On Australia..........

This country stands out like a sore thumb trying to impose its European values in Asia as if it is the good old days when people can shoot aborigines without caring about human rights. - December 2002

"... white trash of Asia".

"If Australia wants to be a friend to Asia, it should stop behaving as if it is there to teach us how to run our country. It is a small nation in terms of numbers and it should behave like a small nation and not be a teacher."

On America .....

"American voters are not astute and will be fooled by President George W. Bush's propaganda."

"The American people are, by and large, very ignorant and know nothing about the rest of the world.... Yet they are the people who will decide who will be the most powerful man in the world".

"I've never seen anybody so rude" - on Al Gore's speech at the KL APEC summit.