S’pore Minister Reacts to Mahathir’s PEJUANG Poem, Specifically The Line “Melayu Lagikah Negara Mereka?”

By Karissa Lund  •  14 Aug 2020 in News

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Recently, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the name of his new party with a poem on his blog. This new addition to the plethora of Malay-based political parties that Malaysia currently has is named Pejuang, the Malay word for ‘warrior’.

The poem denounced Mahathir’s previous party, Bersatu, citing that they have lost integrity by aligning with UMNO and PAS. He paints Pejuang as a promise to Malay people that their interests would be prioritised and the people’s needs met.

Also in his post, he implored Malaysians to fight against corruption and to choose his party, perhaps because of the rumoured upcoming Malaysia general election.

Take a look:

 

But not everyone was empowered with Mahathir’s poem…

According to Mothership SG, Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam directed his social media followers’ attention to a couple of lines that were written in the poem where Mahathir seemed to question if the said neighbouring country was “still Malay”.

In a Facebook post of his own on the same day, he specifically highlighted two lines that said, “Lihat Melayu negara jiran. Melayu lagikah negara mereka?” which translates to “Look at the Malays of the neighbouring country. Is their country still Malay?”

Shanmugan also wrote, “These two lines are interesting… Wonder which country Dr Mahathir is referring to.”

 

Although Mahathir didn’t specifically say that he was referring Singapore, many Singaporeans felt like it was targeted at them. Well obviously, he’s not talking about Indonesia…

Check it out:

A Singaporean-Malay commenter also mentioned that he was “blessed to be a Malay Singaporean of Baweanese descent” and added, “Nothing much to say about our northern neighbours or their politician(s), just wishing them well and may their country prosper too.”