PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned why Malay leaders were apologising over a remark deemed as racist by an Umno leader.

He said non-Malay leaders never apologised when similar racist remarks were made by members of their community.

The former prime minister said in his blog (www.chedet.com) the Malays were so scared of being labelled racist that they even wrote in Malay papers that the Malays were not racists.

He was referring to the apology by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made on behalf of Umno over a racist statement by Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

He cited the case of the Hindu Right Action Front, he said so many allegations including Islamist extremism and ethnic cleansing were hurled against the Malays.

However, no one demanded apologies from leaders of the non-Malay community.

He also cited the case of Wee Meng Chee who made parody of the Negaraku and poking fun at the call for prayers but there was no apology from leaders of the community over Wee's actions.

The Star/Asia News Network