Tun Dr Mahathir’s “chopstick analogy” last month had received multiple backlashes from the people in our country.
During the launching event of his new book, he made a remark by saying that the Chinese are abandoning the Malaysian culture by using chopsticks to eat instead of their hands. Following the major criticisms from the rakyat, Tun M has finally broken his silence on the remarks he made which the people have apparently misunderstood.
In an interview with CITYPlus FM this morning (5 January), the former Prime Minister revealed that he was simply finding something to depict the differences in the culture, and chopsticks were the first thing to pop up in his mind.
“I could have said lion dance and many other things, but to simply see the difference, the Malays eat with their hands, the Chinese eat with chopsticks. That shows there’s a difference in terms of culture.”
He reiterated that the idea was simply to show the difference and it was nothing near to show the inferiority of the eating utensil.
“I am also aware that the Koreans also use chopsticks, as well as the Vietnamese and the Japanese. It’s just a way of eating, but the way of eating is different amongst races.”
When asked if he saw the criticisms coming, he said that some people will always make an issue regardless of what he says, and those are the people who often look for ways to run down each other.
“It’s an innocent remark, but these extremists will make an issue to make it difficult to get along with each other.”
Additionally, Tun M also said that he himself has learnt to use chopsticks as sometimes he eats Chinese food.
He also assured that the chopstick analogy is not a sign of him playing the racial card to gain popularity but to merely show the difference in culture in this multi-racial country. You can watch the full interview below.
CITYPlus【城市话题】—— 专访马哈迪：聊新书、筷子论、马来政治
前首相敦马哈迪去年12月12日，推介新书《抓住希望：为新马来西亚继续奋斗》。惟，他在推介礼上语出惊人，发表的”筷子论“反而掀起更大讨论度。面对排山倒海的反弹声浪后，敦马接受本台专访时打破沉默回应此事，他为何使用“筷子”为例子？另外，各政党摩拳擦掌备战第15届全国大选，今年97岁的他还上阵吗？是否有意再度拜相？主持：Lum Chih Feng 蓝志锋 & Wayne Lee 李运祥嘉宾：Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad 敦马哈迪医生（前首相兼斗士党创办人）#CITYPlus #新城市 #新活力 #每次收听 #都有收获 #城市向前行 #城市话题
Posted by CITYPlus FM on Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Also read: Tun M: Chinese Are Straying Away From The M’sian Culture By Using Chopsticks and Not Hands
