The former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's assumption that Malays in Singapore had failed and their neighbouring Malays should take lesson from their plight has not impressed a Singaporean daily. The republic's Malay daily Berita Harian in an editorial said Malay-Muslims in the republic state were successful and it was a result of their real efforts and hard work in line with the values of meritocracy, not a result of being spoon-fed. “We do not believe in being spoon-fed or being too dependent on the government - in other words, we do not have a crutch mentality,' wrote editor Guntor Sadali. Guntor said Singapore Malays believed that a community with such a mentality would soon become a “two M” community, which stands for ‘manja’ (spoilt), and ‘malas’ (lazy). “We definitely do not want to be labelled as a pampered and lazy community,” he said, adding that the Malay community in the island raised their own funds to build Islamic schools, mosques and other community pro...
