Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has chastised the ethnic Malay-Muslim community in the country, calling on them to “work harder” to achieve success, rather than getting angry at others.

Mahathir said Malays, who form the bulk of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic electorate, “still refuse to work”.

These comments were made in a blog post on Friday, Sept. 6.

“Malays should realise what is happening to them. Unfortunately, they have not realised. They still refuse to work. The Malays would surrender all jobs to foreigners," he wrote.

"Foreigners have flooded our country. Seven million foreigners are still here. They work. What will happen to the Malays?” 

Malaysia has a 31 million population.

A constant lament

Mahathir has always brought up this issue of what he perceives as the Malay community’s lack of drive.

During his first stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, he promoted race-based affirmative action policies aimed at closing the socioeconomic inequality gap between the Malays, and the other ethnic groups -- ethnic Chinese and Indians.

Mahathir wrote: “Our fate is in our own hands. Getting angry with other people will not solve our problems … Because [Malays] were not willing to work hard, to do business seriously, they remained poor.”

Mahathir’s remarks come amid rising racial tensions in Malaysia.

Malays have been questioning if Mahathir's coalition government can continue to safeguard their privileges, which are enshrined in the constitution.

Non-Malays have been accusing the government of pandering to Malay voters.

Losing Malay base

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition has been struggling to secure the Malay community’s support.

It won the last election with less than 30 percent of the Malay vote.

The United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which led Malaysia for over 60 years, and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) are teaming up.

Their partnership was made official with a two-day mega-rally slated to end on Sept. 14, two days before Malaysia Day.

What is Mahathir's message?

Mahathir’s message and staunch credentials as a Malay nationalist have remained consistent.

His latest remarks can be read by non-Malays in Malaysia as highlighting the weak economic position of the Malay majority, and requesting them to work together to uplift the lot of the masses.

At the same time, his latest comments are once again a reminder for the Malay community to reflect on their behaviour and position, so that they can uplift themselves, and Malaysia can get on with reforming the country.