Tun M predicts gloomy year ahead for M'sians

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9, 2014): Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has predicted a gloomy 2014 for Malaysia due to controversies surrounding race relations in the country.
He said 2014 is going to be a “difficult” year because some of the issues surrounding race relations were not present before.
Mahathir, 88, said people are becoming more liberal and demanding more freedom.
However, he warned that such freedom and liberty comes at a price if people are unable to handle it.
He agreed with the Home Ministry’s ban on Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (Comango) and also Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s (JAIS) raid and seizure of Malay-language Bibles.
He said the controversies were due to liberal groups wanting to test the limits of their new found freedom.
“If you break the law, people who enforce the law will take action.
“Before this controversy came up, I don’t think JAIS will take Bibles belonging to Christians. (But) you purposely come up with something to annoy people. It is not religious.
“It is just a means to annoy people and be uncaring about other people’s sensitivities. If you start running down other religions, what will happen to this country? You want this country to be like Syria or something?” Mahathir asked at a press conference after speaking at a live talk show, Hello On Two, at Angkasapuri today.
Asked if the abolished Internal Security Act (ISA) should be brought back, Mahathir maintained that it is needed for “some extremists”.
“For some extremists we need ISA but we don’t need ISA for people like me. I am a nice person ... but for extremists, yes ...”
Earlier during the talk show, Mahathir said business groups should try to influence the government into cutting down costs by not imposing too many taxes on them.
He said the private sector must voice their concerns to the government on the impending price hikes.
Mahathir said it is the duty of the business community to point it out as the government may not be aware of the situation faced by the private sector.
“They can send memorandums and meet with the government and explain their side,” he said.
Many Malaysians are bracing for a tough year ahead due to government measures of reducing subsidies, including for petrol, and the hike in prices of goods and service fees.