Many Malaysians are having a field day today, mocking former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s eyebrow-raising comment about how Chinese descendants can’t seem to integrate into Malaysian society due to old habits like using chopsticks.
The 96-year-old reportedly made that comment during yesterday’s media event while promoting his new book, prompting Malaysians to fill the internet today with past photos of the former political leader showing off his chopsticks skills – something Mahathir considered was a symbol of Chinese identity.
Those who heard the news took to Twitter to both troll and school Mahathir about chopsticks.
“I have seen Malaysian Chinese people use hands to eat. And using chopsticks is also part of Malaysian culture,” political lawyer Syahredzan Johan wrote online.
One user also told him to “mind your own business on how diasporas eat their own food.” while another user called him a racist.
The alleged comment, as quoted by MalaysiaKini, goes as follows: “They [the Malaysian Chinese] preserve their own community, their own customs, their own ways.”
He reportedly added: “For example, the Chinese eat with chopsticks, they don’t eat with their hands. They have not adopted the Malaysian way of eating food… They retained the chopstick which is an identity with China, not with Malaysia and many other things.”
Mahathir was promoting his new memoir and 18th book, Capturing Hope: The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia, in which he delves into thoughts about his second tenure as prime minister and the fall of the Pakatan Harapan administration in February 2020.
At yesterday’s event, the near-centenarian was asked about his motivations for forming the Malay-based political party Pejuang when he meandered about chopsticks. He then voiced his opinion about non-Malays in the country identifying with their forefathers’ countries more than Malaysia.
“This is the Chinese Malaysian, this is Indian Malaysian, this is Malay. Because of that, they cannot be assimilated,” he said, according to reports.
“… this divides the people. In other multi-racial countries, once they adopt citizenship of a country they identify themselves only with that country and no longer with where their grandfathers came from.”
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