Malays Need Larger Table Not Big Umbrella

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 Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, you’ve once again reminded us that Malays must unite under a “big umbrella.” That they are weak, their future hangs on the hinges of political protection and communal shelter.
It’s a familiar script, one you’ve authored for decades. But Mahathir, respectfully, times have changed and so have the people.
Let me tell you a different story. A real one. It didn’t happen in a marble-floored ministry office or at a political rally. It took place in a regular schoolyard during recess.
Two girls - one Malay-Muslim, another Tamil-Hindu - sat side by side. One packet of nasi lemak between them, unwrapped and shared.
They ate with their fingers, through mouthfuls of rice and sambal. There were no speeches, no policies, no slogans. Just friendship, and trust. No umbrella needed.
This moment, simple as it seems, is more powerful than any political blueprint. These children instinctively know what many politicians have forgotten - that being Malaysian is not about separation or suspicion.
It’s about sharing and that includes sharing the future.
Graft, broken institutions, inequality
So forgive me, Mahathir, when I say: the Malays I know don’t need to be told they are weak. They need to be reminded that they are already strong.
They don’t need protection from others. They need protection with others - from the real threats of corruption, rising costs, broken institutions, and educational inequality.
They don’t need to be frightened into a corner by leaders who insist that unless they huddle under a racial umbrella, they will perish. Have we so little faith in our own people?
The Malays I’ve lived among - whether in kampungs, cities, or in Borneo - are proud, resilient, and resourceful.
They plant, they pray, they pioneer. They do not cower. They do not shrink. They have a perfect DNA, just like all of us.
They are not snowflakes, Mahathir. They are sons and daughters of this soil and they deserve more than perpetual dependency.
Not an umbrella, it’s a cage
You once led this nation with ambition. We remember Vision 2020. But now you seem to be selling fear instead of hope.
Your “big umbrella” narrative feels less like protection and more like a cage. Under that umbrella, there’s no room for nuance or unity, only fear of the rain.
But Malaysia has changed. The people are learning to walk in the rain, together.
When you say “Malays are weak,” you don’t just insult them - you insult the entire Malaysian project.
You erase the strength of generations who stood up for their families, built mosques and surau with their own hands, sent their children to school on motorbikes, and sacrificed so their children could fly.
They didn’t need umbrellas then. They just needed faith. Now they need fair policies, not favours.
We are not blind to the reality of race in this country. We know there are wounds. We know there is history. But what good is history if it becomes a prison?
Malaysia is now a nation where a Malay woman can lead a multiracial NGO, a Chinese boy can learn silat, an Indian girl can top the SPM charts and speak excellent Bahasa Malaysia, and a Bidayuh Christian can break fast with his Muslim neighbours.
This is not a fantasy. It’s already happening - in schools, workplaces, food courts, and yes, even in Parliament on a good day. You say Malays must unite. I agree. Not against others, but with others.
Look Mahathir, those two girls sharing nasi lemak are not worried about ketuanan (Malay supremacy) or quotas. They’re just enjoying lunch. That’s the kind of unity we should strive for - simple, sincere, and sustained.
So, maybe it’s time to stop worrying about umbrellas as the Malays don’t need shade; they need sunlight.
They need the same things everyone else needs - education that liberates, healthcare that heals, leaders who lead, not lecture. They don’t need to be told who they are. They already know.
Instead of building walls of division, let us build bigger tables. Let us teach our children to pass the sambal, not suspicion and maybe we adults can learn a thing or two from the children.
Because Malaysia will not rise under a big umbrella. But it will rise when we sit together - Indian, Chinese, Malay, Iban, Kadazan, Orang Asli - and share the same plate, the same pain, the same hope.
And when we finally learn to do that, perhaps the Malaysian spirit will gently nudge the heavens and say, “Look at these two schoolgirls - they have heart. Their simple act of friendship is the real election manifesto every political party in Malaysia should subscribe to.”
That, Mahathir, is how nations are built - not by protecting, but by empowering. So kindly put your umbrella away.  - Mkini
JOSEPH MASILAMANY is a veteran journalist and storyteller who believes the best lessons in unity come not from political speeches, but from schoolyard friendships and from kampung pondok.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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