Zahid, who is also home minister, claimed at a Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting Sunday that the National Registration Department had informed him that Dr Mahathir’s name on his identity card was “Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty”
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was trying to say that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had used Umno for his own benefit because the former prime minister was not a “true Malay”, an aide said today.
Zahid’s press secretary, Datuk Ibrahim Yaya, told Sinar Online that the message Zahid had wanted to deliver to the public was not to manipulate Umno for one’s self interest and to be loyal to the party, amid uproar over Zahid’s mention of Dr Mahathir’s Indian ancestry.
“What Zahid was trying to illustrate was that the idiom, ‘husk thrown once the honey is finished’, that Mahathir had exemplified was not the characteristic of a Malay and the reason why he [Dr Mahathir] did it was because he was not a true Malay,” Ibrahim was quoted saying.
“Zahid said Mahathir had used Umno for his own interests and those of his family and after using it, he left Umno and joined the Opposition. In fact, he even allied with the DAP that had previously been his fierce enemy all this while.
“However, he [Zahid] was not surprised by Mahathir’s behaviour because the prime minister who ruled Malaysia for 22 years was not originally a Malay, but his family was from Kerala, India. That’s all,” he added.
Zahid, who is also home minister, claimed at a Kelana Jaya Umno division meeting Sunday that the National Registration Department had informed him that Dr Mahathir’s name on his identity card was “Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty”.
This prompted Dr Mahathir to label the acting Umno deputy president a liar and to challenge the latter to produce the identity card containing the alleged name.
Dr Mahathir’s lineage is believed to include ancestors from Kerala, India on the paternal side.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
