Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took to his social media to caution Malaysians against being "poor people" in a "rich country".

To illustrate his point, Mahathir decided to draw a comparison to Ukrainians defending themselves against a Russian invasion.

Comparison to Ukraine

Mahathir said that the Ukrainians could submit to the Russian invaders and give up its territory to stop the war.

Instead, they refuse to do so and keep on fighting.

He then turned to Malaysia.

"We in Malaysia are willing to accept foreigners as citizens, and we are willing to share our country. But not until this beloved country is occupied by descendants of foreigners and we become poor in this rich country," Mahathir wrote in his Facebook post.

Mahathir against promoting a multiracial Malaysia

Previously, the 98-year-old former minister said that promoting a multiracial Malaysia is "unconstitutional". and will "wipe out" the Malay land.

Several political figures had voiced out their disagreement with Mahathir's statement.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said:

"In the Madani concept espoused by the federal government under my leadership, we want to emphasise manners, the participation and understanding of not just Muslims, but also non-Muslims.”

"However, when we are doing this, they will say I am promoting Malaysia as a multiracial country. They will say we are a Malay country and it is against the constitution to promote Malaysia in such a way but I do not understand.”

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq also pointed out that a united Malaysian Nation was once Mahathir's vision.

Insensitive time

One commenter pointed out that Mahathir's post was shared at a sensitive time, as Malaysia's domestic trade minister Salahuddin Ayub had just passed away the day before.

Salahuddin underwent surgery after suffering from a brain haemorrhage on Jul. 22, but eventually succumbed to his condition.

Various political leaders have expressed their condolences to the minister, including Anwar, former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid, and Johor's Menteri Besar (chief minister) Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

Mahathir expressed his condolences for Salahuddin's family five hours after his Facebook post.

إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُون

DariNya kita datang, kepadaNya kita kembali.

Saya mengucapkan takziah kepada keluarga Allahyarham YB Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub di atas kembalinya ke rahmatullah.

Saya mengenali beliau dengan lebih rapat ketika bersama dalam Kabinet… pic.twitter.com/jfrE5iO6Jo

— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) July 24, 2023

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Top image via Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad/Facebook.