KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is 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.
During an interview with a Chennai-based Indian satellite television channel Thanthi TV, Dr Mahathir, who had twice served as the country's prime minister, also stood by his previous remarks that Malaysia belongs to the people who founded the country.
"There are people who consider themselves (as) Indians or Chinese. They do not speak the local language at all.
"They have their own schools, their own language, their own culture.
"So, they are different from the original people who founded this country," he said during the interview, which was uploaded to Thanthi TV's YouTube channel on Jan 11.
To another question from the host during the interview who insisted the Malaysian Indians and Chinese are also loyal to the country, Dr Mahathir replied: "Not completely. They want to identify themselves with their countries of origin."
Later during the interview, the host pointed out that apart from speaking Tamil, Malaysian Indians also speak Malay very well and that they are committed to Malaysia.
"Malaysian Indians do not speak Malay as their home language. They speak Tamil," said Dr Mahathir.
When the host asked Dr Mahathir what is the problem with Malaysian Indians who do not speak Malay as their home language, the latter replied that: "The problem is that they cannot be assimilated"
"There are people of many different origins in (the United States of) America who have forgotten their own language, who speak only English and they do not claim to be citizens except (other than) America."
During the interview, Dr Mahathir was also asked if Malaysian Indians and Chinese should completely shun their religion and practices to behave like Malays in order to assimilate.
"Yes.. Many of them have done that. Many people... Of Indian origin, Arab origin, even European origin, who are now completely Malay that speak Malay all the time... They practise Malay customs and tradition."
When the host told Dr Mahathir that the Federal Constitution provides that people from other races in their country practise their race and religion, the former responded that: "The Constitution does not say that they should set up their own party confined only to their own people."
Dr Mahathir was also asked on why he did not raise such an issue when Umno had a political coalition with MIC and MCA when he was the president of the party.
"Yes, under my leadership, I am prepared to work with other people but not prepared to accept them as the owners of this country," he said.