United States is a hypocrite, says Dr M over Obama’s call for equal opportunities for non-Muslims

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today accused the United States of being a hypocrite in telling Malaysia to give equal opportunities to non-Muslims when there is no equality in their own country.

He said unlike the US, Malaysia had allowed Chinese immigrants to get rich and those from India to become lawyers and doctors.

Dr Mahathir, who is Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister, said this while commenting on US President Barack Obama's remarks at a young leaders town hall meeting in Universiti Malaya recently where the president had said that Malaysia must ensure non-Muslims in the country also have equal opportunites as its Muslim majority if it wanted to continue prospering.

Dr Mahathir said 1% of the United States population controlled all the wealth in the country while the remaining 99% were poor.

"Indians are lawyers in Malaysia, many of them are also professional doctors," Dr Mahathir said.

"Do you see the Chinese as being the poorest people in Malaysia?

"This is why I do not agree with Obama, I agree with Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz that there is inequality in the United States," Dr Mahathir said.

At the same town hall meeting, Obama had said that non-Muslims in Malaysia were currently facing hostility, and some have felt oppressed.

"There should not be any reason to discriminate, and you have to make sure that you are speaking out against this in daily life," he had added. – April 30, 2014.